Maths and English with Rayman: Volume 1 for ages six and up is the first in a series of educational single player games that uses the platform character Rayman to teach basic numeracy and literary skills.

The games are based around a typical arcade game story. Mister Dark has stolen the contents of the 'Magic Book of Knowledge' and the wise old wizard and Betilla the fairy have called on Rayman to recover it. To do this Rayman must recover twelve golden rings, six grammar related and six maths related. To retrieve a golden ring Rayman must complete whet the game calls an activity. Each activity has five stages and the game is automatically saved at the end of stages two, four and the final optional bonus stage which is timed. Progress through the game is shown on the 'Map of the Worlds', as the player completes the fourth stage of an activity new paths open up on this map allowing the player to tackle other activities. At the end of the game, when the player has reached Mr Dark's hideout and retrieved the 'Magic Book of Knowledge' the game ends with a video sequence and presents the player with a diploma that can be printed

The games themselves follow the format of the platform game very closely. There are blue bubble to collect along the way, fifty bubbles earns an extra life, super power balls that increase Rayman's health, Save points, plus speed fist and golden fist power ups that improve Rayman's fighting ability.