Words With Friends, the popular mobile word game, is branching out beyond its Scrabble-like gameplay with the addition of four new daily word games within its app. This expansion aims to provide players with a diverse range of word puzzles and challenges, solidifying its position in the increasingly competitive mobile gaming landscape.
The four new additions cater to different word game preferences. Mini Crosswords offers a daily crossword puzzle with a competitive leaderboard. Word Wheel challenges players to create words from letters arranged in a circular pattern. Word Search provides a fresh themed puzzle each day. Finally, Guess Word takes inspiration from the Wordle craze, tasking players with deciphering a hidden word within six attempts.
This expansion reflects a strategic shift for Words With Friends, as explained by Yaron Leyvand, Executive Vice President of Mobile Games at Zynga. He stated that the additions respond directly to player demand for more engaging content. The new solo minigames offer a relaxing escape while still aligning with the core Words With Friends experience of connecting players through friendly competition.
Words With Friends, launched in 2009, predates the Wordle phenomenon and achieved early success by integrating with Facebook, allowing friends to connect and compete. It quickly became a mobile gaming staple and a significant contributor to Zynga’s revenue, with reported contributions to Take-Two Interactive’s earnings reaching $616 million in a single quarter of 2021.
By incorporating these diverse word games, Words With Friends positions itself to compete with other popular puzzle game hubs like Puzzmo and NYT Games. This trend of bundled game offerings is gaining traction, notably with The New York Times expanding its portfolio with games like Strands and Connections. This move underscores the growing demand for diverse and engaging word puzzle experiences within a single platform.
The four new Words with Friends games: Mini Crosswords, Word Wheel, Word Search, and Guess word
