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Games playbook
Mingo Sprint

A short quiz on the lesson section you have just studied. The questions come from that lesson itself, so a Sprint is the fastest way to check you really understood it.

2 Sparks per right answer2 rounds of 5Relaxed or Beat the Clock

How to play​

1Start a Sprint
  1. Open a lesson and finish reading (or listening to) a section.
  2. Tap Sprint.
  3. Choose your pace: Relaxed (no clock) or Beat the Clock.
Round 1, question 1 — the Relaxed pace has no clock.
Round 1, question 1 — the Relaxed pace has no clock.
2Answer round 1
  1. Round 1: answer 5 questions. Each answer shows straight away whether you were right.
A right answer turns green straight away.
A right answer turns green straight away.
3Take a break, then round 2
  1. Take a short break between rounds.
  2. Round 2: answer 5 more questions.
The break between rounds, with your round 1 score.
The break between rounds, with your round 1 score.
4See your report
  1. See your report: how many you got right, your stars and the Sparks you earned.
The report: right answers, accuracy and what to do next.
The report: right answers, accuracy and what to do next.
A Sprint on a computer: your avatar and score sit beside the question.
A Sprint on a computer: your avatar and score sit beside the question.

Rounds and questions​

WhoRoundsQuestions per roundClock
Basic 4 and up25Your choice: Relaxed or Beat the Clock
Basic 1 to 315 (picture-first questions)Never; always relaxed
Basic 1 to 3: one round, big answer cards.
Basic 1 to 3: one round, big answer cards.
A picture-first counting question.
A picture-first counting question.

Basic 1 to 3 learners get one more go after a wrong answer, so nobody gets stuck — but only the first answer counts for the score.

Each new Sprint mixes the questions differently and avoids the ones you saw recently. When the lesson is short, older questions may come back.

Relaxed or Beat the Clock​

RelaxedBeat the Clock
Clock on screenNoYes, one per question
Sparks per right answer22
Speed bonusNone+1 Spark for each right answer given within that question's time
Beat the Clock: the seconds left show beside each question.
Beat the Clock: the seconds left show beside each question.

How much time each question gets​

The time for each question is worked out from how long it takes to read and think, so a long question gets more time than a short one:

  1. Count the words in the question and all its answer choices.
  2. Allow about 0.6 seconds per word (roughly 100 words a minute).
  3. Add thinking time: 8 s for an easy question, 16 s for a medium one, 28 s for a hard one (16 s if the level is not marked).
  4. Add 12 s more if the question asks you to explain, infer, compare, reason, analyse, asks why, or is about a passage.
  5. Round up. The result is never less than 15 seconds and never more than 120 seconds.
Example

A medium question with 30 words in total gets 30 × 0.6 + 16 = 34 seconds.

Stars​

StarsScore
★★★80% or more right
★★50% to 79% right
★less than 50% right

Three-star Sprints count towards some Mingo Ladder steps.

Sparks​

  • 2 Sparks for every right answer, in both paces.
  • +1 Spark per quick right answer in Beat the Clock.
  • Sparks count towards your daily limit of 60.
  • Played offline? The round is saved on your phone and its Sparks are added when you are back online.
  • Sparks are always worked out by the server from the saved answers, never from the score shown on the phone.

After a Sprint​

From the report you can challenge a friend to the same lesson (see Playing with friends), open the Style Lab, or play again.