Stroopy
Paying attention when the word and the colour disagree
How it plays
A colour word appears, printed in the wrong colour. Your child taps the colour they can see, not the word they can read. There's a gentle countdown on each one, and a friendly score at the end with how quickly they answered.
What it's for
Paying attention when the word and the colour disagree. It adapts as your child plays: after a few rounds that go well it steps up a little, and after a couple of hard ones it quietly steps back. The level number only ever goes up. You can also set it up on the first screen: “How many colours?”, “Seconds to think”, “How many goes”.
There is no score to lose and no way to fail. Each word has a gentle countdown, but when it runs out the game simply moves on.
Away from the screen: Opposite day
About two minutes, with things most homes have.
- Give simple actions: "Touch your head."
- The rule is to do the opposite: touch your toes.
- Swap who gives the actions. Go slowly, then a bit faster.
Three questions to ask while they play
- What colour can you see, not what does the word say?
- Is it easier to go fast or slow?
- What helps you not to read the word?
Play together
Things to say or ask
- Say the colour you see, not the word.
- Your eyes and your brain are arguing! Who won?
- It's fine to go slowly. Fast comes later.
Taking turns on one device: One player says the colour aloud before the other taps it. Swap after each round.
Talk-about cards: a question a day for a week, for the car or the dinner table. Print them, or read them from your phone.
If they find it hard
On the first screen, choose "Two — nice and gentle" and more "Seconds to think". Or try Hold It, Quoll! first: stopping yourself with just one thing to watch.
A sheet to print
One A4 page, in black and white or colour.
What it practises
- Paying attention. Keeping focus when the easy answer is the wrong one.
PSC Self-management (General capabilities, Personal and Social Capability); EYLF 1 (Early Years Learning Framework V2.0) - Colours. Noticing and matching colours.
EYLF 4.2 (Early Years Learning Framework V2.0)
The codes are from the Early Years Learning Framework V2.0 (for children from birth to five) and the Australian Curriculum v9 (Foundation to Year 2). Each links to the official wording. Every skill, and the games for it.
What it costs, and what we collect
Nothing, and nothing. There is no account, no advertising and no tracking of any kind. Which games have been played is remembered on your own device and is never sent anywhere. The full version is here, and it's short.
Where it lives
Stroopy lives in The Dusty Red — attention and impulse control. It works on a phone, a tablet or a classroom screen, and once it's been opened it keeps working with no signal at all.
Updated