Tan Dash: Kanji Runner

Tan the tanuki is running, and the sign up ahead wants a kanji. Read it, jump, and grab the tile that answers it. Tan Dash is a one-thumb retro runner that teaches the 82 kanji of the JLPT N5, the first level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. A sign shows a meaning (MEANS: mountain) or a reading in kana (READS: やま), and two to four kanji tiles roll in. Only one of them is right, in every wave: the game checks that before each release, so a correct grab never costs you a heart. HOW IT PLAYS • Tap to jump. Tap again in the air to jump higher. • Grab the kanji the sign asks for. A wrong kanji or a stump costs a heart. • Gold boxes help: an extra heart, a giant Tan, super jumps, bonus points, or a mystery. • Catch six kanji and a new world opens with new kanji to learn. Fourteen worlds cover all 82. LEARN AS YOU GO • Mix-ups: the results card shows which kanji you grabbed by mistake, and the ones you wanted. • Kanji-dex: every kanji you have ever caught. • From world 3, signs start asking for the readings of kanji you have already met, so the game moves from English to kana with you. • Chill speed for a slower game, and a choice of English signs, kana signs or a mix. MADE FOR SHORT, DAILY PLAY • A run takes a minute or two. • A daily streak, and an optional 7 PM reminder on days you have not played yet. Off unless you turn it on. • Haptics on every jump, catch and new world. PRIVATE AND OFFLINE • No account, no ads, no tracking, no analytics. Your progress stays on your phone. • Plays fully offline. Tan Dash comes from MichiKanji, home of The Travels of Tan, a weekly comic in beginner Japanese. The kanji, readings and worlds are the same as the web game at michikanji.com/play.