Installing Typing Musou as an app on student devices (Chromebook and iPad)
This page is for whoever manages your school's devices (the Google Admin console, or the MDM for your iPads). Nothing is installed from an app store: the web version of Typing Musou is placed on each device as an app (a PWA). It costs nothing.
What changes
- A Typing Musou icon appears on the device (the launcher and shelf on a Chromebook, the Home Screen on an iPad).
- Tapping it opens Typing Musou in its own window, with no address bar or tabs.
- Tapping the icon again does not open a second window; the one already open comes to the front (Chromebook).
- When force-installed on a Chromebook, students cannot remove the app.
What stays the same
- It is the web version itself. The modes, records, rankings and school assignments are all the same.
- Updates are automatic. Anything we fix appears on every device the next time it is opened. There is nothing to update per device.
- An internet connection is still required.
- If your web filter blocks Typing Musou, the app will not open either. The filter needs to allow it first.
- Data usage is the same as in the browser.
Why it is worth doing
- Lessons start faster: nobody types a URL or searches for the site.
- No typos, and no landing on other sites or ads from search results.
- Every device has the same entry point, so there is nothing to explain.
- Without an address bar and tabs there is more room on screen, and it is harder to wander off to other tabs.
- No bookmarks to set up or URLs to hand out per device.
Chromebook (Google Admin console)
Done by the Google Workspace for Education administrator. Teachers and students do not need to do anything. We recommend trying it on one class's organizational unit first, then widening it to a year group or the whole school.
- 1Sign in to the Google Admin console (admin.google.com) with an administrator account.
- 2Go to Devices > Chrome > Apps & extensions > Users & browsers.
- 3Pick the organizational unit to deploy to (for example, a year group) on the left.
- 4From the add button at the bottom right, choose Add by URL and enter the URL below. Set it to open in a window (the default, a tab, opens it as an ordinary tab with an address bar).
- 5Under Installation policy for the app, choose Force install + pin to ChromeOS taskbar and click Save. Force install alone is fine if you do not want it on the shelf.
- 6Once the policy arrives, the app appears after the student signs in to the Chromebook again (or restarts it).
URL to enter
https://typingmusou.com/
To check, open chrome://policy on a student's Chromebook and confirm that WebAppInstallForceList shows OK.
Records and accounts
- On the same Chromebook and the same Google account, the Chrome tab and the app share the same records. That includes students who play as guests without signing in.
- If several students share one device, their records stay separate by Google account, just as in the browser.
- On devices set to clear browsing data at every sign-out, guest records do not survive in the browser or in the app. Have students sign in to Typing Musou. Students who joined with a class code can get their records back with a transfer code from their teacher.
Menu names follow Google's help page. If your console looks different, see Google's help. support.google.com
iPad
Deploy to many iPads at once with your MDM (Jamf School, Intune or whatever manages your iPads), or add it to each iPad's Home Screen by hand. Either way, please read the iPad warning below.
Deploying with an MDM (web clip)
- 1Create a new web clip in your MDM.
- 2Enter the URL below and set the label to “Typing Musou” (タイピング無双).
- 3Use the image below as the icon (enter its URL, or download and upload it).
- 4Decide whether to turn Full Screen on or off using the table below.
- 5To stop students removing it, turn off Is Removable.
- 6Assign it to the group of iPads to deploy to.
URL to enter
https://typingmusou.com/
Icon image
https://typingmusou.com/assets/icons/apple-touch-icon.png
Full Screen on vs. off
| Full Screen on | Full Screen off | |
|---|---|---|
| Opens as | An app (no address bar) | A Safari tab |
| Records vs. Safari | Separate (sign-in needed) | Shared with Safari |
| Best for | Students who can sign in with Google | Students who do not use Google accounts |
If students can sign in with Google, we recommend Full Screen on. If they only join with a class code and never sign in with Google, we recommend Full Screen off.
Adding it on one iPad
- 1Open the URL below in Safari.
- 2Sign in with Google first (see the iPad warning below for why).
- 3Tap the Share button (the square with an arrow) and choose Add to Home Screen.
- 4Check the name reads “タイピング無双” and tap Add.
URL to enter
https://typingmusou.com/
iPad warning: opening the app can make records look lost
On iPad, Home Screen apps (including full-screen web clips) store their data separately from Safari. This is how Apple designed it and we cannot change it.
In particular, when you deploy a full-screen web clip with an MDM, the app starts as a brand-new guest the first time it opens. A student who used to play as a guest in Safari will no longer see their rank or records. After that, Safari and the app stay as two separate guests.
The records are still on our server and have not been deleted. But as long as the student stays a guest, the only key to them is in that iPad's Safari.
How to avoid it: have students sign in
- 1Open Typing Musou in Safari and tap Sign in with Google. Everything played in Safari is merged into that Google account.
- 2Open the Home Screen app and sign in again with the same Google account. Anything played in the app is merged into the same account.
- 3From then on, Safari, the app and any other device all show the same records. Even if the app is removed and added again, signing in brings everything back.
The surest way is to have every student sign in in Safari during a lesson before you deploy, then sign in again in the app during the first lesson after. Students may only be able to sign in with Google once your Google Workspace allows Typing Musou (see the Google sign-in setup below).
Students who do not sign in with Google (class-code only)
- Deploy the web clip with Full Screen off. It opens in Safari, so records are not split.
- A student whose records already look lost can get them back with a transfer code issued by their teacher from the class roster (from Members in the teacher's view).
FAQ
- Does the app use more storage?
- About the same as the browser. Game images are kept on the device, exactly as when playing in the browser.
- Can I deploy it to Windows or Mac?
- Yes, if Chrome is managed through the Google Admin console, the same setting works. For a single machine, use the install button in the address bar of Chrome or Edge.
- Can it go on smartphones?
- Typing Musou is made for computers and tablets with a keyboard. The game screens do not open on smartphones.
- How do we stop using the app?
- Remove the force-install in the Google Admin console, or stop deploying the web clip in your MDM, and it disappears from devices. On a Chromebook, records stay in the browser. On iPad, removing a full-screen app deletes what was stored in it on that device, so make sure students have signed in first.