Free learning games where every child gets to win
Simple browser games with big buttons, spoken instructions and no way to lose. Made for young children, and made to work for kids who need a little more support.
- No download
- No account
- No ads while playing
- Works offline once loaded
Pick a game
Each one opens straight into play. Nothing to install, nothing to sign up for.
Shadow Matching
A black shadow appears on one side and real animal photos on the other. Find the animal the shadow belongs to. Practises visual discrimination.
Play Shadow Matching →
Tic-Tac-Toe
Maggie versus the cat instead of X and O. Play with someone else or against the computer, at a gentle level or a tough one. Practises turn taking and planning.
Play Tic-Tac-Toe →Built so that every child can actually play
Most free games for young children assume a steady hand, quick reactions and confident reading. These do not.
No dragging
Everything is a single tap on a large target. Drag and drop is one of the biggest barriers for children with motor difficulties, so it is never required.
No way to lose
No timers and no score that drops. A wrong choice is quietly set aside, so every round still ends with the child getting it right.
Spoken instructions
Maggie reads the instruction, the praise and the gentle correction out loud, so a child who is not reading yet can play without an adult narrating.
Words on or off
Show the written word under each picture to support early reading, or hide it completely so the picture stands alone.
Two, three or four choices
Fewer options makes the task easier without making it babyish. Start at two and move up when the child is ready.
Keyboard and switch access
Everything is reachable by tab and enter with a thick, obvious focus ring, and motion is reduced automatically if the device asks for it.
For grown-ups
These are practice activities, not a curriculum and not a therapy programme. They are the kind of short, repeatable task that a child can do a few times while you are nearby, and that works just as well on a tablet on the sofa as it does at a table.
Getting the most out of a session
- Short is better than long. Two or three rounds with a child who is still enjoying it beats twenty rounds that end in frustration.
- Start easier than you think. Two choices, words hidden. Success first, difficulty later.
- Say the name out loud with them. The spoken feedback gives the label; you repeating it turns the game into vocabulary practice.
- Let them press the help button. It highlights the right answer and names it. Using it is not cheating, it is scaffolding.
What visual discrimination actually is
Visual discrimination is the ability to notice how two things differ in shape, size or orientation. It is the skill underneath telling b from d, spotting the difference between a square and a rectangle, and finding your own coat on a crowded peg rail. Shadow matching isolates it neatly: colour and texture are stripped away, so only the outline is left to go on.
Using these in a classroom or clinic
Nothing here needs an account, so a page can be opened on a shared device without anyone logging in or out. No data about the child is collected or sent anywhere: the only thing stored is your settings, kept in that browser. Game pages carry no advertising.
Who makes this
Maggie Games is made by one independent developer, and Maggie is a real black toy poodle who happens to be very good at sitting still. The games are built from a parent-and-teacher point of view, not a clinical one. If you work with children and something here would be more useful with a small change, that feedback is genuinely welcome.
Common questions
Are the games really free?
Yes. Every game is free to play, with no account, no download and no advertising on the game pages themselves.
Do I need to install an app?
No. They run in any modern browser on a phone, tablet, Chromebook or computer. On a tablet you can use your browser's Add to Home Screen option and the game will open full screen with its own icon, just like an app.
Can a child lose or run out of time?
No. There are no timers, no score that goes down and no failure screen. In Shadow Matching a wrong answer is simply set aside, so the round always ends with the child finding the right one.
Are these suitable for children with additional needs?
They are designed with that in mind: large single-tap targets, spoken instructions, optional written words, an adjustable number of choices, and full keyboard and switch access.
To be clear about what they are not: these are everyday practice activities, not a therapy programme, an assessment, or a treatment for any condition. If you have concerns about a child's development, the person to talk to is your paediatrician, speech and language therapist or occupational therapist.
What ages are they for?
Shadow Matching suits roughly ages two to seven, and Tic-Tac-Toe roughly four and up. Those are rough guides rather than rules. The difficulty settings matter far more than the number.