Gems And Streaks
What earns gems, why a second attempt sometimes pays nothing, and what keeps a streak alive.
Gems count the work, and they run on two tracks: effort earns the first, and doing better than last time earns the second.
What earns gems
| What you did | What it pays |
|---|---|
| A correct practice question | A base award, higher for a fill in the blank than a multiple choice |
| Answering out loud | A bonus on top |
| A row of a table drill | Less than a question |
| A module reaching completed | A flat bonus, once |
| A module fully finished | A flat bonus, once |
| A completed scenario | Sixty at the floor, up to three hundred at the ceiling |
| A message to Loco that says enough to count | A small award, capped over one conversation |
Why the awards differ
Every award is multiplied by the CEFR level of the content, from one at the bottom of the scale to three at the top. A table drill pays less than a question because a board shows you every answer it will accept and a question does not, and a conversation with Loco has a lifetime cap on what it can earn, so chat sits beside the other activities rather than replacing them.
Why a repeat sometimes pays nothing
A question pays only when a wrong answer becomes a right one, so re-answering something you already had right earns nothing. A scenario retry is compared against your own best previous attempt at that scenario rather than against zero, so a worse retry earns nothing and a retry at the same score carrying twice as much language earns the difference.
Where to see them
The band at the top of every course page carries your gems, and tapping it cycles through modules completed, scenarios completed, and correct answers. Those numbers are reachable no other way.
Streaks
A day counts when you finished something on it, meaning a module reaching completed or a scenario session, and opening a page does not count.
How much it forgives
Days chain while the gap between them stays inside the skip allowance, and a chain has to run a minimum length before it is a streak at all. Forgiveness is earned rather than unlimited, so showing up three days a week keeps a streak and showing up once a fortnight does not, and the streak on screen is current only if it reaches today or yesterday.
What a bad week costs
Your streak, and nothing else. Your plan does not expire, your gems do not decay, and your level is an estimate of what you have shown rather than a score that drifts down while nobody is looking.