Word Runner

Baoab Grove

About this game

Word Runner teaches children to read — and it can do it in your own voice.

It was built by a parent for a five-year-old, after trying the
alternatives and finding them full of ads, pop-ups and things to buy.
This one has none of that.

HOW CHILDREN LEARN HERE

Children start with the alphabet and work forward at their own pace:

• Sing the ABC song
• Find the letters
• Learn each letter's sound
• Pop the vowels
• Sound out whole words

Then come 11 phonics stages in the order reading research recommends —
short a, i, o, u and e, then digraphs like sh and ch, blends, magic e,
vowel teams, bossy r, and number words. 120 words in all.

A word counts as mastered once your child spells it correctly, and the
next stage unlocks when the one before it is complete. Words they
stumble on come back as a review round later, so the tricky ones get
extra practice without any fuss being made about it.

Between the spelling, there's a running game. Stars earned there unlock
14 animal characters, which is usually the part children mention first.

IN YOUR FAMILY'S OWN VOICE

This is the part that makes Word Runner different.

Open the recording studio and record every letter name, letter sound
and word yourself. Your child then learns to read in your voice, or a
grandparent's, or a sibling's — whoever they most want to hear.
Recordings stay on your device and can be exported to a file to carry
to another one.

Children pay closer attention to a voice they love. That's the whole idea.

FOR PARENTS

A parent corner, behind a simple sum so small hands don't wander in,
shows you:

• Which words are mastered and which are shaky
• Individual letters your child struggles with, and letters they mix up
• A short teaching guide for every level, so you know what's being taught
• Tablet time — set a session length, and the game hands out minutes
for correct answers, then stops itself
• Level lock and a no-ouch mode for younger or more sensitive players

WHAT IT DOESN'T DO

No ads. No accounts. No sign-up. No in-app purchases. No analytics, no
tracking, and no data collection of any kind — nothing about your child
leaves your device, because there is nowhere for it to go. It works
offline.

Free, and made with care.

Word Runner is by Baobab Grove — small games that help small people learn.

What’s new

• Finishing a level now shows one big "next" button.
• Words only count as mastered when spelled without help.
• Missed words come back later in the same session.
• Stuck? A new "show me" button sounds the word out.
• The word hides once mastered, so spelling is real practice.
• Letter sounds show the letter and its picture, not a sentence.
• New first-run guide to the recording studio.
• "Next gap" jumps to the next unrecorded word.