Spellcaster Spelling Duels

What are Spelling Duels?

Spelling Duels offer an entertaining way to practice spelling through friendly competition with Spellcaster locals known as Etyms. These duels combine word-building mechanics with strategic spell-casting gameplay, providing engaging practice that reinforces orthographic mapping skills.

Key Features:

• Spell-casting competition format
• Practice with familiar graphemes from current and previous levels
• Real-world dictionary validation
• Opportunity to correct opponent's mistakes

Accessing and Playing Duels

Starting a Duel:

1. Click on one of the Spellcaster locals (Etyms) in the game world
2. Select the crossed wands icon (red and blue wands)
3. Enter the duel scene and complete the brief walkthrough

Game Loop:

1. Choose a spell - Click on a spell to cast
2. Build your word - Use the grapheme cards presented to spell a word correctly
3. Cast your spell - Submit your word to attack your opponent
4. Opponent's turn - The Etym will spell a word from their grapheme cards
5. Counterspell opportunity - If the Etym spells incorrectly, you can correct their word and cast a counterspell
6. Continue until victory - Play continues until one contestant loses all their heart pips

Note: Spelling Duels can be toggled off for learners through the learner settings in the dashboard if needed.

Educational Features

Skill-Appropriate Content:

• Grapheme cards are drawn only from the learner's current level or preceding levels
• Learners will not encounter graphemes they haven't been taught yet
• Progressive difficulty that matches learning progression

Word Validation:

• Words are validated using an online dictionary service
• Real-world spelling verification ensures authentic practice
• Multiple dictionary sources provide comprehensive word coverage

Word Validation Sources

Our online dictionary validation draws from multiple authoritative sources to ensure comprehensive and accurate word verification:

• The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition - Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
• GCIDE - GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English (CC-BY-SA 3.0 license)
• WordNet 3.0 - Princeton University
• Wiktionary - English Wiktionary entries (CC-BY-SA 3.0 license)

Note: We may adjust the dictionary service in future updates to optimize performance and accuracy.

Common Issues and Solutions

A correctly spelled word is registered as incorrect

• Cause: This can occur if too many requests are being made simultaneously to our online dictionary
• Frequency: This should not happen often
• Status: We are actively working to improve this system
• Workaround: Try spelling the word again, or continue with a different word

A weird or archaic word was registered as correct

• Cause: The online dictionary draws from multiple comprehensive sources, including historical dictionaries like The Century Dictionary, which contain archaic and rare words
• Note: While these are technically valid English words, we understand they may not be appropriate for learning contexts
• Status: We are exploring options to filter or adjust the dictionary sources for more age-appropriate and contemporary vocabulary