🎮 Learning games and sites
Lichess
By Lichess.org (nonprofit association). Visit Lichess
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
A free, open-source chess site and app run as a charity. Players can play people or the computer, solve puzzles, study openings, follow lessons and join tournaments, all without ads or paid tiers. An account is optional. It is a general-audience site, so children meet adults online, but teachers and parents can create 'kid accounts' with kid mode, which hides public chat.
Our take: Excellent free chess for older kids and families; set up a kid account with kid mode for younger players.
Checked in a browser
A browser check on 2026-10-25: what loads, the ads and trackers we saw, and what a child meets first. Not a hands-on test.
| Child safety: 3 out of 5 | No ads, but one tap on Quick pairing matches a child with an unknown opponent online, and the page links to Twitch and Discord; in-game chat was not checked. |
|---|---|
| Data: 5 out of 5 | The only outside host was lichess1.org, Lichess's own content server; no analytics, ads or trackers at all. |
| Ease: 3 out of 5 | Usable with help: a dense page of tournaments, time controls and news; 'Play against computer' is there but not prominent. |
| Cost honesty: 4 out of 5 | Free; 'Donate' and 'Become a Lichess Patron' links are shown. |
What we found
- 1 third-party host (lichess1.org, the site's own CDN) and 1 cookie.
- 0 ad frames; the page states it is 'free (really), libre, no-ads, open source'.
- Sign in and Register prompts at the top; Quick pairing with strangers on the first screen.
- Links out to Twitch, Discord, YouTube, Bluesky, Instagram and Mastodon.
From the test: No ads and no tracking, but the front page is built for adult players and pairs a child with strangers in one tap.
| Ages it suits | about 8+ with an adult; 15+ for own account |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | You must be at least 15 and the legal age in your country to register, or be authorized by a parent or guardian. Teachers or parents can create kid accounts and must turn on kid mode. (terms) |
| Price | Free. Free; funded by donations (Oct 2026). |
| Works on | Web, iPhone and iPad, Android |
| Account | No account needed |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | No generative AI; a chess engine (Stockfish) analyzes games and plays as the computer opponent. |
What's good
- Completely free, no ads, no upsells
- Full-strength tools: puzzles, lessons, analysis
- Kid mode and teacher-made kid accounts
- Open source
Watch for
- General-audience site: open chat and messages with adults unless kid mode is on
- Account age rule is 15+
- Less hand-holding for beginners than kid-focused apps
Data and privacy
Lichess says the site is free and has no advertising. Accounts collect name, email and username; it uses session cookies and keeps data under European privacy law (GDPR). Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
No product study; general chess research is outside this record. The maker makes no learning claims.
In the Big Index
- On the list Top 50 free game sites for kids (2026)
- On the list 18 best logic and puzzle games and apps for kids
- On the list 19 best learning games for tweens (10-13)
- On the list 22 kinds of learning games, explained
- On the list 14 learning games for kids who say they hate learning games
- On the list Top 50 free learning sites for kids (2026)
- Lichess
Alternatives to Lichess
Desk researchFree, with paid extrasNo ads
99math
99math (Estonia) · ages about 5-14 (grades K-8)
A low-effort, free way for teachers to make fact practice lively; parents of kids who dislike timed competition may want a calmer tool.
Desk researchFree, with paid extras
ABCya
ABCya.com LLC (a division of IXL Learning) · ages about 4-12 (pre-K to grade 6+)
Handy for quick grade-level practice in class or at home; skip if you want an ad-free experience without paying.
Desk researchPaidNo ads
Adventure Academy
Age of Learning, Inc. · ages grades 3-8 (about 8-13)
Good for kids who love online games and need a nudge toward school subjects; families wanting no social contact should set chat to off or choose a solo app.
Desk researchFree, with paid extras
Arcademics
Arcademics · ages about 6-14 (grades 1-8)
Fine for quick fact-fluency races at school or home; families who want no ad tracking or who have a child anxious about speed should skip it.
Desk researchFreeNo ads
Be Internet Awesome: Interland
Google · ages about 7-12
A good free starting point for online safety with kids 7-12, best paired with family talks since the game alone did not change behavior in testing.
Desk researchFreeNo ads
Blob Opera
David Li with Google Arts & Culture · ages about 4 and up
A delightful five-minute music toy for any age; not a music course.
Where these facts come from
- https://lichess.org/
- https://lichess.org/terms-of-service
- https://lichess.org/privacy
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lichess/id1662361230
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.