What you are actually practicing
Integers extend the number line left past zero, and the whole difficulty of negative arithmetic is that the familiar words stop matching the operation. Adding a negative number makes things smaller. Subtracting a negative number makes things bigger. Once those two sentences are automatic, the arithmetic itself is ordinary.
This game mixes all four shapes: positive plus negative, negative plus negative, negative minus positive, and results that cross zero. The aim is to make the sign decision reflexive rather than something you work out each time.
How the game works
One expression at a time, four choices, a countdown. A correct answer scores points and moves on; a wrong answer reveals the correct one. Your score and best score stay in this browser only.
Easy keeps the numbers small. Medium widens the range. Hard uses the full range, where a single slip in the sign is enough to miss.
The rules, stated plainly
Adding a negative is subtracting. 7 + -4 is 7 - 4, which is 3.
Subtracting a negative is adding. 7 - -4 is 7 + 4, which is 11. Two minus signs next to each other cancel out.
Same signs add and keep the sign. -5 + -3 is -8.
Different signs subtract and take the sign of the larger. -5 + 3: the difference is 2, and 5 is larger than 3 and negative, so the answer is -2.
Strategies that actually move your score
Rewrite the expression before calculating. Convert 7 + -4 into 7 - 4 first. The rewrite costs a moment and removes the most common source of error.
Use the number line for anything you are unsure of. Start at the first number; adding moves right, subtracting moves left, and a negative second term flips the direction.
Estimate the side of zero. Deciding whether the answer is positive or negative before you compute the exact value catches most sign slips.
Common mistakes, and the fix for each
Mistake: adding when you should subtract. 7 + -4 answered as 11 means the sign was ignored. The fix is the rewrite step.
Mistake: losing the sign on a negative result. -8 - 5 is -13, not 13. The fix is to decide the side of zero first.
Mistake: treating two minus signs as a negative. In 7 - -4 the signs cancel. The fix is to say the rule out loud until it is automatic.
A short, honest FAQ
Do I need to install anything? No. It runs in any modern browser.
Why are some answers zero? Because opposite values cancel, and recognising that quickly is part of the skill.
What age is it for? Roughly grades 6 through 9, or any adult rebuilding algebra fundamentals.