Getting started
Yes, completely. eduActiv8 has always been free — there are no subscriptions, no in-app purchases, no advertising, and no premium tier. It is open-source software, released under the GNU General Public License.
If you find it useful and would like to support the project, you can do so via Ko-fi, but this is entirely optional and does not affect what you can access.
No traditional installation is required. On Windows and macOS, you simply download the package from SourceForge, extract the archive, and run the application directly from the extracted folder — no installer, no administrator privileges needed.
On Linux, packages are available via the OpenSUSE Build Service for a range of distributions, and can be installed through your system's standard package manager. See the installation guide for full details.
eduActiv8 runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux — including Raspberry Pi. It is designed to work well even on older or lower-powered machines, requiring only a 1 GHz processor and typically under 100 MB of RAM.
Android support was available in an older version but is no longer maintained. The tools used to build the Android version are now outdated and incompatible with modern 64-bit requirements. There are no current plans for a new Android release.
Yes, though it is a separate project. Two iOS apps — eduActiv8: Language Arts and eduActiv8: Math & Science — are available for iPhone and iPad, bringing a selection of activities to mobile devices.
These apps were developed independently by an external team, rewritten from scratch using Lua and the LÖVE framework rather than the Python and Pygame codebase of the desktop application. The project was funded by the Lakota Language Initiative of the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation and Elon University.
You can find out more about the mobile apps at hackranch.com/eduactiv8-mobile.
Never. eduActiv8 runs entirely offline — it was designed this way from the beginning, not as an afterthought. Once downloaded, it works without any network connection, making it equally suited to classrooms, travel, rural settings, or anywhere with limited or unreliable connectivity.
No data is sent anywhere. There are no accounts, no cloud sync, and no external services involved.
Using the app
eduActiv8 is designed for children aged approximately 3 to 10. Activities are grouped by age suitability, so simpler exercises appear first and more advanced ones unlock progressively as children develop.
Difficulty levels can also be adjusted manually at any time, which makes it well suited to special education settings where progression may not follow typical age patterns.
There are hundreds of activities across six broad areas:
- Numbers and maths — counting, basic operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, shapes, patterns, negative numbers, and telling the time
- Language and literacy — letter flashcards, alphabet ordering, word building, and word mazes
- Logic and problem-solving — patterns, sorting, mazes, puzzles, and symmetry
- Memory and concentration — matching games, colour recognition, and focus exercises
- Creative and writing — letter tracing, touch typing, and a painting activity
- Time and measurement — clock reading, elapsed time, and shape-related activities
Yes. eduActiv8 includes a user profile system — each child (or student) can have their own account with separate progress tracking. A Guest account is created automatically on first launch, and additional accounts can be created from the login screen.
All profile data is stored locally on the device. Nothing is shared externally.
eduActiv8 is currently available in more than 20 languages, including Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Lakota, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Ukrainian, and both UK and US English.
Some translations may be more complete than others, and improvements are always welcome. See the translations page for the full list, or the translation guide if you would like to contribute.
Yes, in two ways. First, activities are automatically grouped by age suitability — easier ones are available immediately, and harder ones become accessible as a child progresses. Second, difficulty levels within each activity can be adjusted manually at any time from the activity screen, regardless of the child's recorded progress.
For advanced users, levels are also configurable via XML files, which allows further customisation after installation.
eSpeak is an optional text-to-speech engine that enables spoken audio in some activities — such as having letters and words read aloud. It is not required to use eduActiv8; activities that rely on it will simply disable that feature if eSpeak is not installed.
If you want to enable text-to-speech, eSpeak can be installed separately. On Windows you may also need to add its folder to your system PATH. See the installation guide for details.
Technical
Yes, it is safe. This is a well-documented false positive that affects many independently packaged open-source applications. eduActiv8 is packaged using PyInstaller to create standalone executables, and some antivirus software incorrectly flags this packaging format as suspicious — not because of anything in the code, but because of the way the file is structured.
If you prefer to verify this yourself, the full source code is available on GitHub. You can also run eduActiv8 directly from source using Python and Pygame, which bypasses the packaged executable entirely.
This warning appears because eduActiv8 has not been submitted to Apple's commercial notarisation process, which requires a paid developer account. It is not an indication that the application is harmful.
To open it anyway: right-click (or Control-click) the application file and choose Open from the menu. A dialog will appear asking you to confirm — click Open again. After the first launch you can open it normally.
Yes. If you are comfortable with Python, eduActiv8 can be run directly from its source code. You will need Python 3 and Pygame installed. eSpeak is optional but enables text-to-speech features.
Once dependencies are installed, run python path/to/eduactiv8.py from a terminal. The installation guide has full instructions, including a note about eSpeak on Windows.
The source code is available at github.com/imiolek-ireneusz/eduActiv8.
The best place to report a bug is the GitHub Discussions page. You can also open a formal issue in the repository if you prefer. Please include your operating system, Python version (if running from source), and a description of what you were doing when the problem occurred.
The project
Yes. The project is mature — it has been in development since 2011 — and development is now slower than in its early years, but it continues to receive maintenance updates. The most recent release is version 4.25.10 from October 2025, which included bug fixes for modern Linux distributions and improved mouse handling.
The changelog has a full history of releases dating back to the very first version.
pySioGame was the original name of the project, used from its first public release in April 2012 until August 2022, when it was officially renamed to eduActiv8. The name change better reflects the project's purpose and the community that has grown around it. The software itself is the same continuous project — just with a new name.
If you find references to pySioGame online, they are referring to the same application. The SourceForge pySioGame listing now redirects to the current eduActiv8 page.
There are several ways to get involved:
- Translations — the project uses Transifex for online translation. If your language is missing or incomplete, contributions are very welcome. See the translation guide to get started.
- Bug reports and feedback — via GitHub Discussions or the issues tracker.
- Code contributions — the repository is on GitHub. Pull requests are welcome.
- Financial support — the project has a Ko-fi page for anyone who would like to help cover hosting and development costs.
The current codebase is hosted at github.com/imiolek-ireneusz/eduActiv8. The original pySioGame repository, which covers the project's early history, is still available at github.com/imiolek-ireneusz/pysiogame.
Both repositories are public. The project is released under the GNU General Public License version 3.
Still have a question?
If your question isn't answered here, the GitHub Discussions page is the best place to ask. You can also browse the rest of this site — the installation guide and about page cover many topics in more detail.