Free CBT games to play with your kid at home, built by a child psychologist. Nothing to install, and your kid never needs an account.
Got a 4-letter code from a therapist? Join a room from the home page.
CBT Hero is six short games. Each one practices one skill from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Your kid learns to spot a thinking trap and find a more balanced thought. They practice considering other explanations, naming a feeling and rating how strong it is, handling frustration, and facing a fear one step at a time.
Every game is a short illustrated story about a character around your kid's age. Alex got a bad grade. Priya's friend has not texted back. Your kid reads what the character is thinking and picks what would help.
Because the story is about someone else, your kid can think through a hard situation without admitting it is theirs. Most kids simply like playing it. For a kid who is guarded or shuts down, that distance is what gets them started.
Tap Play Together at the top of this page. CBT Hero makes a room and gives you a link and a 4-letter code.
Open the link on your kid's laptop or tablet. Keep your own phone, or a second screen, for yourself.
Your kid plays the Hero and makes every choice. You play the Guide. Your screen shows the answer key, a hint for each choice, and questions to ask when the game pauses.
A game takes about ten to fifteen minutes. After each choice the game waits until you tap Continue, so there is time to talk before moving on.
Not sure your kid will go for it? Let them play a story on their own first. Once the game feels familiar, playing together is an easier ask.
Many parents of kids with ADHD, autism, or anxiety ask whether CBT Hero will work for their kid. CBT Hero is a great resource for these kids.
Many of the neurodivergent kids I see do well with CBT when it is concrete, visual, and predictable. Making hard and sensitive topics about someone else first keeps defensiveness low. This often opens a conversation about how the child can relate to the scenario or has had a similar challenge themselves.
CBT Hero was built to have kids interact with stories that are about other kids but that they will likely connect with. The response choices are written out so there is nothing to have to put into words, reducing frustration or “freeze” from the game being too hard. Parents and therapists can see exactly what to ask to prompt kids.
CBT Hero is not a treatment, it is not a diagnostic tool, and it is not a replacement for therapy, but it is a way to practice the skills between sessions in a format that many neurodivergent kids will actually engage in.
Start with the game that matches what you see at home. Each one takes about ten minutes.
Big reactions, or trouble naming feelings
Naming and managing feelings (emotional awareness and regulation)
What it practices →
Frustration when things get hard
Staying steady when things are hard (frustration tolerance)
What it practices →
Rigid thinking or social misunderstandings
Considering other explanations (cognitive flexibility)
What it practices →
Negative self-talk
Building balanced thoughts (cognitive restructuring)
What it practices →
Assuming the worst
Spotting thinking traps (cognitive distortions)
What it practices →
Avoiding things because they feel scary
Facing fears one step at a time (gradual exposure)
What it practices →
When a game ends, you get a session summary link: which game, which choices your kid made, and the points. It holds no name and nothing typed.
If you sign in, every session you play together is kept in your account, so you can look back at how a week went. Without an account, the link is yours to keep.
Every game has a one-page printable, and every story has a take-home sheet with three questions to talk over after playing. The glossary explains the six thinking traps and the CBT terms in plain language.
The stories are written for roughly ages 10 to 16. The situations, like a bad grade, a friend who did not text back, or a chore that feels unfair, are ones most middle schoolers recognize. A younger kid can play with a parent reading along.
Nothing. All six games are free, and kids never need an account. Parents and caregivers can create a free account to keep session summaries.
Playing together works best with two: your kid on a laptop or tablet, and you on a phone, because your screen shows the answers. Solo play needs one device.
Yes. Many therapists assign a story as homework and ask the kid to bring back the code from the end of the game. If your kid has a therapist, ask which game to start with.
Kids never need an account and never type anything that is stored. Every answer is simply a button tap. The session summary link doesn't have any personal information. All the privacy details are outlined further on CBT Hero's privacy page.
Let them play a story alone first. The game is the same either way, and once it feels familiar, playing together is an easier ask. Some kids prefer to play solo and show you the summary afterward, and that works too.