Catch the ghost
In Catch the ghost, ghosts drift over a graveyard and each one carries a number. A calculation appears at the bottom and you tap the ghost with the answer before the other team. The wrong numbers are close to the right one, so guessing does not work: you have to calculate. Tap a wrong ghost and it shivers and flies off, with no points lost.
What children practise
- Mental addition and subtraction up to 10, 20, 50 or 100.
- Times tables, up to 10 × 10 when the limit is 100.
- Exact division as the inverse of multiplication.
- Estimating the answer to rule out nearby numbers.
- Attention and visual speed with moving objects.
Levels and settings
Year 1
Addition to 10 with 4 slow ghosts; on Medium, up to 20; on Hard, all four operations with small numbers.
Year 2
All four operations mixed up to 20; on Hard, up to 50 with 8 ghosts.
Year 3
Multiplication up to 50 on Easy; mixed operations up to 50 or 100 on Medium and Hard.
Years 4 to 6
Mixed operations up to 100 with 6 to 10 ghosts, getting faster.
Settings
Operation, up to 10, 20, 50 or 100, 4 to 10 ghosts, speed (including Still) and 5, 8 or 12 points to win.
How to play it in class
- Open the game and choose the year and difficulty; if you like, set the operation, the limit, the number of ghosts and the speed yourself.
- Choose teams on a split screen, or one child on their own.
- Read the calculation at the bottom, work it out and tap the ghost with the answer. After a miss, keep looking: no point or turn is lost.
- The first to 5, 8 or 12 correct answers wins.
Ways to play
In teams, at the same time
The screen splits in two and each team plays on its own half at the same time.
For one player
One child plays on the whole screen at their own pace: on the whiteboard, a computer or a tablet.
Frequently asked questions
Can we practise just one operation?
Yes: add, subtract, multiply or divide, or a mix of all four. You cannot pick a single times table; the number limit sets how far the tables go.
What if the movement distracts a child?
Choose the Still speed: the ghosts stay put and the game works the same way.
Are points taken away for mistakes?
No. The wrong ghost shivers and disappears, and the team keeps looking for the right one.
Is it free?
You can play 5 free games without signing up. After that, a one-off payment of €9.99 unlocks all 78 games for ever, on all your devices. There is no subscription.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It opens in the browser of the interactive whiteboard, panel, computer, tablet or iPad. Once loaded, it also works offline.
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