How it works
What the game shows your child, when, and why. Every number on this page is the one the game actually uses.
The short version
- Words are grouped into 10 levels, from everyday to advanced. A quick placement check picks the starting level.
- Each word comes back on a growing schedule: the next day, then a few days later, then weeks later. Remembering something just as it's about to fade is what makes it stick.
- A word is learned once it's answered right on two different days, and mastered after it survives the longer gaps.
- When your child has learned 80% of their level, they move up automatically.
- The game adapts: words they already know move faster, words they miss come back sooner, and a child who is getting nearly everything right gets new words faster.
Word levels
There are 1,362 words in 10 levels of about 136. Every word carries a level tag (L1 to L10) in the game and in your reports. A word's level comes from two signals: how common it is in written and spoken English (word-frequency data from millions of books, articles, subtitles and web pages; rarer words are harder), and a grade-level rating of when a typical student knows the word. Words whose taught meaning is the less common one (like "founder" meaning to fail) are moved up. Words are then split into 10 equal-sized levels from easiest to hardest.
| Level | Words | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| L1 | 137 | adapt, bias, conceal, debut |
| L2 | 136 | accumulate, arid, commence, decipher |
| L3 | 136 | adversary, bigot, cumulative, discreet |
| L4 | 136 | affluent, appease, bygone, copious |
| L5 | 136 | allege, attest, canonical, cusp |
| L6 | 137 | abhorrent, atone, caustic, corroborate |
| L7 | 136 | acclimate, ancillary, bequeath, coerce |
| L8 | 136 | allay, blasé, collate, diatribe |
| L9 | 136 | accede, apologist, chicanery, desecrate |
| L10 | 136 | abstruse, baneful, ebullient, euphony |
The placement check
The first time a child plays, they answer 4 questions from level 1. With 3 right they move on to the next level; with all 4 right they skip a level. The check stops at the first level where they miss 2, and that becomes their starting level. If that happens right after a skip, the check goes back and tests the skipped level before deciding. There's no timer and an "I don't know" button, because lucky guesses would place them too high. Words they get right here are treated like words known on first sight (below). You can ask for the check again any time from the child's Settings tab.
What's in a mission
A mission is 10 questions, picked in this order:
- Reviews that are due today, most overdue first.
- New words from the current level: up to 15 a day, and only while fewer than 40 words are still in progress, so new words never pile up faster than they can be learned. A few slots are always kept for new words, even on heavy review days.
- Spare slots, once today's reviews are done: extra practice on words still being learned, more new words, or one more try at a word missed today.
Any word your child has already seen keeps coming back for its reviews, whatever its level; new words only come from the current level.
The review schedule
Each word sits in a "box" that says how well it's known and when it comes back:
| Box | Means | After a right answer, comes back |
|---|---|---|
| new | not seen yet | in 3 days (known on first sight, see below) |
| 0 | missed, or back to the start | the next day |
| 1 | right once | in 2 days |
| 2 | learned (right on two different days) | in 4 days |
| 3 | learned, holding up | in 2 weeks |
| 4 | mastered | in 4 weeks |
| 5 | mastered, maintenance | in 4 weeks |
- A right answer only counts when the word is due. Seeing a word again before its review day is fine practice, but it doesn't move it up. That stops cramming from looking like learning.
- A wrong answer moves it back. A learned word drops 2 boxes; a word not yet learned goes back to the start. Either way it's due again today, so it gets another try soon.
- Hints and self-checked sentences don't count. A right answer after using the "remove 2" hint, or a sentence the child marked as good themselves, is practice but doesn't move the word up.
- Mastered words aren't used as filler. They only come back for their 2 weeks and 4 weeks maintenance checks.
Words they already know
If a word is answered right the very first time it appears (without a hint), it was probably known already. Instead of coming back tomorrow, it comes back in 3 days. If it's right again then, it jumps straight to box 3: learned, with the next check in 4 days. One confirming check is kept on purpose: with 4 choices, a guess is right 1 time in 4. A known word is learned after 2 answers instead of about 5.
No same-day repeats
Once a word is answered right, it doesn't come back the same day. Extra repeats within a day add very little to memory. A word missed today can get one more try, and no word appears more than 3 times in a day.
Harder questions as words are learned
New words can be asked any way, including simply matching a word to its meaning. Once a word is learned, its reviews drop the meaning-matching questions and use ones that make the child apply it: fill in the blank, antonyms, analogies and synonyms. Producing or applying a word builds memory faster than recognizing it again. Missions also include sentence writing for words they've already gotten right, and parents can add a "type it from memory" question.
The pace adapts
The game watches the last 100 answers. While a child gets 90% or more right, it brings in up to 25 new words a day (instead of 15), allows up to 60 words in progress, and fills spare slots with new words before extra practice. When accuracy drops below that, it goes back to the normal pace and spends spare slots on words still being learned.
Leveling up
After every mission and timed section, the game checks the current level: once 80% of its words are learned (box 2 or higher), the child moves up and new words start coming from the next level. A level of 136 words needs 109. Because learned means right on two different days and new words arrive 15 to 25 a day, a level usually takes about two weeks of daily practice. A miss can push a word back below learned, so the count can go down as well as up. You can change the percentage (50 to 100%) or set the level by hand in the child's Settings tab. Custom word lists don't have levels, so leveling pauses while one is active.
Question types and strategies
Eight question types: synonyms, antonyms, analogies, sentence completion, meaning to word, word to meaning, writing a sentence, and typing from memory. Each comes with a test-taking tool: deciding whether a word feels positive or negative, predicting a word before the choices appear, highlighting clue words like "although" and "because", naming the relationship in an analogy, spotting the synonym trap in antonym questions, and crossing out wrong choices. After a miss, the game walks through the same steps to decode the question. Timed practice sections (20 questions, about 30 or 16 seconds each) give no feedback until the end, then review every miss.
Insights: reading the numbers
Each child's Insights tab audits their practice and suggests changes you can apply with one click:
- Times each word is shown: about 4 to 6 is normal for a word that takes a few tries; known words need 2 or 3.
- Known on first sight: a high number on the current level means the level may be too easy.
- Answers to learn a word: typical answers until it's right on two different days.
- Missed on a later day: how much fades between sessions. Above 25% suggests shorter, more frequent practice.
- Same-day repeats: answers on a word already right that day. The current schedule keeps this near zero; older practice may show more.
Suggestions include moving up a level (at 92%+ right on the level with 60%+ known on first sight), moving down (under 65%), spreading practice out after very long days, a weekly goal when practice is irregular, and harder questions at 90%+ accuracy.
For parents
- Kid mode locks a device to one child (or a family picker). Parent pages need your PIN.
- Rewards: kids earn about 100 XP per right answer, plus bonuses for streaks and mastered words, and spend it on rewards you set. You hand them out from the Rewards tab.