Counting Stars
Count the emojis, then pick the right number word from one to twenty. A happy first numbers game for kids aged 4-9.
- Main skill: Vocabulary
- Level: CEFR Pre-A1 to A1
- Age: Ages 4-9
- Typical round: About 4 minutes
For teachers Level, timing and a classroom note
What it practises: written number words one to twenty
- number words
- sight words
- Level
- CEFR Pre-A1 to A1
- Age band
- Ages 4-9
- One round
- About 4 minutes
- Works best
- Whole class
Project one screen and have the class count aloud, then read the three number words together before choosing one.
✓ Teaches after the answer: this game shows an explanation, definition or worked answer, not just a score.
Follow-up practice: Color Magic, Feed the Monster, Memory Flip.
How to play
- Count the emojis on the screen — point and count out loud!
- Look at the number words underneath.
- Tap the word that says how many you counted.
- Play again with new pictures and new numbers.
About Counting Stars
Counting Stars is a free counting game that teaches the English number words from one to twenty. In each round, a group of cheerful emojis appears on screen — four stars, seven apples, thirteen cats — and your child counts them, then picks the correct number word from the choices below. It sounds simple, and that is exactly the point: counting real objects and naming the quantity in English combines early maths with early language, two skills that reinforce each other in children aged about four to nine.
Many young learners can recite one-two-three as a chant long before they can match the word seven to seven actual things; Counting Stars closes that gap by making every answer a genuine counting task rather than memorised recital. The game uses the written number words — one all the way to twenty — alongside the countable pictures, so children gradually learn to recognise the words by sight while the pictures keep the meaning concrete. Rounds are short, feedback is instant and always encouraging, and there is no timer rushing small fingers.
Parents can play along by counting aloud together, which adds listening and speaking practice to the visual game. Like all 7ESL kids games, Counting Stars is completely free, shows no ads inside the game, requires no account, and has no daily limit — replay it as often as your child wants, at home, in the car, or as a quick numbers warm-up in an early-years classroom.
Why play Counting Stars?
- ✓ Connects real counting with English number words one to twenty.
- ✓ Counting aloud together adds speaking and listening practice for free.
- ✓ Instant, encouraging feedback — no timer rushing small fingers.
- ✓ Every round is freshly generated, so kids can replay endlessly.
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← All Kids GamesFrequently asked questions
What age is Counting Stars for?
Counting Stars is aimed at children roughly four to nine years old. Preschoolers practise counting itself while hearing the English words; early primary kids focus on reading the number words, including the harder teens — thirteen, fifteen, eighteen. It also suits older beginners meeting English numbers for the first time.
Is Counting Stars free?
Yes, 100% free. There are no ads inside the game, no purchases and no premium tier. The game runs straight in the browser with no download, and children play as guests — no account or sign-up is ever required to access every round.
Does my child need to read English to play?
Only a little, and the game teaches it. The counting itself needs no reading at all, and the answer choices are just three number words. Most children learn to recognise one to ten by sight within a few plays, and the teens follow soon after, especially when an adult reads the options aloud at first.
Is there a daily limit on Counting Stars?
No. Counting Stars is not a daily puzzle — there is no lockout and no once-per-day rule. Each round generates a new set of emojis and a new correct answer, so children can keep playing round after round, any day, completely free.
What does Counting Stars actually teach?
Two things at once: accurate counting of objects up to twenty, and the written English number words one through twenty — including the teens, which are the ones children find hardest to read and to say. As a bonus, the emoji sets recycle simple Pre-A1 nouns — stars, apples, cats, balloons — so children pick up extra vocabulary while they count.