Is Cats in Space free?

Yes. The whole game is free, with no ads and no in-app purchases. Kids earn crystals by playing and spend them in the Cat Shop.

What grades is Cats in Space for?

Grades 1, 2 and 3. Pick the math level on the main screen and every problem in the game matches it.

Does my child need an account or a download?

No. The game runs in the web browser on any phone, tablet or computer with an internet connection. There is no sign-up.

Does the game collect my child's information?

No. There are no accounts, no ads and no tracking cookies. Game progress is saved only on the device being played on. Site visits are counted with a cookieless tool that cannot identify anyone.

Why does the game use typed answers instead of multiple choice?

Typing the answer means the child has to recall the fact, not guess from a list. That recall is what builds math fact fluency.

One minute, in the style of a classroom mad minute. The countdown can be switched off for a slower, no-pressure round.

← Play Cats in Space

Cats in Space, for parents and teachers

A free space math game for grades 1 to 3. Kids steer a cat around the moon in one-minute rounds and type the answer to a math problem to dig up each geode. No ads, no sign-up, no download.

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How it plays

Pick a cat and a world. Mango, Midnight, Snowball, Big Tuna, Bobcat or Puff Ball, flying to the Moon, Mars or Saturn's rings.
Fly around the world in one minute. Kids steer by touch or with the arrow keys, grab space snacks for a speed boost, and dodge meteor showers. A meteor hit knocks a geode out of the bag.
Solve to dig. Every geode opens a math problem. Kids type the answer on a big number pad. A wrong answer gives a new problem instead of the same one again.
Crack them open at home. Back on Earth, each geode holds one of 30 kinds of crystal, or sometimes just space dust.
Spend and collect. Crystals buy hats, suit styles and colors, rocket types and colors, and sparkle trails in the Cat Shop. Finding more crystals unlocks Mars and Saturn's rings.

The math, by grade

Choose the level on the main screen. Every problem in a round, and in the Golden Geode Challenge, comes from that level.

1st grade

Adding and subtracting within 10, with some addition within 20. Supports fluency within 10 and the strategies behind Common Core 1.OA.C.6.

2nd grade

Adding and subtracting within 20, plus two-digit problems within 100 that don't need regrouping. Supports 2.OA.B.2 and early 2.NBT.B.5.

3rd grade

Multiplication and division facts within 100, plus two-digit addition and subtraction with regrouping. Supports 3.OA.C.7 and 3.NBT.A.2.

Why it works for fact practice

Typed answers, not multiple choice. Kids have to recall the fact, so a lucky guess can't carry them.
Mad minute pacing. One-minute rounds keep practice short and repeatable. The countdown can be switched off for kids who need a calmer round.
A "read it to me" button speaks each problem out loud for early readers.
A help chart on every problem. An adding grid, a take-away grid or a times table, matched to the problem on screen. The clock pauses while it is open, so looking something up never costs a kid the round.
Brain power bonus. Finish a round without opening the chart and earn 3 bonus crystals. Kids who do use the chart keep everything they dug up, so asking for help is never punished.
Golden Geode Challenge. A separate speed round: 10 problems in 60 seconds (8 at the 3rd grade level) wins a golden geode with a guaranteed rare crystal.
Reasons to come back. A 30-crystal collection, a shop and unlockable worlds reward more practice, not more screen time for its own sake.

Meet Leighton, the kid who made this

Cats in Space started on paper. Leighton drew the whole thing by hand: the cats, the rocket, the moon covered in geodes, and the crystals hiding inside them. She had the rules worked out too. Fly around the moon, dig up geodes, carry them home to Earth, crack them open, and find out what is inside. Sometimes it is a rare crystal. Sometimes it is a pile of space dust.

Then she showed the drawing to her mom, and the two of them built it for real.

The math is the part her mom cared about. Homework and fact practice can turn an afternoon into a standoff. Nobody wants to do one more page of addition. But a kid will happily answer twenty problems to dig up one more geode, because the crystal at the end is worth it. Same practice, better afternoon.

Leighton is still the designer. New cats, new worlds and new rules start with her, and her mom builds them.

Safe for kids

No accounts, no ads, no chat and no tracking cookies. Progress is saved only in the browser on the device being played. We count site visits with Cloudflare Web Analytics, which uses no cookies and cannot identify a visitor, and we use no advertising or marketing trackers. Read the privacy policy.

Questions

Is it free?: Yes. No ads and no in-app purchases. Crystals are earned only by playing.
What devices does it run on?: Any phone, tablet, Chromebook or computer with a web browser and an internet connection.
Does progress carry between devices?: No. Crystals and shop items stay on the device where they were earned. Playing on a new device starts a fresh game.
Can I use it in class?: Yes. Share catsinspacekids.com with students. There is nothing to install and no class codes.