Mushroom Mayhem – Android test

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[ The test phase is concluded. Soon you can find the app in the play store. Thanks! ]

Google changed the Play Store rules for new apps. Before an app can be published, it now needs to be tested by at least 12 people for a minimum of two weeks.

That means: if you want to help Mushroom Mayhem get approved and officially released, your participation as a tester genuinely makes a difference. The process is simple, safe, and only takes a minute to set up.

To test the current Android version of Mushroom Mayhem, follow these steps (on your Android device):

  1. Join the Google Group
    This step tells Google that you’re part of the official tester community. Without joining the group, Google won’t allow you to access the test version.
  2. Become a tester
    After joining the group, this link activates your tester status. You’ll see a confirmation message from Google Play saying you’re now a tester.
  3. Download the app
    Once you’re registered as a tester, this link will let you install the test version directly from the Play Store, just like any other app.

After installing, simply play the game whenever you like over the next two weeks. There’s no strict schedule, Google only checks that the app has active testers. If you encounter bugs or have suggestions, feel free to share them. Every bit of feedback helps polish the game before release. Thank you for helping

Lanzarote, a long weekend

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Timanfaya!We visited Lanzarote again, this time with two families: five (5!) children and three adults. On the first day, right after arriving, we picked up the rental car and immediately started sightseeing. Our first stop was Mirador del Mar, with a beautiful view of the nearby island of La Graciosa. After that, we continued to the Cueva Verde, an enjoyable tour through a lava tunnel. Next we visited Jameos del Agua, a partially collapsed lava tube that’s home to many tiny blind white crabs found only on Lanzarote. The whole site was transformed into something special by the local artist and architect César Manrique. Finally, we headed to our villa, checked out the pool, and found two geocaches along the path near the little beach.

On the second day we drove to the center of the island, to the Timanfaya volcano. We had to wait in line for 90 minutes, but after that we could hop straight onto a bus for a stunning tour through the volcanic landscape. After visiting the volcano, we stopped to see some impressive rock formations, deep cracks in the terrain, a perfect spot for a few great photos.

La Graciosa!On the third day we went to the island of La Graciosa, which we had already seen from the viewpoint on our first day. A half-hour boat ride took us there. We bought some sandwiches and rented bikes for a long ride across the island. Getting lost was impossible: there’s only one clear route. At one of the beaches, Alex and I found some salt. It looked surprisingly clean, so I took a little with me to experiment with later. We returned on the last boat of the day and headed back to the villa.

On the final day we took it easy. Checked out, drove to the airport, and headed home. A tiring but wonderful little trip.

April 0.0

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A month without alcohol, which in my case only means no wine and no beer because I don’t drink spirits anyway. Normally I only have a few beers during the weekend, so I don’t expect this dry month to be very difficult. I just wanted to try it and see if I notice anything.

To make it more likely that I notice something, I’m adding an extra challenge to this experiment: no coffee. On weekdays I usually drink about four cups a day, so together with the no-alcohol rule this will make for a bit more challenging month. I’m curious to see what the effect will be, and if I even notice anything.

The experiment still seems fairly simple, even with the no-coffee rule, so I’m adding one more twist. I’m going to do it secretly. Not in the sense of hiding anything, but simply by not announcing that I’m spending a month without alcohol and coffee. I’m curious to see if anyone in my family notices.

March ’26

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A Dutch saying is ‘Maart roert zijn staart’, which translates to: ‘In March things happen’, but luckily this was not the case in this March. Just like February, March was a quiet month.

Alan has won a few football matches, complete with some really beautiful goals. Alex plays beach volleyball once a week, and he was invited to join a tournament in Fuerteventura. We were super proud, but unfortunately we couldn’t convince him and he preferred to stay home. Ah well, next time. I went out to a little restaurant again with the ‘dads’, this time to Casa Brito, to enjoy some delicious food and relax.

It was a quiet month, but it did have some very fun moments. One weekend that gave me a few amusing, atypical stories about a sheep and an ex. Another weekend was less fun, but more productive, I released a new version of Mushroom Mayhem! We also enjoyed a visit by Alex and Alan’s godfather Miguel!

Together with Copilot, I also gave my old app ezDatepad a technology update. I think I’m the only one who uses ezDatepad (for my shopping lists and for quickly jotting down ideas), but having an updated version is always a bonus.

Batan B – Guiniguada B

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It was going to be a tough match. We had already played them away, and that hadn’t been pleasant: an extremely physical team. During that previous match, a teammate’s shin guards had even been snapped in half. We lost that game, and everyone was aware of the potential dangers. Alan had spent the past weeks practising extra on jumping and dodging.

Today was the day, and the start was immediately bad. In the very first minute we conceded a goal. 0-1. Ah well, I thought, Alan is starting on the bench, so we’ll see how it goes.

But then something unexpected happened: the equaliser! 1-1. Nobody saw that coming, and the whole game shifted. Slowly the match became more physical, but we held our ground. The goals kept coming: 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3, 5-3, 5-4, and finally 6-4.

Alan also scored a beautiful goal. From midfield, high into the corner. Unstoppable. The crowd was completely caught up in the tension, and emotions were running high. The coaches and the referee even had to calm down some of the parents and family members. Well… that’s how it goes sometimes.
Batan B - Guiniguada B!
Batan B - Guiniguada B!

ezDatepad 1.1

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ezDatepad has been available in the iOS app store for quite a few of years already, but now it was time for an update. No new funcionality, but simply getting the app up to date. A technology upgrade where all the little parts that make up the app have been updated to their latest versions, so it is once again a robust (and safe) tool.

Get ezDatepad!

Maki sides

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We sometimes call them sushi, but it’s actually a maki, a little roll of seaweed, rice, and some tasty fillings. In the store or in a restaurant you never see the ends, but for me that’s the best part. I think it looks beautiful, like a kind of wild maki on one side and a perfect maki on the other.

Chefs creating a maki want it to look good, uniform, all the pieces the same. I thight unit with everything pressed together. The ends are often different. Some loose rice, some extra ingredients, some things missing. For me it is like ying and yang. Opposites that unite. One side perfect, the other chaos. Together they are better than apart. Each bite unique, each flavor slightly different, each piece has its own identity. Perfection.

Alex en Alan both helped creating some very creative makis. We even have a typical Canarian maki with Pata! Here are some of our creations.
Maki

Vibe coding

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Vibe coding is a new way of building software with the help of AI. Instead of writing every line of code yourself, you simply describe the functionality you want, and the AI generates it for you. You test what it creates, and if it works, you move on to the next feature. If something isn’t quite right, you tell the AI what to fix, and it adjusts the implementation.

The surprising part is that you don’t need to dive into the code unless you want to. You focus on the ideas, the flow, and the experience, and you trust the AI to handle the technical details. It’s a faster, more intuitive way of creating software, and it lets you stay in the creative zone instead of getting lost in syntax.

For Mushroom Mayhem I started out building everything myself, it was before there were any AI assistents available, but I switched to vibe coding a while ago. All the design, the different game types, the screens, they are all vibe-coded now. The core of the game is solid, so I figured anything built on top of it would be a limited risk. For now, I’m happy with the results. Development is very fast. Mistakes do happen, but they’re usually easy to fix.

My current vibe-coding task is adding a shop to the game, so players can buy edible mushrooms to reveal what’s behind a field. It’s my biggest vibe-coding task so far, and the progress looks very promising.

Mushroom Mayhem 1.3

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What can I say. What started as a small hobby project, a half-finished but working app has grown into a professional app. I’ve been doing a lot of tinkering with the mushrooms lately. There’s now a full adventure mode that fits perfectly into the storyline. I also added a new game mode for players who want to choose between a quick match or a more strategic challenge.

On the horizon you can already see small clusters of mushrooms. As you walk through the forest, you see them coming closer and closer. Every now and then you come across a little field that you need to search through.

Watch out for the poisonous mushrooms, and look for the edible ones. You won’t find the edible ones often, but when you do, it’s always worth it. Once you’ve picked a field clean, you continue on to the next one. A perfect way to unwind.

This is what I wanted to achieve for the adventure mode of Mushroom Mayhem. What I had before was just a long list, which didn’t fit the feeling I wanted to evoke at all. Luckily, with the help of AI, I managed to straighten it out. The adventure mode has now been transformed into a beautiful map where new levels appear as soon as you complete a level. (Small) inconvenience is that you will need to start your adventure from scratch. Your old adventures don’t count anymore so you will have to start anew from step one.

There is more. The different game modes now look more alike: the game in the center and at the bottom a line of text indicating what you’re doing: an adventure level, a daily challenge, a quick game, or a (new) custom game. There are even more achievements to unlock, and the entire app has received a refreshed, improved look and feel.

Get Mushroom Mayhem!

Sheep

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Angry sheep!The kids were happily playing, the mothers were chatting away, and I went for a nice run. I do that more often, but this time was a little different than usual. From a big skate park, I run a loop of about five kilometers through the neighborhood. It’s all mountain paths, with the occasional bit of asphalt. After about a kilometer, I came across a group of sheep. Just on the public road. There were about fifteen of them, I think, and five were little ones. Cute. I stopped for a moment and grabbed my phone to take a picture. One sheep walked up to me, and I thought, ‘Oh, how nice, I’ll pet him’.

Suddenly, I saw the sheep in much higher definition, and the rest of the surroundings blurred. I could only see that one sheep, and it was quite clear is wasn’t a sheep, it was a ram and I especially noticed its two enormous horns. Oh. At the speed of light, I understood that he needed to defend his offspring (from me), that I could easily avoid a risk of bodily harm, and that I’d better keep running. I started jogging again, and the angry ram came after me. What?! I sped up, fueled by adrenaline, and the ram finally stopped chasing me.

So in the end, a boring running route still gave me a fun story, and a nice adrenaline boost every now and then must also be healthy.