Help and FAQ

Getting started

What is Roll & Read?

A phonics game for early readers. Your child rolls a die, hears a word and taps the card that shows it. The words follow a structured-literacy order, from short vowels to silent letters, in 25 small steps called sublevels. Every word has its own clear recording.

Who sets up the account?

A grown-up: a parent, guardian or teacher. Children don’t sign up, don’t need an email address and never see payment screens. You create a reader profile for each child, and they just play.

How do I get started?

Sign up with your email. The free plan needs no card. Then add a reader in Settings with a first name or nickname and an avatar. Family and Classroom plans let you add more readers.

Which level should my child start at?

Most children start at 1A, which teaches short a and i. If your child already reads simple short-vowel words with ease, you can place them higher in Settings. You can see what every sublevel teaches under Progress and levels.

What do we need to play?

A web browser. There’s nothing to install. Keep the sound on, because the game reads every word aloud. Headphones help in a busy room.

Can I use Roll & Read with a class?

Yes. The Classroom plan holds up to 30 student profiles and includes the Teacher dashboard, where you can see every reader’s progress and print a report.

Playing

How does a turn work?

Your child taps Roll. The row with that many dots lights up, and they hear a word from it. They tap the card with that word. A right answer earns coins and the word goes into their Word Bank. To hear the word again, they can tap “Hear it again” or press the space bar.

A board has 6 rows of 5 words. When five rows are done, the last row starts on its own. Clearing all six rows finishes the board.

What happens when my child taps the wrong word?

• The word plays again, a little slower.
• After 3 misses, the right card is highlighted for a moment.
• After 5 misses, the right card stays highlighted.
• After 7 misses, the game moves on and saves the word for practice.

What are silly words?

Made-up words like “zib”. Because a child can’t know them from memory, they have to sound them out, which is a good check of real decoding. Silly words sit on lavender cards with a little alien badge, and the game explains them the first time one appears.

Can I choose real words or silly words?

Yes. In Settings, under Word mode, pick Real words, Silly words, or Mixed. Mixed is the default and the one we recommend. Each reader has their own word mode.

How do coins and stickers work?

Every word read correctly earns coins: 5 at Level 1, 8 at Level 2, 12 at Level 3, 18 at Level 4 and 25 at Level 5.

There are nearly 600 stickers in 10 categories. Your child earns a sticker for their first board, every fifth board, a perfect board, a 3, 7 or 30 day streak, and moving up a level. They pick a category and reveal what they got. They can also spend coins in the Shop on sticker packs: 50 coins for 1 sticker, 150 for 3 from one category, or 500 for 5 with better odds of rare ones. Their collection lives in the Sticker book.

What is the Word Bank?

Every word your child reads correctly is saved there. You can filter it by level and by real or silly words, or search for a word.

What is the Practice page?

It holds the words your child found hard. Words appear one at a time and are read aloud, with a button to hear them again. If your child reads it, tap “Got it” to earn 3 coins and take it off the list. If not, tap “Still hard” and it stays for next time. When nothing is left, the page says you’re all caught up.

Progress and levels

What does each sublevel teach?

There are 5 levels split into 25 sublevels. Each sublevel focuses on one group of spelling patterns.

How does my child move up a level?

After at least 7 boards at a sublevel, the game looks at the last 3 boards. If, on average, your child read 80% or more of the words right on the first try, they move up to the next sublevel and earn a sticker.

Why are there words from other levels on the board?

Two reasons. Each board mixes in some words from earlier levels, so skills stay fresh. And after 4 boards at a sublevel, a reader who is doing well starts to see some words from the next sublevel, so the step up feels smaller.

What happens to words my child missed?

They come back on later boards until your child reads them on the first try. You can also go over them on the Practice page.

Can I change my child’s level?

Yes. In Settings, which sits behind the grown-up PIN, you can move a reader up or down to any level your plan includes. Their progress toward the next level then starts again from zero. The free plan includes Level 1 only.

Where can I see how my child is doing?

The Progress page shows boards cleared, current level, day streak and coins, plus accuracy over recent sessions, a map of the levels, a list of recent sessions and the words to practise. A day streak counts the days in a row on which your child finished at least one board.

What is the Teacher dashboard?

One page that shows every reader on your account: how many boards they’ve cleared, average accuracy, level progress, an accuracy trend, recent sessions and the words each reader needs to practise. There’s a button to print a report. It’s part of the Classroom plan and sits behind the grown-up PIN.

Accessibility

What font are the words in?

Words are printed in Andika, which uses the single-storey a and g that children learn to write. If OpenDyslexic suits your child better, choose it in Settings under Font.

Can I make the words bigger?

Yes. The Word size slider in Settings goes from 20 to 32 pixels, with a preview as you move it.

Can I change the colours?

There are 5 themes: Ocean adventure, Space explorer and Enchanted forest are dark; Candy land and Classic classroom are light. The free plan includes Ocean adventure and Classic classroom, and paid plans include all five. Each reader keeps their own theme.

Can I turn the sound down or off?

Yes. Settings has a Volume slider and a Mute all sound switch. Muting also silences the words, and the game depends on hearing them, so it’s best for quiet moments away from play.

Do these settings follow my child to another device?

The theme is saved with each reader, so it follows them. Font, word size and sound are saved in the browser you set them in, so set them again on a new device.

Grown-ups and privacy

What is the grown-up PIN?

An optional 4-digit PIN that locks Settings, Billing and the Teacher dashboard, so children can’t change things by accident. They can still play and use every other page. Set it up in Settings under Grown-up PIN, where you can also change or remove it.

How long does it stay unlocked?

It locks again after 3 minutes without activity. You can lock it straight away with the lock button at the top of the screen.

I forgot the PIN. What do I do?

On the PIN screen, choose “Forgot PIN?” and pick a new PIN. Then confirm it’s you with your password or a code we email to the address on your account.

What if someone keeps guessing?

After 5 wrong tries, the PIN screen asks you to wait a minute. Each wrong try after that doubles the wait, up to an hour. A correct PIN, or choosing “Forgot PIN?”, clears it.

What do you collect about my child?

Only what you enter, a first name or nickname and an avatar, plus their progress in the game. There are no ads, we don’t sell or rent personal information, and we don’t use advertising trackers. The privacy policy has the details.

Can teachers use it with students?

Yes. A school can agree to its use for classroom learning on parents’ behalf. Student information is used only to run the game for the class, never for ads or anything commercial, and schools look after their own notices to parents. See the privacy policy for more.

How do I delete a reader or my account?

To delete a reader, open Settings and use the delete button next to their name. This removes their progress, word bank, stickers and session history, and it can’t be undone. To delete your whole account, open the account menu (your picture at the top right), choose Manage account, then Delete account. Every reader and their data goes with it, and any subscription is canceled. You can also email support@rollandreadgame.com.

Billing

What does each plan cost?

• Free, $0: 1 reader, Level 1 (1A to 1H), Ocean adventure and Classic classroom themes.
• Individual, $7.99 a month: 1 reader, all 25 sublevels, all 5 themes.
• Family, $14.99 a month: up to 5 readers, all 25 sublevels, all 5 themes.
• Classroom, $49 a month: up to 30 readers, all 25 sublevels, all 5 themes and the Teacher dashboard.

The free plan stays free, with no card needed.

What happens when a free reader finishes Level 1?

Level 2 and above need a paid plan. The game lets you know when your reader is ready, and you can upgrade then.

How do I upgrade?

Open Billing (behind the grown-up PIN) and choose a plan. Payment happens on Stripe’s secure checkout page, where you can also enter a promotion code if you have one.

How do I switch plans or cancel?

On the Billing page, choose Manage subscription. This opens Stripe’s billing portal, where you can change or cancel your plan. If you cancel, your plan keeps working until the end of the period you’ve paid for. Payments are non-refundable except where the law says otherwise. The terms have the full details.

What happens after my plan ends?

Your account goes back to the free plan. Your readers and their progress stay in your account, and Level 2 and above unlock again if you pick a paid plan later.

Is my payment information safe?

Payments are handled by Stripe. We don’t store your full card number, only a Stripe reference and your plan.

Still need help?

Email us at support@rollandreadgame.com. We’re happy to help with setup, levels, billing or anything else.