Goblins vs. Prodigy
Why we built Goblins
Goblins lets students speak and draw to learn math. That lets Goblin, the tutor, pinpoint exactly where mistakes and misconceptions arise. The win a kid chases here is the moment it clicks, not the next battle or the next pet. The Gates Foundation funds Goblins.
“First nine weeks he might've done his homework once. And I give homework four and a half times a week out of five days. ... You haven't heard me complain about him once. He's a hundred percent in the class right now.”
Rich Grell · HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
“They can't just look on somebody else's screen and put an answer down. They can't Google it somewhere and just put an answer down. They actually have to understand what they're doing in order to move on.”
Renee Schuch · 6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
“It forces them to really think about what they're doing and understand their process. ... They have to prove it. They have to show all of their work and it's been great.”
Renee Schuch · 6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
Why not just use Prodigy?
In Prodigy, the math is the toll booth and the game is the destination. Kids answer questions to unlock battles, pets, and gear, and kids genuinely love it, which is why so many teachers hand it out as a reward. Then in February 2021 child advocates counted what the game actually serves. The FTC complaint filed by Fairplay and 21 other groups tallied 16 membership advertisements and 4 math problems in 19 minutes of gameplay, and Senator Markey and Representative Castor called for an investigation. The complaint was never publicly resolved.
And the selling happens inside your classroom. Memberships are pitched to children during school play, where non-member kids see the pets, gear, and gold their member classmates have and locked treasure prompts point at the upgrade. When Prodigy decided students needed real teaching, it sold that separately too. Prodigy Math Tutoring is a paid product beside the game, staffed by human tutors. Their answer to real tutoring is a paid add-on. With Goblins, the tutor is the product.
- No tutor in the game. The adaptive algorithm routes question difficulty up or down, and nobody asks what the student was thinking.
- Efficacy claims are heavy-user comparisons hosted by Prodigy itself, correlation with enthusiasm rather than a controlled effect, rated ESSA Tier 3, with no independent randomized trial.
- The membership push lands on families, around $19.95 a month per third-party listings, and it is pitched to kids where classmates can see who has it.
Engagement is real, and it matters. Engagement without teaching is babysitting with a scoreboard.
Thousands of Teachers ❤️ Goblins
"A kid who'd never do homework is now 100% in my class."
Rich Grell
HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
"A little me in the computer, guiding them. So powerful."
Bobbye Graboyes
26-year math teacher
"They can't just Google it. They have to actually understand."
Renee Schuch
6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
"Stuck? It walks them back two chapters, then builds them up."
Rich Grell
HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
"I can't split into 30. Goblins is 30 of me."
Bobbye Graboyes
26-year math teacher
"It forces them to fill the gaps and prove their work."
Renee Schuch
6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
"Like I'm sitting with every kid, and I can see who's faking it."
Rich Grell
HS Math Teacher, 22 yrs
"She did every Goblins assignment and aced the makeup."
Bobbye Graboyes
26-year math teacher
"I see who's stuck in real time and pull them aside."
Renee Schuch
6th Grade Math · Deer Valley
"The AI's on every question when I can't reach everyone."
Kaleb Bembenek
7th Grade Math
"I'd love to move my teachers from Study Island to this."
Carol Howe
Principal · Sharpsville Area HS
"It breaks down every misconception in real time."
Jenn Tifft
Math & Science
"It reaches every student I can't get to in person."
Rebecca Mello
Algebra I & II
"My kids customize the goblin to look like them."
Kaleb Bembenek
7th Grade Math
"I'd love to move my teachers from Study Island to this."
Carol Howe
Principal · Sharpsville Area HS
"It breaks down every misconception in real time."
Jenn Tifft
Math & Science
"It reaches every student I can't get to in person."
Rebecca Mello
Algebra I & II
Frequently asked questions
Prodigy has no tutor in the game. An adaptive algorithm routes question difficulty up or down, and nobody asks what the student was thinking. When Prodigy decided students needed real teaching, it launched Prodigy Math Tutoring, a paid human tutoring product sold beside the game since 2021. With Goblins the tutor is the product. Every student gets live 1-on-1 help that watches their written work, hears their reasoning, and draws mini lessons next to the problem without handing over the answer.
Prodigy is free for schools because parents are the customer. The company sustains the game by selling memberships to families.
- Memberships run around $19.95 a month or around $11.25 a month billed annually, per third-party listings, unconfirmed.
- Membership unlocks the pets and gear other kids can see during class, which is what makes the pitch land.
Goblins has nothing to sell your students.
Kids love Prodigy and many teachers hand it out as a free reward. The pushback comes from child advocates, who documented how much selling the game does during class time.
- The 2021 FTC complaint against Prodigy was filed by Fairplay and 21 other child advocacy groups.
- Senator Markey and Representative Castor called for an investigation.
- The complaint was never publicly resolved.
No controlled study shows Prodigy improves test scores.
- Prodigy's research page compares heavy users to light users, a design that measures correlation with enthusiasm, not the effect of the software, and Prodigy hosts the studies itself.
- At least one independent analysis found no significant difference, and there is no independent randomized trial.
Prodigy's evidence page is the company comparing its keenest users to everyone else.
Yes. The live classroom view shows every student's work as it happens, so you know who is stuck this minute and can pull a small group on the spot. You also get session replays of the written work and the full tutor conversation for every problem.
Goblins supports whatever language your students think in. We never cap it at a number, students speak and draw in their language and Goblin keeps up, and we add new languages whenever a classroom asks.
Goblins is free for teachers, with 15 live help-enabled problems per student each month, standards-aligned assignments, worksheet uploads, and teacher avatars included, no credit card. Goblins Max, priced per school or district, makes live help unlimited and adds standards and engagement reporting.
Yes. Goblins complies with COPPA, FERPA, and student data privacy laws in all 50 states.
Weighing other options? See how Goblins compares.
Or see how schools run Goblins across intervention tiers in our MTSS math guide.