In Other Words
Every word leads somewhere.
A daily puzzle where players connect unlikely word pairs through paths of related concepts. Unlike spelling-based word games, this is the first daily puzzle to make the connectedness of language playable—with over a million ways to win. A child and a grandparent solve the same puzzle differently; the path you take is your own.
TIGA 2025 Finalist
New Genre
Idea-Linking Puzzles
1M+
Ways to Win
Per Puzzle
100M+
Semantic Connections
$295k
NSF Seed
Venture Funding
Key Facts
| Publisher: | IDEA Games |
| Release Date: | December 2025 (v1.8) |
| Platform: | iPhone only |
| Genre: | Word Puzzle / Idea-Linking |
| Pricing: | $11.99 one-time purchase. Free puzzles Mon & Thu. |
| Core Loop: | Navigate from word to word through clouds of related concepts, choosing your own path through meaning |
| Goal: | Connect start to goal word. (3-hop "Genius" solutions available among thousands of valid paths) |
Gameplay Trailer
Game Concept
We already know how words connect—a natural property of language we use every day without thinking. In Other Words turns that into pathfinding: start word to goal word, hop by hop.
Each daily puzzle has 10-15 perfect 3-hop “Genius” solutions among a million longer paths. Most players win in 5-6 hops. Every choice opens new possibilities, powered by a 400,000-word semantic network.
Words cluster in ways dictionaries can't capture—you're navigating the curvature of your own mind. There's a distinctive click when you find the perfect bridge word: “ground” connecting earth to coffee to circuits, “punch” bridging fists to beverages.
Game Mechanics: Physical World Parallels
Think orienteering meets golf—but with words.
Like Orienteering...
Like Golf...
Most moves shift meaning (angry → flustered, horse → saddle). But sometimes a homograph offers a shortcut: “spring” jumps from seasons to coils to water sources; “park” leaps from nature to parking lots. Learn more about semantic mechanics in gaming.
Unlike Any Other Word Game
"Other word games ask: can you guess our answer? We ask: can you find your own way through language? A million paths exist—you only need one."
Visual Thesaurus Included
Beyond the daily puzzle: a 400,000-word visual thesaurus. Explore word clouds, see definitions, trace how meanings branch. Free for everyone—even non-subscribers.
Screenshots
Each cloud presents 15 words. You know where you're going; you choose how to get there.
Pick your next word from a cloud of related concepts
Seven hops max—or it's game over
Solve in 3 hops on your first try? Golden Crown.
Technology Behind the Game
Powered by the Linguabase: human lexicography expanded by AI. Neither approach alone could build this.
Building this by hand would have cost millions and taken decades. That's why word games have always focused on spelling, not meaning—until now.
Building a playable semantic network means wrestling with language's quirks. Case matters: March connects to calendars; march connects to parades. Compound words vary: mushroom has nothing to do with rooms; butterfly isn't about butter—but bedroom is exactly what it sounds like. And words like park serve as wormholes between unrelated domains.
The Semantic Network
- 400,000 curated headwords
- 100 million semantic relationships
- Case-sensitive disambiguation (Polish ≠polish)
- Compound word analysis (which parts define meaning?)
- Homographs mapped as bridges between meanings
Technical Implementation
- iOS frontend with Metal graphics and custom shaders
- Physics engine for natural word cloud layout
- Ray-tracing inspired algorithm for efficient path sampling
- Optimized for smooth 60fps performance on mobile devices
Team
About IDEA Games
A four-person studio spun off from the nonprofit IDEA.org in 2015. We build language tools—our previous work, SpicyNodes, reached 40 million users. In Other Words grew from an NSF-funded research project ($295k grant, 2023).
Michael Douma
Co-Founder & Creative Director
Background in neuroscience and visualization design. Developed the core gameplay concept. Previous work: SpicyNodes (40M users). đź”—
Grzegorz Ligierko
Co-Founder & Technical Director
Built the physics-based word cloud system and path-sampling algorithm. Metal shaders, iOS optimization. Makes searching hundreds of millions of paths feel instant. đź”—
Li Mei
Language Data Architect
Designed the algorithms that map and weight word relationships. Mathematics background (Shandong University), decades of software engineering. Her work ensures each puzzle has its 10-15 Genius paths among a million possibilities.
Orin Hargraves
Consulting Lexicographer
Contributed to Oxford Dictionary of English and New Oxford American Dictionary. Ensures word relationships reflect authentic usage and homographs correctly bridge their meanings. đź”—
Quotable
Key Perspectives
Beyond Spelling & Trivia
- Word games have been stuck on spelling and trivia for decades
- No cultural references to decode, no obscure vocabulary needed
- Non-native speakers and kids win alongside word experts
The Math
- 15 words per cloud → 15³ = 3,375 paths in 3 hops; 170 million by hop 7
- About 1 million lead to victory; 169 million don't
- Only 10-15 of those winners are 3-hop Genius solutions
Thinking in Word-Space
- Our brains already navigate multidimensional semantic space—unconsciously
- Given “face” and “luck,” you can instantly imagine paths between them
- The game makes this invisible navigation visible—and worth noodling over
Homographs as Wormholes
- “Spring” connects seasons → coils → water sources
- “Seal” links animals → envelopes → approval
- Double meanings are strategic shortcuts between distant ideas
Press Assets
- App icon in high resolution (PNG, 1024 Ă— 1024px)
- Mouse mascot character in three variations: Crowned, Happy, and Relaxed
- Dark mode screenshots showing key gameplay moments:
- Word cloud exploration
- Game over screen
- "Golden Crown" achievement screen
Try the Game
Media Contact
For interview requests, additional information, or media inquiries:
Email: media2025@inotherwords.app