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Subtraction Sprint is a free online subtraction game you can play straight in the browser, with no download and no account. A ladder of numbers runs down the screen from a starting number to a flag at the bottom, and a hand of hop cards sits underneath. Standing on 47 with 39 as the next rung, the question is not "what is 47 minus 8" — it is "47 down to 39, what do I take away?". That is the missing-subtrahend form of subtraction, the half that shop change and mental arithmetic actually use, and the half a type-the-answer drill never asks for. Pick the right card and you drop a rung; pick a wrong one and you stay put and lose two seconds. The deck holds exactly the hops the ladder needs, plus a few decoys on the later levels that never fit anywhere, so a ladder can always be finished and a wrong card only ever costs time. Twelve levels grow from four small hops down to zero up to eight hops of nearly thirty — and four of them hide the rung you are standing on, so the running total is yours to keep.
How to play Subtraction Sprint
- Press Start. The ladder shows your starting number at the top, a flag at the bottom, and the checkpoints in between.
- The line above the ladder names the hop you need: "47 → 39, take away how much?".
- Tap the card carrying that number. You drop to the next rung and the card is spent.
- A card that does not fit leaves you exactly where you are, costs two seconds and tells you the number you actually needed.
- Keep going until you land on the flag. Landing there is the win — there is no way to overshoot past it, because only the right card moves you.
- From level seven the rung you are standing on reads "?" instead of a number. The rungs below still show their values, so the hop is still a sum — you just have to hold your own position.
- Clear the ladder before the clock empties to unlock the next level. Misses cost stars, not progress.
- Restart replays the same ladder; New Ladder builds a different one at the same level.
Tips
- Count up, not down. "39 to 47" is easier to feel than "47 take away what?", and the answer is the same number.
- Bridge through the nearest ten. From 47 to 39, drop 7 to reach 40, then 1 more — so the card you want is 8.
- Check the units digit first. Going from 62 to 45 has to end in a 7, and usually only one card does.
- On the blind levels, say your position out loud after each hop. Spoken numbers survive a distraction far better than remembered ones.
- Leftover cards are information. Late in a ladder, if only one unused card can possibly cover the gap left to the flag, you have your answer without doing the sum.
- The decoys on the later levels never fit any rung on the ladder, so a card you cannot place anywhere is a decoy — ignore it rather than doubting your arithmetic.
- Two seconds is a real cost when a level gives you sixty. It is nearly always faster to check a hop than to test two cards.
FAQ
Is Subtraction Sprint free to play?
Yes. It runs in your browser with no download, no sign-up and nothing to buy. All twelve levels are included and unlock as you clear them.
What kind of subtraction does this practise?
The missing subtrahend: you are shown where you are and where you need to be, and you supply the amount taken away. It is the form used for working out change and for mental arithmetic generally, and it is harder than being handed a sum to evaluate.
What age is it for?
The first levels hop by two to nine down to zero, which suits around ages six and up. The last ones hop by up to twenty-nine from three-digit starts and hide your position, which is a genuine adult workout.
Can I get stuck with the wrong cards left over?
No. The deck holds exactly the hops the ladder needs, and the decoys dealt on later levels are generated so they never match any hop on that ladder. A wrong card cannot be spent, so no sequence of taps can make a ladder unfinishable.
What happens when I pick the wrong card?
You stay on your rung, the clock loses two seconds, and the line above the ladder tells you the exact number you needed. Nothing is lost except time, and the miss count only affects your star rating.
Why does the ladder hide my position on some levels?
From level seven the rung under you reads "?" so that you have to carry the running total yourself, which is what mental subtraction actually feels like. The rungs below stay labelled, so the hop is still arithmetic rather than a guess.
How is this different from the other maths games here?
Mental Math Challenge and Multiplication Sprint show a sum and ask you to type the answer. Addition Blitz gives you a total and asks which tiles make it. This one gives you both ends of a subtraction and asks for the amount in between.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. The ladder is vertical rather than a horizontal number line precisely so it fits a portrait screen, and every action is a single tap on a thumb-sized card.