Word Quest

Word Quest: A Spelling Adventure

Spelling without pain — through story, sound, choice and play.

Word Quest is an app for learning English spelling while enjoying an adventure game. It is designed for beginner learners, children with spelling difficulties, and learners of English as a foreign language. It can also be used more generally by any child (or adult!) who would benefit from a structured, fun spelling journey.

Word Quest and The Book of Letters were originally two bestselling spelling adventure game books published by Learning Development Aids, now out of print.

The two books have now been combined, extensively revised, and adapted into a digital adventure game for iPad and online use. The app keeps the original “choose your path” adventure structure, where the player meets creatures, characters, and challenges that can only be overcome by completing spelling tasks.

The spelling quests follow current phonics approaches and spelling rules.

The adventurer/player follows the story as it unfolds. To support weaker readers, and to make the game more engaging, the text is also read aloud. The player travels through different locations, including forests, mountains, ships, islands, caves and magical landscapes, all supported by appropriate graphics and sound effects. For example, the adventurer may: visit the Island of Words; choose a safe path across the Syllable Swamp; dodge the mad Consonant Dogs; explore an underground cavern; meet the Evil Wizard.

After reading or listening to each part of the story, the adventurer is invited to complete a spelling task. These tasks require no writing. Instead, they involve choosing, sorting, matching, listening, recognising patterns, and applying spelling rules.

If the task is not completed correctly, the player is given hints and opportunities to try again. Once the challenge is completed, the adventurer moves on to the next part of the story.

There is also an option to see what might have happened if the player had failed the challenge. These alternative endings are fun, dramatic, and sometimes slightly gruesome in a comic adventure style. Children — and often adults — enjoy discovering these endings, even after they have already completed the spelling task correctly. The player always returns safely to the main story, and the app automatically guides them to the correct next section.

Structure of the Story

The storyline is divided into four main parts:

• The Land of Letters
• The Island of Words
• The Syllable Swamp
• The Encounter with the Wizard
  
   

Each part becomes gradually more challenging. The spelling quests also increase in difficulty and are carefully matched to the stage of the story.

The quests reflect different aspects of spelling and phonics. As the adventurer progresses, they are given “equipment” such as guides, scrolls, books, tickets, maps, spells and magical objects. These items introduce or reinforce spelling rules and strategies.The spelling activities are cumulative. They build through a structured teaching order, allowing the player to revisit and reinforce earlier concepts while gradually meeting new ones.

The spelling tasks are based on over 40 years of work with dyslexia, including 27 years as Principal of a specialist school for dyslexia. However, the app version has been widened so that it is also suitable for beginner spellers, English language learners, and children who simply want an enjoyable spelling adventure.

More details of the specific phonics used can be found in the teachers guide.