Number Carnival mixes up everything Early Years explorers have met so far. Switching between counting, comparing and first adding in one game shows whether a skill has really stuck — and keeps practice feeling like play.
What your child will learn
- Count up to 5 pictures and read the dots on a dice
- Say which group has more or fewer
- Find one more and one less than a number
- Add and take away within 5, and make a group of up to 10
Why mix it up?
When a whole game is about one idea, children can answer by habit. A mixed game asks them to stop and work out what each question wants: “Am I counting, comparing or adding?” Choosing the right tool is a big part of being good at maths.
Dice dots
Seeing “four” on a dice without counting each dot is called subitising. It grows with practice and makes later adding much quicker, because children start to see numbers as patterns rather than long counts.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. How many apples?
Tap each one to count it!
- 2
- 3
- 6
Show answer
Answer: 3. Touch each one once as you count: 1, 2, 3. There are 3 apples!
2. How many dots?
- 5
- 7
- 6
Show answer
Answer: 6. Count the dots: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. That’s 6! Dice always put 6 dots in this pattern, so next time you might just see it.
3. How many dots?
- 3
- 6
- 5
Show answer
Answer: 5. Count the dots: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. That’s 5! Dice always put 5 dots in this pattern, so next time you might just see it.
Tips for grown-ups
- Play board games with a dice — say the number before moving the counter.
- Ask mixed questions on a walk: “How many birds? Which tree has more leaves?”
- If a question is tricky, go back to that world and play its first quest again.