Examples:
- Whatever action the user wants to do, he/she can figure out the appropriate button or sequence of
buttons in under 2 seconds.
- This is achieved through all the requirements expressed below (from 1.2. onwards).
- Every time the app launches, it should take no more than 3 taps before the player can start playing the game.
Examples:
- When the app launches for the first time, the player is greeted with a video-tutorial explaining how to play the game.
- The homepage should have a button or section that takes the player to the tutorial.
- If the players start playing the game without ever seeing the tutorial, there should be more mistakes made on average than if they had seen the tutorial.
1.3. I want the game to be saved automatically and to be able to pause it so that if I need to do something else, I can come back later and resume it.
Examples:
- When the “Pause” button is tapped, the game’s clock is paused and the cells and words do not
respond to taps.
- When the “Resume” button is tapped, the game’s clock resumes, the game responds like before, and the board remains the same.
- When the player exits the app or taps the “Home” or “Settings” button, and then resumes the game, the game looks exactly as if it had been paused before the first action was performed. (game will be auto-saved)
Examples:
- Given a cell selected by the player,
- Its row/column/subgrid will be highlighted with a different colour than when it's not selected.
- When it's filled in a way not in accordance with the rules of the game, that cell will be highlighted with a different colour than when it’s correct or empty.
- When it’s filled correctly, that cell’s colour will be the same as when it’s empty.
- When the game play is completed correctly,
- The word buttons will be disabled and the contents of the cells will become read-only.
- The player will be directed to a page where
- It congratulates the player on finishing that game
- Along with some statistics such as the time spent and the levels of Sudoku and language used.
1.5. I want to clear the content of a cell I select so that I can input a new value to correct my mistake if there’s any.
Examples:
- Given a selected cell that’s prefilled, when the “Erase” button is tapped, nothing happens.
- Given a selected cell that’s non-empty and is user fillable, when the “Erase” button is tapped, that cell becomes empty.
- Given a selected cell that’s empty, when the “Erase” button is tapped, that cell remains empty.
1.6. I want to see the full text of a cell displayed somewhere convenient when it’s too long to fit inside that cell.
Examples:
- When a non-empty cell is tapped, its full content will be displayed in the “Quick view area”.
- When an empty cell or the app background is tapped, nothing will appear in the “Quick view area”.
- When a word button is tapped, its content will be displayed in the “Quick view area”.
Examples:
- Given a cell the player just filled in,
- When the player taps the “Undo” button, that cell will appear as it was prior to being filled in.
- When the player taps the “Redo” button, nothing happens.
- Given an initial board with no moves made yet,
- When the “Undo” button is tapped, nothing happens.
- When the “Redo” button is tapped, nothing happens.
- Given a cell that was “undone”,
- When the “Undo” button is tapped, that cell will appear as it was two moves prior to being “undone”.
- When the “Redo” button is tapped, that cell will appear as it was before it was “undone”.
- Given a cell that was “redone”,
- When the “Undo” button is tapped, that cell will look like before it was “redone”.
- When the “Redo” button is tapped, that cell will appear as it was two moves prior to being “redone”.
1.8. I want to have a hint every now and then so that I don’t get stuck and may learn something new.
Examples:
- When the “Hint” button is tapped, a cell that is currently empty or incorrect will be filled in a way that is in accordance with the rules of the game.
- The player has to wait 30 seconds from the last time a hint was used before getting another one.
1.9. I want to have a (scoring) system so that I can see how well I’m doing compared with my past plays or with others.
Examples:
- Every time a game is completed correctly, its total time duration is recorded along with how many mistakes were made and other metadata.
- While on a certain difficulty level, the user will receive the “highscore” notification every time
they beat their previous high score in that level using their selected language.
- Highscore is based on how fast the user completes the sudoku game.
1.10. I want to reset the current game so that I can start over quickly without having to erase every cell.
Examples:
- Given a partially filled board, when the "Reset" button is tapped,
- The board's values will be back to what they were when the current game started.
- The word buttons will remain the same.
- Nothing will appear in the “Quick view area”.
1.11. I want to have a dedicated button for starting a new game so I don't have to go through the homepages again to achieve that.
Examples:
- Given a game currently in progress, when the "New game" button is tapped,
- The dimension of the board, number of word buttons, languages, and levels settings remain the same.
- The board's values will be replaced with a new set of prefilled values.
- All of the user fillable cells will be cleared.
- The word buttons will be replaced with a new set of values.
- Nothing will appear in the “Quick view area”.
Defined as users who are already good at Sudoku.
Examples:
- When choosing the level of the game, the player can choose between a “Novice” or an “Expert” level.
- Harder levels have fewer cells prefilled than easier ones.
2.2. I want to take notes on a specific cell so that I can remember what answers are possible for that one.
Examples:
- Given the player taps the “Notes” button and selects a fillable cell,
- No error checking is done in this mode.
- When a word is tapped, a tiny version of it will be displayed in that cell.
- When that word is tapped again, it will be removed from that cell.
- When the player taps the “Notes” button again, the game is no longer in the note-taking mode.
- Given the player selects a cell while not in the note-taking mode,
- Error checking functions as normal.
- When a word is tapped, all the notes in that cell will be erased and replaced with that word.
- If that word also appears in other cells’ notes of the same row/column/subgrid, the tiny versions of this word in those cells will be removed.
2.3. I want to see how I played my past games, including game configurations, moves made, time spent for each move, etc, so that I can analyze my past strategies and improve them.
Examples:
- When the “History” button is tapped on the homepage, the user is directed to a page with a
sortable list of games played from each level, each showing some or all of the above information.
- When the user taps a specific game, another page is shown with more details such as the lists of words used and game configurations. (User’s previous games+stats have been auto-saved)
The 3 levels roughly correspond to A1/A2, B1/B2, and C1/C2 of CEFR: Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
-
I want to see the list of words used in my past games so that I can review and study them.
Examples: (similar to 2.3.)
-
I want to save the words I like in a game so that I can quickly review them later to study.
Examples:
- During a game play, the player can select a word and add it to a list of favourite words.
- On the homepage, when the user taps the “Saved” button, a page will be shown with a sortable list of words saved along with which languages they are in.
-
I want to look up the meaning of the words I don’t know so that I can learn what they are and solve the game faster.
Examples:
- During a game play, when the player taps-and-holds a word, a pop-up will open with a translation of that word in the language that the player knows.
-
I want the game to use words that match my level of the language being studied (up to A2) so that I’m not overwhelmed by what I don’t know.
Examples:
- If the player’s native language is English and is studying French, the following sample of words
and their French counterparts may be used:
December, twelve, thank you, sorry, goodbye …
- If the player’s native language is English and is studying French, the following sample of words
and their French counterparts may be used:
-
I want the game to use words that match my level of the language being studied (B1/B2) so that I’m not overwhelmed by what I don’t know and not bored by what I already know.
Examples:
- If the player’s native language is English and is studying French, the following sample of words
and their French counterparts may be used:
although, now, second, disagree, application, …
- If the player’s native language is English and is studying French, the following sample of words
and their French counterparts may be used:
-
I want the game to use words that match my level of the language being studied (C1/C2) so that I’m not bored by what I already know.
Examples:
- If the player’s native language is English and is studying French, the following sample of words
and their French counterparts may be used:
contract, narrative, offspring, elapse, diarrhea, …
- If the player’s native language is English and is studying French, the following sample of words
and their French counterparts may be used:
4.1. I want the game to be easy to understand and interactive so it is more appealing and my students are more willing to try it out and use it as a fun tool for everyday learning.
(similar to 1.1.)
Examples:
- When the players need help, there is a tutorial (1.2.) and a hint system (1.8.) available.
- When the students work hard, they are rewarded for their effort (4.2.).
- Ensure that the app design is intuitive and engaging.
Examples:
- When the user plays the game for several days in a row, a page will pop up congratulating them for their effort.
4.3. I want to curate my own lists of word pairs for use with the game so that the words they learn fit into the current themes or topics I’m teaching.
Examples:
- When the user taps the “Settings” button followed by “Curate my own word lists” option, the users
are directed to a page where they can input their own word lists by uploading a specially
formatted file.
- Once set up, every game that matches the provided language configurations would use those words and those only.
5.1. As a vocabulary learner practicing at home, I want to use my tablet for Sudoku vocabulary practice, so that the words will be conveniently displayed in larger, easier to read fonts.
Examples:
- When the app is launched on the tablet, the words will be displayed in a larger size fonts than when it’s displayed on a phone.
- Tablet users, on average, should not have to squint their eyes to read the contents compared to users of smaller devices.
5.2. As a vocabulary learner taking the bus, I want to use my phone in landscape mode for Sudoku vocabulary practice, so that longer words are displayed in a larger font than standard mode.
Examples:
- When the app is in landscape mode, longer words are displayed in larger size fonts than in
standard portrait mode.
- This is made possible with the quick cell view functionality (1.6.).
- Users using landscape mode should not have to squint their eyes, on average, to read the contents compared to users in portrait mode.
- When a device is rotated, the contents and states of the game should remain the same as before it’s rotated.
5.3. As a teacher of elementary and junior high school children, I want scaled versions of Sudoku that use 4x4 and 6x6 grids. In the 6x6 grid version, the overall grid should be divided into rectangles of six cells each (2x3).
Examples:
- When the game is in 4x4 grid mode,
- Each column should have 4 cells.
- Each row should have 4 cells.
- The total number of cells should be 16 with no sub-grids.
- A valid game should have no repeating values in each column or row of the board.
- When the game is in 6x6 grid mode,
- Each column should have 6 cells.
- Each row should have 6 cells.
- The total number of cells should be 36 with each 2x3 sub-grid having 6 cells in total.
- Each column of the sub-grids should have 2 cells.
- Each row of the sub-grids should have 3 cells.
- A valid game should have no repeating values in each column, row, or sub-grid of the board.
5.4. As a vocabulary learner who wants an extra challenging mode, I want a 12x12 version of Sudoku to play on my tablet. The overall grid should be divided into rectangles of 12 cells each (3x4).
Examples:
- When the game is in 12x12 grid mode,
- Each column should have 12 cells.
- Each row should have 12 cells.
- The total number of cells should be 144 with each 3x4 sub-grid having 12 cells in total.
- Each column of the sub-grids should have 3 cells.
- Each row of the sub-grids should have 4 cells.
- A valid game should have no repeating values in each column, row, or sub-grid of the board.
- When the app is launched on a tablet, the words will be displayed in a larger size fonts than when it’s displayed on a phone.
- These users should, on average, not have to squint their eyes to read the contents compared to users of smaller devices, but may have more difficulty reading compared to tablet users playing with smaller grid sizes.
6.1. As a student who wants to practice my understanding of spoken words in the languages that I am learning, I want a listening comprehension mode.
Examples:
- In this mode, numbers will appear in the prefilled cells.
- When I press the number, the corresponding word in the language that I am learning will be read out to me.
- When I press a word button, the word will be read out to me in my native language.