Comet Courier: free online math game

How to play

You fly the delivery rocket for a team of friendly aliens. Each order shows its cargo as an array: crates with the same number of stars in each, like 6 crates × 7 stars for 6 × 7. Three planets drift in from the right, each with a number. Steer into the planet with the total, and the alien there waves and takes the parcel.

1. Pick your tables and ×, ÷ or Mixed, then a race of 10, 20 or 30 deliveries.
2. Drag up or down anywhere on space, or press the Up and Down buttons, to line the rocket up with a planet. Number keys 1–3 jump straight to a planet.
3. The right planet takes the parcel. The wrong planet's shield bounces you away, adds 1.5 seconds and shows the correct fact. There are no lives: you always finish the race.
4. Three right answers in a row fill the boost bar. Press Boost or Space for a one-second burst of speed.
5. Your time is the score. Race again and a dotted ghost rocket replays your best run from this visit, so you can see if you're ahead.

Easy steer swaps the steering for three big planet buttons and the rocket flies itself. It's turned on automatically with Reduce motion, which also stops the planets drifting, so each order waits for your answer.

What it teaches

Comet Courier is a math game about what multiplication means. The cargo array is the question, and it changes as the race goes on:

• Deliveries 1–5: every crate and star is drawn, so a child can count, then start to count in groups.
• Deliveries 6–12: only the outline and one full row are shown (“6 rows of 7”), which nudges children from counting to grouping.
• Deliveries 13 and up: just the fact, such as 6 × 7, with four planets that bob about. This is quick recall, the goal of times tables practice.
• Division: in ÷ mode the order reads “42 stars in 7 crates” and the planets show how many stars go in each crate: sharing equally.
• Gentle catch-up: two misses in a row bring back the full array and slow the planets down, and every missed fact returns a few orders later.

Because you steer into the answer, every fact is a small decision with a visible result, and racing your own ghost rewards getting faster without comparing children with each other.