Train your eyes while playing
Vision games & exercises
A free browser game and a set of exercises that help children and adults train eye movements, visual attention and the teamwork of both eyes. Play is not a substitute for therapy — it is a friendly complement to it.
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Teddy Meadow — vision training
Six short exercises in one game. Pick a mode and level, then play for about a minute. Short, regular sessions work better than one long marathon.
Teddy Meadow
Pick an exercise and play for about a minute. Short, regular sessions work better than one long marathon.
Keep your gaze and cursor (or finger) on the wandering teddy. Trains smooth pursuit and eye–hand coordination.
Keep your cursor or finger on the teddy for the whole round.
This mode requires red-green (anaglyph) glasses.
Best played with a mouse, stylus or finger.
How to play so it counts
- Sit comfortably, about 40–50 cm from the screen, in good light.
- Do short sessions (a few minutes) several times a day rather than one long one.
- The “Fusion 3D" mode needs red-green (anaglyph) glasses.
- Feeling tired, or getting a headache or double vision? Take a break.
Special exercises
For older children and adults
Two exercises that need a little extra: anaglyph glasses or a printed chart. They nicely complement home vision therapy — convergence and accommodation, which we also cover on the blog.
Convergence 3D
An eye-convergence exercise with red-green glasses. Merge the two teddies into one — then keep it single as long as you can while they drift apart.
Requires red-green (anaglyph) glasses. We assume the red filter is over the left eye.
Put the glasses on, relax your eyes and merge the teddies into one. Then press Start.
If you cannot merge the image into one, or you get a headache — stop and check with your therapist.
Near–far
An accommodative-facility exercise — smoothly shifting focus from near to far and back.
The screen alone is not enough: you also need a second, printed chart on the far side of the room. The app only sets the rhythm and counts the switches.
Take breaks when tired (the 20–20–20 rule). After age 40 accommodation naturally weakens — exercises will not reverse that.
What you actually train
Six visual skills
Each mode trains a different part of efficient vision. It is play based on what we do during vision therapy — just at a smaller, at-home scale.
Smooth tracking
Following a moving teddy teaches the eyes to glide without jerky catch-up jumps — useful for reading and following a ball.
Saccadic movements
Scanning the field and jumping the gaze between objects underpins fluent reading and copying from a board.
Attention & peripheral vision
Spotting what appears “out of the corner of your eye” while fixating on the centre — important in sport and at the board.
Reflexes & impulse control
Reacting fast to what lights up — and holding back when needed. Trains reaction speed, eye–hand coordination and focus.
Visual memory
Remembering and reproducing order — useful for reading, spelling and arithmetic.
Both eyes together
In anaglyph mode each eye sees different teddies — an exercise against one eye “switching off" (suppression) and for binocular vision.
Important — read before you play
This page is play and a supportive exercise, not therapy. Before you start, keep a few things in mind:
- It is a game, not an examination and not a medical device — it does not replace a visit to a specialist.
- Get an exam first. Do not let a game delay diagnosis — amblyopia has an age-sensitive window in which it responds best to treatment.
- No miracle claims. Eye exercises do not treat dyslexia or learning difficulties (joint AAP/AAO/AAPOS statement), and a better game score need not mean better reading.
- A game score is motivation and fun, not a clinical measurement — the game does not actually track your eye movements.
- Stop if you get a headache, nausea or double vision. Take breaks (the 20–20–20 rule). Take care if you have photosensitive epilepsy. Anyone with strabismus, amblyopia or after a concussion should practise under a specialist’s guidance.
Beyond our clinic
Other games and tools available online
We reviewed what is out there and picked the trustworthy options. Some are free, some are consumer apps, and the most effective are prescription- or clinic-based — where a specialist chooses the hardware and indications.
Eye Can Learn
FreeA free set of simple browser eye exercises: tracking, saccades, perception and eye teaming. No account, no equipment.
Browser
Eye Can Learn(opens in a new tab)Luminopia One
Prescription · FDAAn FDA-cleared prescription treatment for children (4–12) with amblyopia — the child watches favourite shows modified dichoptically instead of patching.
VR headset
Luminopia One(opens in a new tab)NovaSight CureSight
Prescription · FDAAn FDA-cleared eye-tracking amblyopia treatment that blurs the dominant eye while the child watches shows. Prescription, under clinician supervision.
Eye-tracking + glasses
NovaSight CureSight(opens in a new tab)Vivid Vision
Via clinicVR vision therapy (amblyopia, strabismus, convergence) delivered through clinics, with a home version assigned by a provider.
VR headset
Vivid Vision(opens in a new tab)AmblyoPlay
Consumer · paidA consumer app with daily ~30-min games in anaglyph glasses to train binocular vision. The maker states it is not a medical device.
Tablet/PC + anaglyph glasses
AmblyoPlay(opens in a new tab)Optics Trainer
ConsumerTraining games for binocular vision, convergence, fusion and depth — in a home version and a clinic version.
Phone/tablet (optional VR)
Optics Trainer(opens in a new tab)Bynocs
Via clinicCloud-based dichoptic therapy (amblyopia, strabismus) delivered through partner clinics, using anaglyph glasses.
PC + anaglyph glasses
Bynocs(opens in a new tab)HTS iNet
Via clinicA long-established computer system for vergence, accommodation and eye-movement exercises, assigned by a provider for home practice.
PC + anaglyph glasses
HTS iNet(opens in a new tab)OptoNet
For practitionersA practitioner platform: sight tests, child screening and rehab exercises (e.g. per the CITT protocol) done at home under supervision.
Browser
OptoNet(opens in a new tab)The science
What the research says
Below are the publications behind the idea of training vision with games. They are also good sources to read for yourself.
- 1Randomized clinical trial of treatments for symptomatic convergence insufficiency in children(opens in a new tab)
Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT) Study Group · Archives of Ophthalmology, 2008
Landmark RCT (221 children): 12 weeks of office-based vergence/accommodative therapy with home reinforcement was more effective (73% success) for convergence insufficiency than home exercises or placebo.
- 2Action video game modifies visual selective attention(opens in a new tab)
Green CS, Bavelier D · Nature, 2003
Habitual action-game players had better visual selective attention, and 10 days of game training improved it in non-players too — evidence that games can train the visual system.
- 3Randomized Controlled Trial of a Dichoptic Digital Therapeutic for Amblyopia(opens in a new tab)
Xiao S et al. (Luminopia Pivotal Trial Group) · Ophthalmology, 2022
Phase 3 RCT (105 children, ages 4–7): 12 weeks of at-home dichoptic therapy (modified cartoons, 1 hour/day) plus glasses improved acuity significantly more than glasses alone.
- 4Dichoptic training enables the adult amblyopic brain to learn(opens in a new tab)
Li J, Thompson B, Deng D, Chan LYL, Yu M, Hess RF · Current Biology, 2013
Adults with amblyopia who played a contrast-balanced dichoptic “Tetris" 1 hour/day for 2 weeks improved acuity and stereovision; reducing suppression of the weaker eye outperformed forced monocular play.
- 5Video-game play induces plasticity in the visual system of adults with amblyopia(opens in a new tab)
Li RW, Ngo C, Nguyen J, Levi DM · PLoS Biology, 2011
20 adults with amblyopia: 40–80 hours of video-game play with the weaker eye improved acuity (~30%), spatial attention and stereopsis — beyond occlusion alone.
- 6Perceptual learning as a potential treatment for amblyopia: a mini-review(opens in a new tab)
Levi DM, Li RW · Vision Research, 2009
Review and meta-analysis: repeated practice of visual tasks (perceptual learning) yields lasting acuity gains in the amblyopic eye of children and adults, generalizing beyond the trained task.
All links point to scientific databases (PubMed). The studies concern clinically delivered or supervised therapy — they show that well-designed games and exercises can support vision, but do not replace a specialist.
Not sure which examination to choose?
Have questions about an examination or vision therapy? Call me — I will gladly help find a suitable time and explain how to prepare your child for the visit.