A puzzle, not a lesson · No account · No subscription
A DragonBox Algebra alternative
that's a puzzle first, and never a course.
DragonBox Algebra is an award-winning educational game designed by a former math teacher: children move cards to isolate a box on one side of the board and, card by card, discover they have been solving equations. It is now Kahoot! Algebra by DragonBox, part of the Kahoot! Kids family of learning apps. Tare shares one idea with it — two sides that must stay equal — but it is a logic puzzle, not a lesson. Each of its 80 levels is a painted hanging mobile; you hang numbered weights until every beam balances, and you work out hidden weights from wordless picture cards.
How does Tare compare to DragonBox Algebra?
An algebra tutor disguised as a game, and a logic puzzle built on the lever rule. Here's where each one fits.
What it's for
Tare: A logic puzzle for any age. There is no curriculum and no symbols — one physical rule, followed exactly, and levels that ask you to reason with it.
DragonBox Algebra: Teaching algebra. It covers solving equations with addition, subtraction, division and multiplication and is recommended from age five; Kahoot! Algebra 2 by DragonBox continues for ages 12 to 17.
DragonBox Algebra: Teaching algebra. It covers solving equations with addition, subtraction, division and multiplication and is recommended from age five; Kahoot! Algebra 2 by DragonBox continues for ages 12 to 17.
How a puzzle works
Tare: Drag weights numbered 1 to 9 onto hooks at notches 1 to 4 either side of each pivot until every beam balances — weight × distance equal on both sides, with a nested beam pulling its whole load at the hook it hangs from.
DragonBox Algebra: Manipulate cards to get the DragonBox alone on one side of the board. As you progress, the cards are replaced by numbers and variables, and you find you have been isolating x in an equation.
DragonBox Algebra: Manipulate cards to get the DragonBox alone on one side of the board. As you progress, the cards are replaced by numbers and variables, and you find you have been isolating x in an equation.
The unknowns
Tare: Some weights hide inside a “?” bubble, and a beam carrying one sways instead of tilting, so you can't weigh it. Picture cards — equal, heavier, balanced on unequal arms — are the only way to deduce what it weighs.
DragonBox Algebra: The unknown is the DragonBox — later x — and each puzzle is about getting it alone on one side.
DragonBox Algebra: The unknown is the DragonBox — later x — and each puzzle is about getting it alone on one side.
How much there is
Tare: 80 handcrafted levels in four chapters of 20, each machine-checked to have exactly one answer.
DragonBox Algebra: 200 puzzles in 10 chapters — five learning, five training — plus daily puzzles. Algebra 2 has 357 puzzles in 20 chapters.
DragonBox Algebra: 200 puzzles in 10 chapters — five learning, five training — plus daily puzzles. Algebra 2 has 357 puzzles in 20 chapters.
Price and account
Tare: Free download; Chapter I's 20 levels are free forever; one $2.99 purchase unlocks the other 60, with Family Sharing. No account, no subscription, no ads.
DragonBox Algebra: Free to start, with full access through a premium upgrade. The listed in-app purchases are Kahoot! Kids at $5.99 a month or $35.99 a year — the description mentions a 7-day free trial — and a $19.99 one-time purchase. Accounts and profiles are managed in a Parents menu.
DragonBox Algebra: Free to start, with full access through a premium upgrade. The listed in-app purchases are Kahoot! Kids at $5.99 a month or $35.99 a year — the description mentions a 7-day free trial — and a $19.99 one-time purchase. Accounts and profiles are managed in a Parents menu.
Privacy and platforms
Tare: Data Not Collected — no account, no analytics, no networking code, fully offline. iPhone and iPad, iOS 18 or later. No words in the puzzle.
DragonBox Algebra: Data Linked to You: contact info, user content, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics, with identifiers and usage data used for analytics. iPhone and iPad, iOS 15 or later, in 13 languages.
DragonBox Algebra: Data Linked to You: contact info, user content, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics, with identifiers and usage data used for analytics. iPhone and iPad, iOS 15 or later, in 13 languages.
| Feature | Tare | DragonBox Algebra |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A logic puzzle | An educational algebra game |
| Who it's for | Any age — rated 4+, nothing to read | Recommended from age five (Algebra 2: ages 12–17) |
| The core idea | Weight × distance equal on both sides of every beam | Isolate the box — later x — on one side |
| The unknowns | Hidden “?” weights, deduced from picture cards | The box, which becomes x |
| Content | 80 handcrafted levels | 200 puzzles in 10 chapters, plus daily puzzles |
| Price | Free; $2.99 once for the other 60 levels | Free to start; Kahoot! Kids $5.99/month or $35.99/year; $19.99 one-time option |
| Account | None, ever | Kahoot! Kids account for profiles and subscriptions |
| App Store privacy label | Data Not Collected | Data Linked to You, incl. analytics |
| Languages | No words in the puzzle | 13 languages |
| Platforms | iPhone and iPad | iPhone and iPad |
| Best for | A calm puzzle the whole family can share | Teaching a child to solve equations |
DragonBox details were checked on 9 October 2026 against the US App Store listings for Kahoot! Algebra by DragonBox and Kahoot! Algebra 2 by DragonBox, including their release notes, in-app purchases and privacy labels. The description and the release notes describe the pricing differently, so check the current offer before installing.
Honest verdict — a tutor and a puzzle
Pick Tare if you want…
- A puzzle, not a lesson — no curriculum, no symbols, no score
- One balance rule, with hidden weights to deduce from picture clues
- No account, no subscription and nothing collected
- No words, so it plays the same at any age in any language
- 20 levels free, then one $2.99 purchase, with Family Sharing
Pick DragonBox Algebra if you want…
- A child learning to solve equations, from age five
- A path that ends with real equations — numbers and x
- Algebra 2 for older students, ages 12 to 17
- A Kahoot! Kids subscription that includes other learning apps
- An award-winning design from a former math teacher
If you want your child to learn algebra, DragonBox was built for exactly that, and Tare wasn't. If you want a balance puzzle the whole family can share — no account, no subscription, nothing to read — that's Tare.
About Tare
Questions
FAQ
What is a good alternative to DragonBox Algebra?
It depends on the goal. For learning algebra, stay with DragonBox — Kahoot! Algebra 2 by DragonBox continues it for ages 12 to 17. For a balance puzzle with no account or subscription, Tare is a wordless logic puzzle for iPhone and iPad: hang weights numbered 1 to 9 until every beam on a mobile balances, and deduce hidden weights from picture cards. Its first 20 levels are free and one $2.99 purchase unlocks the other 60.
Does Tare teach algebra?
Not as a course, and we don't claim it does. Tare has no lessons, no symbols and no equations. Its rule — a beam balances when weight times distance is equal on both sides — is the same idea as keeping both sides of an equation equal, and working out a hidden weight from picture cards is a kind of solving for an unknown. But if the goal is to learn to solve equations on paper, DragonBox is designed for exactly that.
Is DragonBox Algebra free?
Kahoot! Algebra by DragonBox is a free download, and its release notes say it is now free to start, with full access through a premium upgrade. Its App Store description still says a Kahoot! Kids subscription is required, starting with a 7-day free trial, and the in-app purchases listed are $5.99 a month, $35.99 a year and a $19.99 one-time purchase. Tare's first 20 levels are free forever; one $2.99 purchase unlocks the rest.
What age is Tare for?
Tare is rated 4+ and has no words anywhere in its puzzles, so anyone who can drag a weight can start. The arithmetic is small — weights 1 to 9 at notches 1 to 4 — but the later chapters ask for real deduction: mobiles with several beams that must balance at once, hidden weights, and decoys that fit nowhere. There is no timer and no lives.
Do I need an account for either app?
Tare never asks for one: no account, no sign-in, no ads, no analytics and no networking code, and its App Store label is Data Not Collected — its privacy policy has the detail. Kahoot! Algebra by DragonBox uses a Kahoot! Kids account for profiles and subscriptions, and its label lists contact info, user content, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics as data linked to you. Labels are self-reported and can change.
Who makes DragonBox and Tare?
DragonBox was created by former math teacher Jean-Baptiste Huynh, and DragonBox games were the basis of a research project at the University of Washington's Center for Game Science; the app is now published by Kahoot ASA. Tare is made by Lagerland Apps, an independent studio in Finland.
Try it
Open Tare
Eighty hanging mobiles, one rule, no words. Twenty levels free, no account, no subscription.