Hit the Button is a free, fast-paced mental maths game that works well as a starter, a plenary or a quick break between lessons. Every round lasts 60 seconds, so it fits easily into the school day for KS1 and KS2 classes.
Using Hit the Button in the classroom
- Whole-class starter: put the game on the interactive whiteboard and let pupils take turns or call out answers.
- Warm-up before a lesson: use the table or skill you are about to teach, e.g. 6× before a lesson on multiplying two-digit numbers.
- Independent practice: pupils play on tablets or laptops and record their best score.
- Homework: set a target score for the week – it is free and needs no login.
- Intervention groups: short, focused rounds on one table or one set of number bonds.
Curriculum links
The game supports the National Curriculum expectation that pupils recall multiplication and division facts up to 12 × 12 by the end of Year 4, and it covers number bonds, doubling and halving for KS1.
| Year group | Suggested games |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | Number bonds to 10, doubling to 10 |
| Year 2 | Number bonds to 20, 2×, 5× and 10× tables |
| Year 3 | 3×, 4× and 8× tables, number bonds to 100 |
| Year 4 | All tables to 12 × 12, division facts – MTC preparation |
| Year 5–6 | Mixed tables at speed, square numbers, fractions |
Tips for getting the most from it
- Little and often: two minutes a day beats twenty minutes once a week.
- Start on Easy, then move pupils up when they are consistently accurate.
- Focus on personal bests rather than class leaderboards, so slower pupils stay motivated.
- Pair the game with strategy talk – derived facts, doubling, using known facts.
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