How to play Bond Pairs
Every round is one incomplete sum, laid out across the middle of the screen as three cards: the number you have been given, a blank marked with a question mark, and the whole you are aiming for. Above it a coloured banner says what you are making - Make 10 - and below it the sentence 6 and… makes 10 waits for its middle word. Two or four numbered squares sit at the bottom. Tap the one that fills the gap.
Get it right and the square turns green, the sentence completes to 6 and 4 makes 10, and a new sum arrives about a second later. Get it wrong and the correct square lights up green anyway, so the answer is never withheld - on the two-choice setting the game then moves straight on, and on the four-choice setting the board resets after a moment so the same question can be tried again. There is no timer, no countdown and no way to run out of anything.
Controls
- Touchscreen: tap a numbered square. The squares are large and evenly spread across the width, so they stay easy to hit on a tablet.
- Mouse: click a square.
- Keyboard:the squares are ordinary buttons, so Tab moves between them and Enter or Space picks one. Each announces itself as "Pick 4" for a screen reader.
- Menu: a button above the sum returns to the settings screen, which is where you change bond family or the number of choices mid-session.
Bond families, choices and the ten-frame
Three settings on the menu shape a session, and none of them are hidden behind a level system - an adult picks them directly:
- Which bonds? Bonds to 5, bonds to 10 (the default) or bonds to 20. Zero counts as a partner, so 0 and 10 comes up as readily as 6 and 4.
- How many choices? Easy gives two squares, Harder gives four. The wrong squares are always numbers close to the right one, so a child has to add rather than pick the odd one out.
- Ten-frame hint - on by default. A small frame under the sum shades one dot for each unit of the number already on the table. Bonds to 5 draws a row of five, bonds to 10 the familiar two-by-five ten frame, bonds to 20 four rows of five. The empty dots are the answer, so the fact is always visible to a child who cannot yet recall it.
- Say the stem sentence- off by default. Switch it on and the sentence is spoken aloud each round: "six and four makes ten", with "let's try again" added after a wrong tap.
A counter in the corner shows correct answers against rounds attempted, for example 7 / 9, so it is easy to see at a glance whether a family is secure or still being worked out.
Stickers
Two sets of stickers run at once. Every correct pair adds to an all-time total that carries between visits, unlocking First Pair, Pair Starter, Pair Pro and Pair Masterat 1, 10, 30 and 100 pairs. Separately, ten correct answers within a single bond family earn that family's practice sticker - Bonds to 5, Bonds to 10 or Bonds to 20 - which is shared with the other number-bond games on the site, so the sticker book records accumulated practice across those games. A sticker is not an assessment of independent fluency.
Tips for building bond fluency
- Two choices offers a smaller selection. Four choices offers more alternatives to compare. Choose the setting and visual support that suit the learner; there is no timed test.
- Keep the ten-frame visible while it helps. It can be hidden from the menu for a different kind of practice, and turned back on at any time. There is no requirement to stop counting.
- Say the stem sentence out loud with the child, even with the spoken version switched off. "Six and four makes ten" is the form of words that later becomes 6 + 4 = 10.
- Keep the whole visible when changing families. Stay with ten or choose twenty when it suits the activity; the game does not require a fixed order through the families.
- When bonds to 10 are automatic, move on to Tens Train for the same facts scaled up to 100, or Missing Number for the same idea written as an equation.
Who Bond Pairs is for
England’s primary mathematics programme includes representing number bonds and related subtraction facts within twenty in Year 1, and fluent recall and use of addition and subtraction facts to twenty in Year 2. This game offers practice with a visible whole and optional quantity support. It is not a complete curriculum or a test of independent mastery.Read the programme of study.
The ten-frame hint is what makes it work for children who are not there yet. It carries the concrete-pictorial-abstract progression inside a single screen: the frame shows the quantity, the number cards show the symbols, and a child can lean on the picture for as long as they need before it is switched off. With no timer and no lives, it also suits children who freeze under time pressure. It runs in any modern browser on a tablet, laptop or classroom whiteboard, which makes it as workable over a screen share as it is in the room.
Questions parents and tutors ask
What are number bonds?
The pairs of numbers that add together to make a given whole. The bonds to 10 are 0 and 10, 1 and 9, 2 and 8 and so on. Counting or using the frame can help check the relationship while recall develops.
Which bond families does the game cover?
Bonds to 5, 10 and 20, chosen on the menu. Bonds to 10 is the default; a direct family link can preselect another. Zero is included in every family.
What is the ten-frame hint?
A small frame that shades one dot per unit of the number you have been given. The empty dots are the answer, so the fact stays visible while a child is still building recall. It is on by default and can be turned off.
Is there a timer or a way to lose?
No. No countdown, no lives. A wrong tap reveals the right answer in green, then either moves on or lets the child try the same question again, depending on which choice setting you are using.
Is Bond Pairs free to play?
Yes. It is free to play in your browser, with no signup, no download and no in-game purchases. Built by a UK SEND tutor with QTS.