Japanese Game Review: CandyMaker

CandyMaker (料理ゲーム 洋菓子店ローズ ～ほのぼの再建記～) is a free Japanese game available on the Google Play Store for Android devices. It's available in the US region Google Play Store.



Gameplay:
It is a simulation of a candy store. You collect ingredients, buy cookbooks or test out your own recipes, and serve dishes to earn in-game money, which can be spent on more recipes, ingredients, or upgrades. The graphics and gameplay are tranquil.



Japanese level: Suitable for all levels

Beginners: The ingredients come with little pictures, so even if you can't read Japanese, you know what you're working with, and it can help reinforce basic food words like milk (牛乳) and eggs (卵).

Intermediate and Advanced: The recipes are presented as riddles for Japanese speakers to solve, so instead of saying "小麦粉" (flour), it says "基本の粉" (a basic powder), which may require some dictionary effort for intermediate levels and a minor challenge for advanced speakers.
















English Tutorial, for those who don't understand the Japanese one in the game.

This is your candy shop. The cash register shows how much of each item you have, and the asking price. The memo pad allows you to read notes you took from hitting the street.

Here you can collect ingredients for cooking

Mix up to 3 ingredients, and choose the method of preparation

Pick any of the shops to buy ingredients, recipes, etc.

Pay off your loan

This is your inventory

your recipe book

this recipe failed

the tsukuru! button lets you cook directly

Citizen science online highlight: EteRNA

Each puzzle starts with a goal shape and color restrictions.

You can paint the bases different colors

The colors form bonds, or can repel each other in bigger strands.

Today's highlighted citizen science project is EteRNA, where gamers are asked to design RNA strands. This project is crazy addictive for puzzlers! It feels so much like a game, you might forget it's science.

Goals:

• Introduce people to RNA structure, its purpose and its laboratory application.
• Have citizen scientists help design RNA strands that could be used in life-saving therapies and diagnostic tools.

Gameplay:

• You start with a target strand of RNA and "paint" the bases so that the RNA will fold into the target shape. Sounds simple, but the interactions between the 4 different bases can get quite complex. The tutorial is simple but it gets real tricky the further you go.



This is what the RNA strand will naturally fold into, but...



this is the shape I want...

• After you've gone through all the training, you can help Invent Medicine (current project is a blood test for TB - earlier detection can help patients get proper treatment early enough to save lives). Or you can solve RNA designs created by other users, and even make up some of your own.

Start with the NOVA VirtauLab tutorial here.

Sometimes you want the RNA one shape with a molecule attached, and another shape when it's empty. This part gets tricky...

Learning a New Language: Where to Start

The hardest part about learning a new language is getting started, especially if it is your first time learning a second language. But learning a new language is fun, exciting and rewarding. It is well worth the effort. This list of suggestions takes a few things into account: time, budget, and speaking, reading and listening skills. Here are some tips for acquiring another tongue, that work for the most popular languages.

Let's start with quick methods for those going to another country soon, for a short trip. The quick options are good for beginners and for tourists, and you can learn to get by in a few weeks, if you study hard. But if you want to be able to carry on a conversation in another language, you need to spend a lot of time in that language. This doesn't mean immersion (although effective, it's not always a practical option), but it does mean meaningful practice, like a combination of language learning and watching movies or reading news articles in the target language. I'll write in a later post about how to better immerse yourself while still in an English-speaking country.

The Quick Route

• Pimsleur, Mango, Pronunciator, etc ($ or free). These options focus on speaking and listening skills. I especially recommend Pimsleur for the tourist. They have a collection of audio CDs for many languages, and they start off with basic conversation: greeting people, meeting people, numbers, shopping, and asking directions. Check your local library to see if they offer any of these, either CDs in the library, or free subscriptions online.
• Duolingo (free). Duolingo.com is a great website for learning languages. They currently offer many European languages, and they are developing programs for Chinese, Japanese, and many others, as well. And it's fun! They have listening, reading, writing and speaking activities.

Online TV programs for kids learning Chinese

There is a new trend among schools to offer language immersion starting in elementary school. But if your kid is in a Mandarin Chinese language immersion program, and you don't know any Mandarin, you may be wondering how you can help them get more practice with the language at home, or over summer. Maybe they've seen "Nihao, Kai Lan," but you want something a little more challenging.

Sites like Tudou, Youku and Soku are Chinese language websites that stream TV programs and movies with commercials, like Hulu. There are many programs available, but it can be discouraging if you can't read Chinese. Here is a quick guide to help you navigate the sites easily. I am most familiar with Tudou, so that is the site I use for this tutorial, but the other sites are quite similar.

Here is a link to Mandarin Chinese language children's shows:

http://www.tudou.com/list/ach4a345b121c-2d-2e-2f1689g-2h-2i-2j-2k-2l-2m-2n-2sort2.html

Here is a screenshot with English translations to help you navigate the site.

The Mainland and Taiwan shows are in Mandarin Chinese, with most subtitles in Traditional characters. 

You'll see this at the bottom of the page, but you might be able to load more programs.

My current favorite is 图图, because it is designed to teach kids things like shapes, counting, etc. So it is a great show for me to watch while learning Mandarin, and my baby enjoys the bright colors and upbeat music.

TimesTalks: Michael Caine: An Accent That Broke Class Barriers | The New...

How much do we judge people based on their accent? My husband has a Spanish accent, and when he first meets people in the US, they talk slowly, loudly, and with simple words. He hates it! As the conversation continues and he starts talking about string theory or calculus, people realize that although he has an accent, he has a broader vocabulary than they do. We tend to think of people in groups and classes based on the way they talk, but how much does an accent really say about someone? It only reflects the neighborhood they grew up in, not the quality of their character nor the extent of their education. So I'm trying to refrain from judging people by their accents, and I encourage you to do the same.

Recognizing a Language by it's Writing: The Top 11 Languages

How to recognize the top 11 world languages by their writing.

East Asian Scripts: Korean, Japanese and Chinese (Simplified and Traditi...

This video explains how to recognize the difference between traditional and simplified Chinese characters, as well as Japanese and Korean scripts.