Is it Monday already? Then, it is time for a new inspirational story. We must highlight that there are many kinds of success when it comes to mobile apps. Some creations reach a high point and after that, they slowly disappear while others last for years. Today we will talk about a game which belongs to this second category. Words With Friends 2 is the sequel of one of the most popular mobile games of all times. Let’s discover the secrets behind this brand.
Brilliant Idea
Probably most of you already know how everything started with Words With Friends or with Words With Friends 2. However, we still need to tell the entire story; maybe there are readers who don’t know the idea behind the game. Paul and David Bettner founded Newtoy in September 2008 and built Words With Friends along with a few other games. The app was launched in 2009 on Apple App Store as a social networking version of Scrabble. The difference between this game and other similar apps was that Words of Friends allowed users to invite a friend for playing the game together. This was an exceptional concept back then. After a while, in 2010 Zynga, a San Francisco – based company with offices in Canada, Ireland, India, Finland, Turkey, the U.S., and the UK, founded in 2007 bought the small studio. Last year, in November, a follow – up of the popular word game was launched on Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Words With Friends 2 has all the features that attracted users in the first place but it also provides a better UX with additional functionalities.
How Words With Friends 2 Did It
We will discover the strategy adopted for Words With Friends 2 in order to impress Words With Friends users.
Social Networking Elements
If we analyze both versions of the game we can identify a special pattern. The competition is the reason why Words With Friends conquered so many adepts. The chance to show off their skills in front of their competitors and also the way users can interact with other people made the game so famous. Of course, there are some improvements made to this feature. Let’s not forget about those shiny badges for weekly challenges. The feeling that players are part of the adventure encourages them to share their ideas about the game and to connect with other users.
Artificial Intelligence
The core idea of Words With Friends (both versions) is to play it with your friends. But what if users don’t think they are prepared to test their knowledge with other players? The solution implemented for this version of the game is allowing users to practice with virtual characters. With the integration of smart bots named after, famous writers users get into the spirit of the game. They have the chance to start with the easiest level and to win all kinds of rewards. At the same time, various hints and tips help players to progress and to reach the wanted victory.
Challenging Levels
So, we have users eager to show off their skills in a social environment and beginners who want to test their knowledge before jumping into a real battle. And there are also experts who need to feel the energy offered by new and interesting challenges. They can unify their forces with their friends and to compete with other players. Lightning Round is the feature added for Words With Friends 2 and it quickly increases the community built around the game.
Google Play Instant Games
Although this isn’t a marketing technique that increased the popularity of Words With Friends 2, it is still worth our attention. Google Play Instant Games is a collection of apps which can be played immediately. If users appreciate the gameplay they can install the entire app. What a coincidence! If Words With Friends was one of the first games released on Apple App Store when the app market was launched, now Words with Friends 2 is one of the games which appear in that special section available on Google Play Store, starting this month. You can observe that Solitare, another game owned by Zynga is also on that list. Also, Supercell’s Clash Royale has an Instant version. We should highlight that this method of attracting users by providing them a solution to test your app before downloading it, is a great strategy to increase the number of valuable customers and to reduce churn rate. If players understand the features offered by an app and they know what they install from the beginning it means that the app is suitable for them.
Bonus Tip: Refresh The Game
The conclusion of this story is to continuously maintain users’ interest in your product. If you feel that you can offer more with your app then you must find solutions to take your creation to the next level. Zynga took into account their users’ opinions and improved the experience provided by Words With Friends with new and exciting features. Additionally to all the ideas discussed above they also created a Social Dictionary with more than 50,000 new words. This tool is based on players’ feedback and adapted to their preferences. Remember this strategy when you have the feeling that you need to update your game. You probably want to enhance your product to keep the characteristics loved by your users and add other innovative tools. There is always room for more!
Final Thoughts
What a great way to start this week! We talked about a legendary mobile game and the reasons why the team behind this creation considered building a sequel to that successful product. For every group of users, they implemented a different plan. We discussed past and we showed you the present. Now we can’t wait to see what the future holds for this game! Words With Friends and Words With Friends 2 represent a motivating force for all game developers who sometimes have second thoughts about their work.