Heya fellas,

usually I'm quite good with coming up with some ideas, but it's a challenge now:

long:

I'd like to create some small game, in best case for tablets ( but browser or PC would be ok'ish too ), aiming at kids at 3 to 7 years. There are quite a few of them in our family and they're all crazy about math (counting, adding numbers, even dividing/distributing etc.). In real world I can just challenge them with some equation or throwing a ball back and forth and count (little 3y old guy who counts to 52 :o). But that doesn't translate to a video game.

tldr:

Could you guys throw some "math game" ideas at me fitting:

- they might have problems reading all the numbers, at least the 3y old for sure,

- it shouldn't be plain stupid, like candy crush or columns.

- something where they could not really lose but only exceed

- no time pressure (it should not stress them, they might be allowed to play a round before bed and should be able to sleep)

- no reflex game e.g. whac a mole

- short rounds, something they could interrupt without feeling like they'll lose because of it.

you know, the perfect game for kids, nothing less. That's not a challenge for you guys, is it? ;)

Not sure that an educational game that engages my kid's brain and gets them thinking is something that I'd be inclined to let them play before bedtime :)

One that (I find) seems reasonable before bedtime is a marble maze game. Guide a marble through a maze to the finish within the time limit by tilting the smart phone while avoiding the holes on the path. It does feel as though there's something that could be added here, beyond just increasing the complexity and size of the maze, like some additional things to interact with.

Other than that, maybe some kind of detective themed game. Something hinging on logic and deduction, that sort of thing.

In real world I can just challenge them with some equation or throwing a ball back and forth and count (little 3y old guy who counts to 52 :o). But that doesn't translate to a video game.

Why not? I see no reason you couldn't make a game that amounts to just alternating between a question and some other activity. It could be an interactive story game where the story branches based on whether or not you answer questions correctly (no pressure, no reflexes, and no "lose" state, but the right answers give the "good" ending). It could be an endless runner where maybe after running for a short time (maybe you have to jump x number of obstacles), you need to answer a question to open a gate, then continue running again.

I think your age range might be too wide for a catch-all education game. A 3 year old and a 7 year old are going to be very different in terms of what keeps their attention, and what challenges them.