RESOLVED: Invalid AVG threat alert is being worked on

Update: The invalid AVG threat alert has been removed. Read more here.

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We value your privacy, your data and your independence. That is why we would never ask you for data or collect data from you. In fact, we don’t store any of your data at all. Moreover, we can’t even access the data you have on your phone. Only you can. You can read this on our Google Play Store Data Safety section.

Furthermore, we don’t request additional Android permissions. Other than your private learning database and settings, we don’t install or write anything to your device. You simply install our game via the Google Play Store, who also checked our game against their high standards of programming. No further access or permissions are required.

Remember, we don’t burden you with ongoing subscriptions or annoying ads. When you buy our games, you pay one price at the start and that is that. The game is yours forever. Even if we were to disappear, you would still be able to play the game without any ads forever.

That is why it came as a shock when we were informed that AVG was warning our users that our game is a threat. The message looked like this screenshot:

False AVG threat alert

The issue is that AVG is using a “whitelist” whereby each app which is not on this list is given a black mark next to its name and the threat message is shown. This happens to a lot of apps and games on the market and we happen to be one of them. 

We are working with AVG to be placed on the whitelist in order for the threat label to disappear. Our game will not change and neither will your access to it.

Remember: We will never ask you for information and we will never collect any data without asking.

Please let us know via feedback@doma.games if you see similar messages or anything confusing on your phone so that we can resolve them as quickly as possible. 

Thank you!

Today’s Word of the Day is ser: to be!

Wow! Today’s Verb of the day is ser: the most important Spanish verb. Ser is the English verb “to be”. Actually, Spanish has two verbs for “to be”: ser and estar. Learning the difference is one of the biggest challenges when learning Spanish. However, the main difference is ser means to permanently be for example: él es español (he is Spanish), because your nationality doesn’t change. While estar implies that something changed, for example: estoy en España (I am in Spain), because you weren’t in Spain earlier.

Ser is the most frequently used verb, and it is often the first verb which new students of Spanish learn in school. Ser is also one of the most irregular verbs with exceptions in the present tense, both past tenses, and in both the subjunctive and imperative moods. Of course, in English, the verb “to be” is also the most frequently used verb, and one of the few irregular English verbs.

What does this mean?

It means that learning the verb ser is likely to take a little longer, because there are more irregular spellings to keep in mind in comparison to regular verbs such as hablar (to speak). Given how often the verb is used, it is necessary to learn the conjugation and get it right.

Screenshot: verb ser (to permanently be) in our Spanish Verb Conjugation Pick From Three game.

If you want a fun and effective way to practice the conjugation of ser and 3,660 other Spanish verbs, head over to the Google Play Store  and download our Spanish Verb Conjugation game now:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.domagames.spanishverbconjugation

Go live of our Spanish Verb Conjugation game!

Our Spanish Verb Conjugation game is now released!

You can download it here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.domagames.spanishverbconjugation

Spanish Verb Conjugation is a fun learning tool for mastering the art of conjugating Spanish verbs. Your goal is to select the correct conjugation for the selected tense and specified person. To win a round, you must choose 20 correct conjugations whilst making less than 3 mistakes.

Spanish Verb Conjugation feature graphic
Spanish Verb Conjugation game screenshots

It includes all of our 3,660 verbs in order of priority; that is more than one word a day for 10 years! It includes the conjugations for the 10 most important tenses for all of these verbs. And, it sells for a one off cost of just £11.99 or equivalent (US$12.99, €14.99). There are no adds, no in-app purchases, no subscriptions, no further payments ever. Compare this to some other offers: even a book of just 501 Spanish verbs costs three times this!

Let us know what you think and get in touch with us on feedback.svc@doma.games.

Happy learning!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.domagames.spanishverbconjugation

Finishing touches before go live: Spanish Verb Conjugation

Yes, you heard right. We are putting the finishing touches on Spanish Verb Conjugation before releasing in the next few days.

Spanish Verb Conjugation feature graphic
Screenshots from our game:
Flower game (left)
Learn New Verb in order or priority (right)
Select Tenses settings (top middle)
Pick From Three game (bottom middle)

We are specifically checking over the definitions of reflexive verbs that differ from the non-reflexive version of the same verb.

Some are easy such as vestir means to dress (someone) or to wear (something) and vestirse means to get dressed or put on some clothes. Other reflexive verbs are less straight forward. For example, agarrotar means to “to squeeze tightly” and agarrotarse means “to become stiff”.

We are checking all our verbs against official sources such as the RAE which is short for Real Academia Española (or Royal Spanish Academy). It is the definitive source for the correct use of Spanish, and it publishes a complete dictionary. We also use WordReference and even Google Translate. Once we have confirmed the best translation, we update the verbs as needed.

Our FAQs are finished already and we are putting videos in place to help you get the hang of the game quickly.

What else would you want us to come up with before publishing?

UPDATE: You can now download the Spanish Verb Conjugation game here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.domagames.spanishverbconjugation

erigirse versus erguirse: Why it is important to understand nuance

As we prepare to make our Spanish Verb Conjugation game available for open testing, we are also double checking our verb database. We want to be 100% certain that our translations are correct. After all, as you play the game and learn new verbs, we also want to ensure you know what they mean.

At times, there are similar verbs which have nuanced meanings. One example is erigirse (to stand up straight) versus erguirse (to straighten up). In order to understand the difference, it pays to visit the RAE website.

RAE is short for Real Academia Española (or Royal Spanish Academy). It is the definitive source for the correct use of Spanish, and it publishes a complete dictionary.

A related site is the FundéuRAE or La Fundación del Español Urgente. This literally translates into “The Urgent Spanish Foundation”. However, I believe“The Imperative Spanish Foundation” would be a better translation.

FundéuRAE is a non-profit institution whose main objective is to promote the proper use of Spanish in the media. Their newsletter and blog always refer to current events from fashion shows and politics to financial matters and weather reports. If you haven’t checked out their website and want to get a feel for some of the nuances of Spanish, I recommend taking a look.

So, how do erguirse and erigirse fit in? They are just one example of two verbs in our game that not only look very similar to one another, but also have similar meanings. That is why it is important to have a trustworthy dictionary or reference point to go to and check for the exact meaning.

That is also why we are giving our verbs another once over before releasing the game. If you want to know more about erguirse and erigirse, take a look at the recent FundéuRAE article.

UPDATE: The game is live and you can download it here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.domagames.spanishverbconjugation

Alpha is Ready

Alpha is ready. Unfortunately, due to some administrative hurdles, we’re not able to make it available to you today. We are working hard on dotting the i‘s and crossing the t‘s and will have it out to you as soon as practical.

In the meantime, we’re polishing the interface. To give you a feel of what it looks like now, here is the new home screen:

Spanish Verb Conjugation's new home screen.
Spanish Verb Conjugation’s new home screen.

We’re very happy with our new wood textures. It gives it the friendly, rustic feel we’re aiming for. What do you think?

UPDATE: The game is life and you can download it here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.domagames.spanishverbconjugation

Do I hear “oír”?

Whilst working hard on fixing the final bugs, the DOMA team indulged in a quick round of the board game Scrabble. Given we are working on a Spanish Verb Conjugation game, we chose the Spanish version which is called Intelect in Spain due to licensing laws.

My Spanish is not yet perfect, and I wanted to double check the spelling of the past subjunctive of “oír” (to hear). Our game allows you to search for verbs using the infinitive. There isn’t much I could spell incorrectly with “oír” – or so I thought. Still, the game didn’t find “oír”. We were flabbergasted. What had happened?

It turns out that the search insisted on the accent above the “í”!

What is the size of the issue?

Of our game’s over 3,600 verbs, there are only 9!

They have one thing in common: they have a hiatus. What is a hiatus?

Spanish has strong vowels and weak vowels. The“a”, “e” and “o” are strong vowels. The “i” and “u” are weak vowels. When a strong vowel and a weak vowel are combined they can either form a dipthong or a hiatus. In a dipthong, the vowels are combined to be pronounced as a single sound. In a hiatus, the vowels are pronounced separately. To indicate that the vowels should be pronounced separately – a hiatus – the weak vowel is accented. In the example “oír”, you pronounce it “o-ír”, and “reír” is pronounced “re-ír”.

The full list includes:

desleírto dilute
desoírto ignore
engreírseto become conceited
entreoírto half-hear
freírto fry
oírto hear
reírto laugh
sofreírto sauté
sonreírto smile

This issue is now fixed. You can now search for “oír” by typing “oir”. However, once this issue was fixed, we realised there may be other potential, similar issues. Fortunately, there are no verbs with “ú”, but there is the “ñ” character. You may want to search by just typing “n”. And, guess what? We have 53 verb infinitives with the “ñ” character. So, we’ve fixed that issue too. You can now search for “bañar” by typing “banar”.

In other news: our new design is being applied as we speak and our first Alpha version should be released next week! Go team DOMA!

If you want to sign up for the Alpha version, email us at info@doma.games or enter your details into the early access form below.

What are you waiting for?

Sign up today!

UPDATE: The game is live and you can download it here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.domagames.spanishverbconjugation

Final two bugs being worked on prior to release!

Yes, you read that right: We only have two more bugs to fix before we can put it all together and show you how the Spanish Verb Conjugation game will play like!

We’re all set up to put in the graphics and make some videos, which you’ll be able to watch on our YouTube channel or on our Google PlayStore.

If you want to sign up to play it before the official release, use the subscription form or contact us directly on info@doma.games.

UPDATE: The game is live and you can download it here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.domagames.spanishverbconjugation

Our mascot: Georgy

So what has happened since last time?

On our Spanish Verb Conjugation game, we have implemented a speed slider; so you set the speed of how fast the verbs move across the screen! We also added scroll buttons to the revision section; so, if you have more than 10 verbs to revise, you can scroll through them rather than having to pick them off one by one.

The settings section is also updated to make it easier to understand your options and choose between them.

Most importantly, we have added a section where you can review your progress and visualise your learning streaks. You’re in control of what you set as your goal and that is what you’ll be measured against – nothing more, nothing less. Get in touch to be on the early user list to try it out for yourself!

My favourite update though is that the first version of our mascot is ready. It’s Georgy, a little bull who is happy to see you and will smile when you get a word right.

Georgy
Georgy, our friendly bull mascot, helping you learn Spanish verb conjugation

What do you think?  

UPDATE: The game is live and you can download it here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.domagames.spanishverbconjugation

Nearly ready: Spanish Verb Conjugation

Yes, our new game is nearly ready. 

What will it do? 

Spanish Verb Conjugation will teach you how to conjugate Spanish verbs in a fun and friendly way. It includes all 86 irregular ways of conjugating Spanish verbs. It includes the 10 different tenses from the indicative through the subjunctive to the imperative across all six different persons. And it does this with over 3,600 verbs!

Best of all: Once it’s downloaded, you don’t need an internet connection! So wherever you are, you can keep learning and practising.

How will you play it?

You can select any verb you want, learn today’s verb of the day, or continue your journey through learning the most important verbs first using our version of the spaced repetition learning technique. Once a verb is selected, you choose which tense you want to practise. Then the fun begins.

The Flowers game will show you flowers containing random conjugations of the verb. Your goal is to pick the correctly conjugated form for the person and tense before they float away. Here is a preview of what the screen will look like with the verb “hablar” (to speak; to talk):

Spanish Verb Conjugation flowers game with new background.

What do you think? 

It’s not ready yet in that the final verb display and scoreboard is still being worked on. We are also working on a little bull as a mascot to be our logo and stand in the field. More on that next week though.

Do write in and share your ideas on how to improve it, what you like and what you want us to change.

If you want to play it, get in touch to get on the early user list so you can give it a go sooner than anyone else! 

UPDATE: The game is live and you can download it here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.domagames.spanishverbconjugation