Why can’t you extend play time over ten minutes?

Students can only play for ten minutes and then they get the session completed screen.  The game will not let them play anymore.  Please encourage them to show you this screen to prove they completed the session.

Why no more than ten minutes?

Slamming through these facts at the rate of 3 seconds apiece (or less as they go faster) is very INTENSE.   Students will do this game for a couple of hours at a time if you let them.  But, here’s the problem.  They will only do it for a couple of days, and then they will just wear out.  They just won’t want to do it anymore. We don’t want them to lose their enthusiasm, so……. we don’t let them continue for more than ten minutes. 

Battery down feature

After completing a session, if they try to log back on too soon they get this “Battery Down” screen. This is a feature not a bug! We say the battery is down and will need at least 20 minutes to “recharge.” The countdown timer shows the amount of time left until the student’s break is over.  The student has to take at least a 20 minute break.  We want them to do a little practice a couple of times a day, but spaced out over several weeks to complete a learning track (an operation).  The longer the time it takes for them to get through a learning track, (the longer this is spaced out) the longer they will retain the information.  And they need to know these facts for a lifetime!  So a little bit each day is far better than sitting down for long periods of time until they are sick of it.


We purposely planned for your students to end a session anxious to play again.

Yes, they may complain that they have to stop, but that ensures that they will want to come back again later.  You want them to end their sessions wanting to play more.  That’s how you can get them to play and practice, time after time, day after day until they reach Level Z.  That’s how we win and that’s how they win! before the forced break.

Remember, you want them to practice at home also, which they won’t do if they are getting sick of it.  You want them to practice the whole time they are assigned to do it–and they won’t do that if they aren’t motivated to keep going.

6 thoughts on “Why can’t you extend play time over ten minutes?

  1. My students are on Rocket Math for a long time. I have it set for 5 minutes, and have reset it, but I have a few students that are on Rocket Math for well over 15 before they get a battery down, or never get one at all (we have to go to lessons). Does it keep track of active time, or is there a bug?

    • Alene,
      There was a bug in the Apple Rocket Math app so that students were not stopped on time. Please update to the latest version of the app and this problem should be solved.

    • As of September 2023 all sessions are ten minutes in length. We standardized session length so we can help teachers evaluate the number of problems answered per session. Of course, students can quit any time they want, but we don’t give them credit for completing their session if they quit early. Soon we will have the option of allowing students to complete half-sessions at five minutes in length. Be on the lookout for that option.

  2. Is there a way to disable the timer? My niece will get through the math problems if given time but gets frustrated and anxious when she has to perform against a timer.

    • There is no point to answering math facts slowly, taking your time to figure them out. Why do that? You can slow down to six seconds instead of three, but that runs the risk of allowing the student to continue “figuring out” the facts instead of committing them to memory. The point of Rocket Math is to commit these facts to memory so they can be answered instantly. The Online Tutor will keep giving lots of extra practice until the student has memorized the facts. Unfortunately, some students are unwilling to keep practicing unless adults explain the purpose of the practice. Just keep practicing until you can recall them instantly. By having the timer on we can tell when a student does not instantly remember the fact and can give them extra practice on it, until they do.

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