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What you'll learn

  • Use times-table facts and place value to solve 80 × 700
  • Round numbers like 2,998 to 3,000, then adjust the right way
  • Use constant difference to turn tricky subtractions into easy ones
  • Partition numbers to multiply and divide large numbers mentally
  • Double one factor and halve the other without changing the product
  • Multiply or divide before adding or subtracting, and estimate to check

Chapter by chapter

  1. Use known facts with huge numbers Free to try

    Year 6 maths · 1

  2. Round and adjust to add and subtract

    Year 6 maths · 1

  3. Use the same difference to subtract

    Year 6 maths · 1

  4. Partition to multiply and divide

    Year 6 maths · 1

  5. Double, halve and use factors to multiply

    Year 6 maths · 1

  6. Solve mixed operations in your head

    Year 6 maths · 1

  7. Final launch: mental maths challenge (10 questions)

See every Maths chapter in the chapter library

What the chapters cover in the national curriculum in England:

  1. Year 6 maths: Perform mental calculations, including with mixed operations and large numbers

About this adventure

Year 6 Mental Maths: A Brainstorm Rocket Mission is an interactive game that teaches children aged 10–11 to work out calculations with large numbers and mixed operations in their head. The rocket's calculator has broken, so Nova the robot guides the player planet by planet, learning a different mental strategy on each one.

Players slide digits along a place value chart, jump along number lines, split area models into easy parts and reshape rectangles to see why tricks work. They meet compensation (rounding a number like 1,999 to 2,000, then adjusting), constant difference, partitioning, and doubling and halving. Every planet ends with typed and multiple-choice practice that gives a tailored hint when a common mistake shows up.

The last planet brings the strategies together: doing multiplication before subtraction, choosing whether a calculation suits mental or written methods, and estimating to check whether an answer is sensible.

Questions and answers

What mental maths strategies are taught in Year 6?

Year 6 children are expected to use mental methods with large numbers and mixed operations. Common strategies include using known facts and place value, rounding and adjusting, constant difference, partitioning, and doubling and halving, plus doing multiplication and division before addition and subtraction.

How do you subtract a number like 2,998 in your head?

Subtract 3,000, then add 2 back, because taking away 3,000 removes 2 too many. For example, 7,240 − 2,998 is 7,240 − 3,000 = 4,240, then 4,240 + 2 = 4,242.

What is the constant difference method in subtraction?

Constant difference means adding or taking away the same amount from both numbers, which keeps the answer the same. So 23,004 − 18,998 becomes 23,006 − 19,000, which is much easier to work out: 4,006.

What age is this mental maths game for?

The game is designed for children aged 10 to 11, matching the Year 6 national curriculum in England. Confident Year 5 pupils and older children revising before KS2 SATs or starting Year 7 can also use it to practise.

What does the Brainstorm Rocket game include and how long does it take?

It includes six planets, each teaching one mental strategy with hands-on visuals and five practice questions, followed by a 10-question launch challenge. Playing everything takes about 45 minutes, and children can start from any planet.

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