Why I built Word Decks

Why I keep coming back to word games

I’ve always loved word games. Wordle, Scrabble, Boggle — give me a handful of letters and something to work out, and I’m happy.

They each scratch a slightly different itch. Wordle gives you that neat little daily puzzle: make a guess, learn something from it and narrow down the possibilities. There’s a lovely moment when a word suddenly clicks into place, especially after you’ve spent a while convinced that no sensible answer can possibly exist.

Scrabble adds the pleasure of making the most of what you’ve been given. It isn’t always about knowing the longest word. Sometimes a smaller word in the right place is the better move. Boggle has a different energy again: scanning the same letters, spotting patterns and suddenly seeing a word that was there all along.

Online games such as Connections and Spelling Bee offer their own versions of that satisfaction, whether it’s finding a link between words or discovering what you can make from a limited set of letters.

For me, the fun is a mixture of discovery, problem-solving and a bit of friendly competition. Comparing results with friends is part of the enjoyment. You’re all looking at the same puzzle, but you don’t necessarily see the same possibilities.

The appeal of cards and strategy

I also enjoy card games and strategy games. Solitaire can turn a simple arrangement of cards into a puzzle about order and timing. The satisfying bit is working out which move opens something up, rather than just taking the first move you can see.

You can find that same appeal in browser games, from Solitaire and FreeCell on Solitaired to online chess on Lichess. They’re different games, but they give you decisions to weigh up: what helps now, what might help later and what you’re giving up by making a particular move.

And then there’s Balatro. What I enjoy about it is how a run develops. You’re playing cards, but you’re also shaping what those cards might do next. An upgrade or a useful combination can change the way you approach the rest of the game.

That feeling of building towards something is a big part of the fun. There’s luck involved, but there are also choices — and plenty of opportunities to think, “I wonder what would happen if I tried this instead?”

The thought that became Word Decks

The idea for Word Decks came from a very ordinary bit of playing games. I was playing Balatro, then did my Wordle for the day, and a thought stuck with me.

Could I make a word game with that extra layer of strategy? Not just finding words from the letters you have, but making decisions that change the letters you’ll have next.

Word games already have plenty of strategy — Scrabble is an obvious example. What interested me was bringing a deck-building-style decision into a short word game: do you keep the points you’ve earned, or spend some of them to give yourself better options later?

So I had a go at building one. That was the start of Word Decks.

From an idea to a game we could share

The idea became a game built around 15 letter cards, three rounds and three words per round. After the first two rounds, you can spend some of your banked points to swap letters and improve your deck.

The important catch is that your final score is the points you have left. Buying a useful letter might help you make better words next round, but it has to earn back what it cost. Keeping your points is a decision too.

That’s the question at the heart of the game: will this upgrade be worth it?

Getting the idea working was only part of the job. I worked with a friend who has expertise in graphic and UI design to make the game look prettier and, just as importantly, easier to navigate. It’s one thing knowing how your own game works; it’s another making it clear to someone seeing it for the first time.

I also shared it with friends I already played games with. Their feedback helped me refine the play, work out what was enjoyable and spot the bits that weren’t clear. Those conversations and repeated rounds of testing helped shape Word Decks into the game it is now.

It turns out I like making games too

One thing I hadn’t expected was how much I’d enjoy the process of developing it. I knew I liked playing games. I found out that I enjoyed making one just as much.

There’s a different kind of satisfaction in trying an idea, seeing someone play it, listening to what they think and making it better. Sometimes a change works straight away. Sometimes it sends you back to have another go.

Word Decks grew out of a love of word games, a love of cards and strategy, and a thought that seemed worth trying. Friends helped turn that thought into something people could play.

And that’s how we ended up here: a word game where finding a good word is only part of the challenge. You also have to decide what to do with the points it earns you.