Three free UK money games
Money Workshop uses British coin values in three activities: Count the coins, Make the amount and Give change. Choose an amount range up to 20p, £1 or £5. Each combination of activity and range has eight challenges, its own saved progress and a completion sticker. The activities are free without an account or installation.
There is no countdown, lost life or automatic sound. You can change an answer and try again without losing progress. A correct answer stays visible until you choose Next challenge. Explanations offer support and can reveal a solution; these are practice activities, not independent tests.
Count the coins
Look at each coin’s value, add those values and choose the total from four amounts. Five coins do not necessarily make five pence: a 20p and a 5p coin make 25p, while five 1p coins make 5p. Each displayed coin also has a written denomination beneath it. The pictures and labels support learning together.
The examples use 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2 denominations, with larger values introduced through the selected amount range. Sets contain at most ten coins. Coin designs can vary in real life; the photographs show selected 2023 definitive reverses rather than every circulating design.
Make the amount
Choose Add beneath a denomination to put one coin on the money mat. Remove takes one of that denomination away. The mat shows the quantity of each chosen coin, an addition statement and the total value. Any combination that makes the requested amount is correct: 10p can be one 10p coin, two 5p coins or ten 1p coins.
You do not have to find the smallest number of coins. Undo reverses a recent coin edit while this activity is open. Clear mat removes the current selection so you can try a different combination. There is a limit of 500 selected coins; every requested amount can be made within that limit.
Give change
Read both the price and the amount paid. Choose coins for the amount that should be returned. For a price of 65p paid with £1, count 35p back to make the full 100p. The relationship is price + change = amount paid. The up-to-20p route gives change from 20p, the £1 route from £1, and the £5 route from £5.
Some customers pay the exact price. In that case choose No change, then check. An empty mat alone does not submit that answer: the choice is deliberate. No change clears selected coins. Other rounds need a positive amount returned, and valid alternative coin combinations are accepted.
Pounds and pence
There are 100 pence in £1. The symbol p means pence and £ means pounds. £1.05 is one pound and five pence, or 105p; it is not 150p. Amounts under £1 are displayed in pence, while amounts of £1 or more use two decimal places. Arithmetic is checked in whole pence.
Value is different from physical size. A 2p coin is larger than a 5p coin but is worth less. Use the denomination to count. Photographs retain their proportions and are presented at screen sizes suitable for the controls; they are not physical measuring templates.
Touch, mouse and keyboard controls
Tap or click the large choices and Add/Remove controls. With a keyboard, use Tab to reach a control and Enter or Space to use it. No dragging, precise coin placement or fast reaction is needed. Check my answer confirms your work; a selection needing changes stays on the mat with guidance. Show an explanation is available without a penalty.
Save each activity and earn its sticker
All nine routes save independently in this browser on this device when local storage is available. The selected activity, range, challenge order, chosen count answer, coin quantities and No change choice are kept. Reopen the page and choose Continue activity. Undo history and open explanations are temporary and start fresh after reopening.
Complete eight challenges to earn that route’s sticker in the sticker book. Try a new set replaces only the completed route; other routes and earned stickers stay. New sets vary totals and coin arrangements, though familiar examples can appear again. A storage notice appears if progress cannot be kept beyond the open page.
Use the favourite control to add Money Workshop to Your games on the homepage. Progress is device-based: another browser or cleared storage starts fresh. There is no real money, payment, prize or financial account involved.
Using the activity together
Ask which different coins could make the same total, why £1 and 100p have equal value, or how to check change by adding it back to the price. This supports selected money objectives in England’s primary mathematics programme. It does not cover banknotes, budgeting, interest, currency exchange or the whole money curriculum.
Coin photographs: The Royal Mint, 2023, used for this free educational activity under its educational website photography policy. The Royal Mint does not sponsor or endorse this game.
For related number practice, try Bond Pairs, Times Tables or Fraction Workshop.