Learning a language on the Duolingo is engaging, and fun. The platform has more than 42 languages and hundreds of courses that will cater for anyone. My journey so far has been more than positive. It is enjoyable for me. Today marks my 414 day streak.
There are mini games you can play and if you have not mastered it, you may be tempted to spend your hard earned gems to give yourself an advantage over time. For French in particular, it is the time-based Match Madness game, or challenge, which is only playable on the mobile (cell).
Languages with Match Madness
I know the French course has it. A quick search revealed the the following languages have the game, as well:
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Spanish
If do you know of any others, do let us know in the comments section.
This game is the fastest way to earn XP’s to climb up and stay at the top of the league.
In the Match Madness game, you are given 1 min 45 secs (105 seconds) to earn 150 XP, with the 2X bonus. Otherwise, it will be 75 XP. It is the highest XP reward given the time constraint vs. other games like Listen, or Speak under the Conversation category. You will find the latter in Practice — represented by the dumbbell icon.
Only solve the first row, last.
As the Match Madness game starts, the clock counts down to zero from 1:45. To safely complete all 3 rounds, I have noted the following time remaining you have to complete each round.
1st round, 45 word matches:
At least 1 min 10 secs remaining, safest is 1 min 15 secs.
Best: 20 seconds
2nd round, 55 word matches:
At least 36 secs remaining, safest is 45 secs.
Final round, 60 word matches:
My personal best took 30 seconds.
Note: Left side (column) is the default language, or your native language. Right side (column) is the language you are learning.
Do not tap directly on the word of either side. Instead, tap on the empty space of each matching box closest to the screen’s edge. If you are tapping directly on the word, you may be obstructing your view of words subsequently appearing, hence, losing valuable time. Your eyes and brain are working as fast as they possibly can searching and matching.
Boxes on the right half are to be matched with their English word counterpart. You can tap-hold-drag then lift to nullify your initial selection. After lifting, you then tap on the correct box for the match. This tip can save you at least 2 seconds on the clock, otherwise, you’d be stalled on matching error.
Match in a top-down order on the left half (English words), box by box. The reason for this is because once a matched pair is solved, the boxes disappear and make way for the next pair in, more often than not, a timely order.
Let me illustrate
Reduce stochastic randomness
Always noticed if the first row is solved. In this case, horse appears with à. The goal must now be to solve for 4 boxes until the first row matches with its opposing pair. Emphasis is on the first row, and not necessary for the word on the left box.
The 4 boxes that must be matched are horse with cheval, and to with avec. Tap the corresponding boxes until the first row has a matching pair, as shown above: husband with mari.
At this stage, the remaining 4 rows below should be solved in a top-down fashion, matching English to French — not the other way round. Row2, then Row3, 4, then Row5, and then back to Row2. Repeat. Solve the rest as quick as you can. The first row should be solved last.
You are minimising randomness of word box reappearing within the given round.
If you made a matching mistake, quickly recover by moving on to the next row below. The above benchmark timings should indicate whether you are ‘safe’ to continue, or at a higher risk of running of out time.
If you have some moolahs to spend on virtual boosts, or wanting to support Duolingo further, that is fine.
These are my tips & tricks that I hope will help you make it more fun, and challenging for you.
Personally, the Match Madness is a great mental exercise to jump into and consolidate what you have learnt so far.
If you found this helpful, give me 10+ claps.
