Tumi’s Fossil Dig

Tumi is a little armadillo paleontologist with a green hat and a soft brush. Under the sand of the dig site, pairs of fossils are hiding: bones, teeth, claws, shells, eggs and footprints. Your child brushes the ground away layer by layer, finds two fossils that match and puts them on the museum shelf. When every pair is found, a whole dinosaur skeleton comes together bone by bone. Free to play, with no ads in the game and no sign-up.

How to play

1. Tap a sand tile, or drag your finger across the tiles, to brush the sand away.
2. Some tiles have more layers: the dots show how many brushes are left.
3. Find two fossils that are the same to put them on the museum shelf.
4. Not a pair? A little sand covers them again, so try to remember where they are!
5. Finish the dig to build a dinosaur skeleton and earn stars for new dig sites.

Controls

• Tap or click a tile to brush it once. Drag your finger or mouse across the tiles to brush many tiles in one go.
• Keyboard: arrow keys move between tiles, Space or Enter brushes the chosen tile.
• The sound button turns the soft brush and match sounds on or off. Sound is off until you switch it on.

Tips and strategy

• Look at the little dots on a tile: they show how many brushes are left. Light sand needs one, dark clay needs three.
• When two fossils do not match, look at them carefully before the sand covers them. You will need them later!
• Every fossil has its own colored badge, so even young children can spot pairs by color and shape.
• Fewer brushes give more stars, but every finished dig earns at least one star.
• Stars open new dig sites: desert, beach, ice and jungle. Nothing is ever spent or lost.
• Each finished dig adds a skeleton to your museum. There are five different dinosaurs to collect.

Game modes and difficulty

There are four dig sizes: 4×3 tiles with 6 pairs, 4×4 with 8 pairs, 5×4 with 10 pairs and 6×4 with 12 pairs. After each dig the next one grows a little, and the first dig has thinner layers. You can pick any size at any time. There is no timer and no way to lose. Your fewest brushes are saved for each size.

History and background

Memory matching games are a classic for young children: turn two things over, remember where they were, and find the pairs. Tumi’s Fossil Dig mixes that idea with the fun of a real fossil dig, where scientists brush away the ground very gently to find bones.

Tumi, the fossils and the dinosaur skeletons are all drawn in code, with no photos or downloads. Progress, stars and dig sites are saved only in your browser.

Frequently asked questions