Sheppard Software

The short version: Sheppard Software is a free, ad-light site built by a single developer that's been around long enough to feel like an internet artifact — and the US-states and continents geography quizzes are genuinely some of the best free geography practice on the web. The rest of the site is uneven; lean on what's strong.

What it does well

• The geography games are excellent. Tiered difficulty (beginner → expert), clean map-clicking interface, immediate feedback. Used in elementary and middle-school classrooms for a reason.
• Free, no login. Browser-based, jump straight in.
• Light on ads. Some banner ads but no aggressive interstitials. Refreshingly old-school.
• Animal and biology pages. The mammal/animal classification games are solid lower-elementary supplements.
• Works on Chromebooks and tablets. Most content is now HTML5; the old Flash-era games have largely been migrated.

What's missing

• Dated interface. The site looks like the late-2000s site it is. Kids who expect Duolingo-grade polish will roll their eyes.
• Some pages still broken. A handful of older games never made the HTML5 transition cleanly — if a page won't load, it's probably one of those.
• Light coverage outside its strengths. Math, language arts, and chemistry sections exist but are thin compared to dedicated sites.
• No progress tracking. No accounts, no week-over-week.

Who it's for

Best for elementary and middle-school geography units, and for any homeschooler who wants a free, no-friction US-states or world-map drill. Outside geography and the animal-classification games, you can do better elsewhere.

Alternatives worth knowing

• Khan Academy — free comprehensive curriculum across most subjects. Use for math/science instruction; come back to Sheppard for geography drill.
• ABCya — broader free-game library for K-5 across math, reading, typing, and art. Better for younger kids who want variety.
• National Geographic Kids — strong companion for elementary geography and science content with proper editorial quality.

Bottom line

Bookmark Sheppard Software for the geography games and the animal-classification practice — those are quietly some of the best free elementary content online. Skip the rest unless you stumble on it.