How to play Make 10
- A number block from 1 to 9 waits above the board. Tap a column to drop it there.
- If it lands next to a block that makes 10 with it, below it or beside it, both blocks disappear: 1 and 9, 2 and 8, 3 and 7, 4 and 6, or 5 and 5.
- Blocks above a gap fall down, and they can make 10 with the blocks they land next to: a chain.
- The game ends when a column is full to the top. Try to make as many bonds as you can.
Stuck? Press Hint to see a column where your block makes a bond. Every bond you make, the adder above the board eats it and grows one block longer.
Easy gives more blocks that fit somewhere, Tricky fewer. Dots show each number as a frame of dots: count the empty ones to find the partner.
For parents and teachers
Make 10 practises number bonds to 10: the pairs of whole numbers that add up to 10. Knowing them by heart makes adding and taking away much easier later, for example 8 + 5 as 8 + 2 + 3. Making 10 is a kindergarten standard in the US Common Core (K.OA.A.4), and number bonds within 10 and 20 are a Year 1 objective in England’s national curriculum.
A guide: ages 5 to 7. Turn on Dots for children who still count: each block shows its number as a ten-frame, and the empty dots show the number it needs.
The Block Adder games
- Make 5: Find two blocks that add up to 5, like 2 and 3.
- Make 10: Find two blocks that add up to 10, like 3 and 7.
- Make 20: Find two blocks that add up to 20, like 12 and 8.
- Make 100: Find two tens that add up to 100, like 30 and 70.
- Sums to 10: Drop each sum on its answer: 4 + 3 goes on a 7.
- Sums to 20: Drop each sum on its answer: 12 − 3 goes on a 9.
Questions
What are number bonds to 10?
The pairs of numbers that add up to 10: 1 and 9, 2 and 8, 3 and 7, 4 and 6, and 5 and 5. Children often learn them with a ten-frame, which is what the dots on the blocks show.
What do Easy, Normal and Tricky change?
How often the next block fits somewhere on the board: on Easy most blocks have a partner waiting, on Tricky fewer do and your child has to plan where to put them. After three blocks in a row with no partner, the next one always has one.
Is it safe for children?
Block Adder has no ads, no chat, no sign-up and no tracking. Nothing your child does is sent anywhere: the game in progress, the best scores and the statistics are kept only in this browser.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Tap a column to drop the block there. It fits a phone held upright, and it works with a mouse or the keyboard on a computer.
Keyboard
| 1 to 5 | Drop into that column |
|---|---|
| Left and right arrows | Move between columns |
| Enter or Space | Drop into the chosen column |
| H | Hint |