Games / Learning Games / Bond Bridges / Guide
Bond Bridges
Clover the bunny drives a little train full of animal friends, and every river on the line has a bridge with a gap in it. Your child picks the plank block that fills the gap exactly, the planks count up, and the train rolls across.
What your child learns
Number bonds are pairs that make a number: 7 and 3 make 10, 12 and 8 make 20. Kids who know the bonds to 10 by heart can make a ten instead of counting on their fingers, which makes adding and subtracting much easier later.
- Bonds to 5 and to 10 (Kindergarten, K.OA.A.3 and K.OA.A.4)
- Making 10 in your head, once the counting helpers fade away
- Bonds to 20 and the make-a-ten strategy (Grade 1, 1.OA.C.6)
- Adding and taking away within 20 (Grades 1 to 2, 1.OA.C.6 and 2.OA.B.2)
- Missing number equations like 8 + ? = 13 (Grade 1, 1.OA.D.8)
Under every bridge there's a part-part-whole bar, the same model many schools use, so kids see the two parts and the whole together.
How it works
Tap Play and the first bridge is waiting. The question is read aloud ("6 and what make 10?") and shown as an equation. Your child taps one of three or four plank blocks. The block flies into the gap and the planks count up one by one, so the answer is checked in a way kids can see and hear.
On the adding and subtracting stations, kids tap a number stone instead. At Beaver Bend, some planks float away down the river first and your child works out how many are left. A friendly beaver brings them back once the answer is right.
A trip is 6 bridges and takes about two or three minutes.
The eight stations
| Station | Skill |
|---|---|
| Pebble Creek | Make 5 |
| Maple River | Make 10 |
| Foggy Falls | Make 10 in your head (fog hides the planks) |
| Twin Peaks | Make 20 |
| Sunflower Canyon | Add within 20 |
| Beaver Bend | Take away within 20 |
| Mystery Gap | Find the missing number |
| Starry Summit | Mix it up |
Levels and how it adapts
Early stations put dots on every block so kids can count. After a streak of right answers, the dots fade away, and Foggy Falls covers the gap in fog, so kids can't count the empty spaces and the bond has to come from memory. The game keeps track of each fact and brings back the tricky ones more often.
A wrong block still flies in, and the count shows what happened: "6 and 5 make 11. That is 1 too many!" Then a ten frame appears showing what's there and what's missing, and your child tries again. After a second miss, Clover shows the answer with the ten frame, explains it, and the same fact comes back two bridges later. For additions that cross 10, the explanation uses make-a-ten: "8 and 2 make 10. 3 more makes 13." Nothing is timed and there's no losing.
Earn 2 stars on a station to open the next one. Three stars means every bridge was right on the first try. The ages picker on the title screen sets the starting point: ages 6 to 8 start at Maple River with the first four stations open, and ages 8 to 11 start further along.
Train cars, friends and the daily challenge
Every trip adds a new car to the collection, from the Apple Car to the Rainbow Coach and the Caboose, and your child chooses up to four to pull. Animal friends who ride along are saved too, 30 in all. Stickers for the shared Sticker Book come from the first trip, a first perfect trip, some new stations and the daily challenge. The Today button starts the daily challenge: 10 bridges, the same for everyone that day, matched to the age setting, with a streak counter for days in a row.
Tips for grown-ups
- Finger bonds: hold up 7 fingers and ask, "How many fingers are down?"
- Hide and count: put 10 crackers on a plate, hide some under a cup, and ask how many are hiding.
- Play "What makes 10?" in the car. You say a number and your child says its partner. Then try 20.
Privacy and safety
Bond Bridges has no ads, accounts, chat or leaderboards, and we don't use analytics or tracking on our learning games. Nothing is sent anywhere. Progress, cars and stickers are saved only on your device. It's free and plays in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer, with nothing to install.
Questions
What are number bonds?
Number bonds are pairs of numbers that add up to a whole, like 4 and 6 making 10. Knowing them by heart makes adding and subtracting faster and less error prone.
What age is Bond Bridges for?
Ages 5 to 8. Kindergarteners start with bonds to 5 and 10, and Grade 1 and 2 kids move on to 20, adding, subtracting and missing numbers.
How does the game help when my child gets it wrong?
The planks count up to show what the chosen block made, Clover says how far off it was, and a ten frame shows the fact. After a second miss, the answer is shown and explained, and the fact comes back soon for another try.
Is Bond Bridges free?
Yes. It's free with no ads and no purchases.
