GAME INSTRUCTIONS
What is the goal of the game?
Team up with Hoot, the detective owl, and solve visual puzzles! Each level shows two scenes that look the same, but a few things have changed. Students must find all the differences to complete the level and earn up to 3 stars. There are 50 levels across 5 themed worlds: Park, Beach, Farm, Snow, and Candy Land.
Recommended age and educational level
Best for students ages 4 to 8, from Pre-K and Kindergarten through 2nd grade. No reading is required: a short, guided tutorial teaches the rules visually. It also works well as a warm-up or calm-down activity for older students.
How to play: single-player or multiplayer
This is a single-player game, and it also works well on an interactive whiteboard as a whole-class activity.
- Compare the two scenes and tap or click the difference in either one. A circle marks it in both scenes.
- A counter at the top tracks how many differences you've found.
- Avoid random guessing: every 3 wrong taps cost one star.
- Three power-ups help when you're stuck: the magnifying glass finds one difference, the light bulb shows where to look, and the owl eye reveals them all. Each can only be used a limited number of times per level.
- There's no time limit. Finding two differences in quick succession triggers a golden glow bonus.
What do you learn from this game? Learning and skills
- Visual discrimination: spotting changes in color, shape, and objects that appear or disappear.
- Sustained attention: staying focused on details until the task is done.
- Visual memory: holding one image in mind while comparing it to another.
- Systematic scanning: searching an image in an organized way, area by area.
- Self-regulation: thinking before acting to avoid losing stars.
- Oral language: describing what changed using precise vocabulary (colors, positions, objects).
Tips to get the most out of this game
- Model a scanning strategy: top to bottom, left to right, one section at a time.
- Ask students to explain each difference out loud using position words (above, next to, behind).
- Encourage them to save power-ups and try on their own first.
- Use the star rating to discuss accuracy vs. guessing.
- Extension: have students draw a simple picture and create their own "spot the difference" version for a classmate.