Lingo Lords
Game Design/UX/UI/Illustration
ABOUT THE PROJECT
In Lingo Lords you battle opponents from around the world in fast-paced, five-round matches. Rotate and place blocks, unleash powerups like Swap Block or Infiltrate, then swipe to score big words and climb the leaderboards. Strategy, tactics, and sharp wordplay are the keys to victory.
When Scrabble just isn’t interesting enough…
The journey began when one of my former colleagues came to me and asked if I could help him for a day or two to touch up the design for his upcoming game. Hundreds and hundreds of hours later including one complete redesign the Lingo Lords open Beta was finally released in 2022.
In Lingo Lords you compete against people from all over world in five-round matches. The core gameplay is easy to grasp but tricky to master: move a block, find a word, maybe play a powerup, and swipe to submit. Winning, however, is as much about stealing opportunities from your opponent as it is about spotting the best words yourself. Every move becomes a mix of quick thinking and clever strategy.
Powerups!
When designing the gameplay we wanted to reward players to use creative plays. Many different powerups was playtested and both their power level as well as level of fun was evaluated.
Some, like Block Swap and Infiltrate, let players reshape the board to reveal new words. Others, like Create Block and Randomizer, help deal with tricky letters, while the Hourglass buys a few extra seconds before the timer runs out. Together, they encourage creativity and keep every match unpredictable.
Play to win
One design principle was clear from the start: no pay-to-win mechanics. In Lingo Lords, the only thing money can buy is style. Players use WordBucks to unlock avatar items in the workshop, giving them a way to show off personality without touching the competitive balance.
WordBucks can also be earned simply by playing, making customization rewarding and accessible to everyone. The result is a fair, competitive environment where victory is earned through skill, strategy, and maybe a perfectly timed powerup.
LingoLords is available to install from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store