Pocket Puzzle ArcadeUpdated November 2026

Make ten. Carry the rest.

For parents of first graders: tap how your child solves 8 + 6 and get tonight's next step.

Honest Little Apps

Ask your child: what is 8 + 6? Then tap what they did.

Free on iPhone

By the Honest Little Apps studio, makers of Number Beasts · Updated November 2026

What should addition within 20 practice look like at home?

Short, strategy-first and a little playful: five to ten minutes on one strategy your child is ready for, not a page of mixed sums. In the US, the Common Core standard for first grade, 1.OA.C.6, asks children to add and subtract within 20 using strategies such as counting on, making ten (8 + 6 = 8 + 2 + 4 = 10 + 4 = 14) and known sums like doubles.

The question at the top sorts those strategies into a ladder. Find your child's rung, practise the next one up, and ask the 8 + 6 question again next week.

1Counting allStarts at 1 and counts every object or finger.
2Counting onStarts at the bigger number and counts up.
3Making tenSplits a number to fill 10, then adds the rest.
4Known factsRecalls sums, and links them to subtraction (8 + 6 = 14, so 14 − 8 = 6).

Find the rung, practise one rung up, ask again next week.

Is finger counting a problem in first grade?

A parent asks

My six-year-old still adds on her fingers. Should I stop her?

Honest Little Apps

Not yet. A study in Developmental Psychology, reported by the American Psychological Association in November 2025, followed 211 Swiss children from about 4½ to 7½. From age 6, the best adders were children who had counted on their fingers and then moved past it, ahead of both never-users and children still using fingers.

So fingers are a stage to pass through, not a habit to ban. Practise counting on from the bigger number, and the fingers fade on their own.

Tonight's practice set: 8 questions

Pick a rung in the chat above, or use the buttons here. Each set is new every time, stays within 20, and shows the strategy line under each answer.

Rung 2 → practise making ten

Who Number Beasts is not for

Children who cannot yet count to 10 with confidence. Start with objects and counting games first.
Families who want a full curriculum with lessons and progress reports. Number Beasts is a puzzle game that practises one big idea: making ten and carrying the rest.
Kids who only want fast drills. The main mode is turn-based planning, though an arcade mode is there for speed.

How it works: the make-ten idea as a game

Bond. Launch a number at a beast. Make exactly 10 and it pops.
Feed. Fall short and the beast grows; now it needs a smaller number.
Bridge. Overshoot and the beast still pops, while the leftover keeps flying. The App Store listing's example: launch a 7 into a 5 and a 2 carries on. That is 5 + 7 = 10 + 2, the making-ten strategy, played.

Number Beasts First Bond stage with aim assist showing the launch path toward a beast — With aim assist on, the path and the sum (like BOND 4+6=10) show before Launch.

Number Beasts stage clear screen with three stars, solved in one launch with no tools — Three stars for clearing at or under par with no hero tools.

Honest limits

Our practice sets cover addition only, plus one subtraction link on rung 4. The game leans on making 10; beasts that need 15 or 20 only arrive in the third world, Chaos Laboratory. Nothing here replaces your child's teacher, who will know which strategy their class uses.

One design decision we stand by: no ads, no accounts, no tracking and no in-app purchases, per the App Store listing. Everything stays on the device and works offline.

Addition within 20: parent FAQ

What does addition within 20 mean?

Adding two numbers whose total is 20 or less, such as 8 + 6 or 9 + 9. US first-grade standard 1.OA.C.6 asks for strategies like counting on and making ten, and fluency within 10.

How long should addition practice be for a first grader?

Five to ten minutes on one strategy works well at home. Stop while it is still going well, and come back to it another day.

Which addition strategy should I teach first?

Counting on from the bigger number comes first. Next is making ten: split one number so the other fills 10, then add what is left. Doubles and near-doubles (6 + 7 = 6 + 6 + 1) come alongside.

Is it bad if my child counts on fingers?

Not at age 6. An APA-published study from November 2025 found that children who had used fingers and then moved past them did best in addition from age 6, ahead of children who never used fingers.

Does Number Beasts have ads or in-app purchases?

No. Its App Store listing says no ads, no accounts, no tracking and no in-app purchases, and the whole game works offline.

Make it a nightly five minutes

Print tonight's set, then let the beasts take over tomorrow. Make it a habit with Number Beasts: 45 handcrafted stages and a fresh Daily Lab every day.

Free on iPhone

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