In Other Words

A million paths. Find yours.

In Other Words is an iOS app that reimagines what a word game can be. Instead of testing spelling or trivia recall, it asks players to navigate the semantic connections between words—the conceptual bridges that link “water” to “smile” through intermediate meanings. It’s both a daily puzzle (like Wordle, but for meaning) and a free visual thesaurus with 400,000 entries.

The game emerged from NSF-funded research into how people actually think about language, and addresses gaps we identified through 250+ customer discovery interviews: most word games reward spelling skill and cultural knowledge rather than genuine linguistic thinking.

How It Works

Tap a word. Related words bloom around it. Each is a possible next step. You’re looking for the one that leads toward your goal—not through spelling tricks, but through chains of meaning.

Example: “water” to “smile”

• water → stream → river → mouth → smile
• water → ocean → wave → hello → smile
• water → ripple → transmit → convey → smile

All three paths work. But the first—river → mouth → smile—is elegant. “Mouth” bridges rivers to faces. Three hops. Genius.

Scoring

Every puzzle has 10-15 paths solvable in exactly 3 hops. Finding one earns “Genius” status.

The 7-hop ceiling prevents languishing. The 3-hop possibility creates aspiration. Most players complete in 5-6 moves.

A Game and a Reference Tool

Daily Puzzle — One puzzle per day, same for everyone. Different paths, shared experience. Free puzzles Monday and Thursday; subscribers get all seven days.

Visual Thesaurus — Look up any of 400,000 words. See all meanings of a word displayed as a semantic map—”spring” shows seasons, coils, and water sources as distinct clusters. Includes literary examples from major authors. Free for everyone, no subscription required.

Between puzzles, the thesaurus invites exploration. Writers use it for brainstorming. Language learners use it to understand word relationships. The game and the reference tool reinforce each other.

Why This Approach

Most word games focus on spelling: anagrams, crosswords, letter arrangements. In Other Words focuses on meaning—how words connect conceptually, not orthographically.

This shift matters. A 9-year-old and a grandparent solve the same puzzle using different mental maps of language. Someone who knows 1980s hair bands navigates differently than someone who knows 2010s K-pop. All valid paths count. The puzzle isn’t “guess what we’re thinking”—it’s “find your way through.”

Built on the Linguabase, our semantic network of 1.5 million words and 100 million relationships. Learn more about our approach to word games.

Why We Built This

Through NSF I-Corps customer discovery—250+ face-to-face interviews testing hypotheses about word game players—we identified persistent gaps in the market:

• Neglect of word meanings — Conventional games prioritize spelling over linguistic connections
• One-size-fits-some difficulty — Games cater to a narrow range of vocabulary levels
• Cultural barriers — Many games require specific cultural knowledge (American TV, British slang) that excludes international players
• Single valid answer — Most puzzles have one “correct” solution, penalizing divergent thinking

In Other Words addresses these by focusing on meaning, accommodating multiple valid paths, and welcoming players across vocabulary levels and cultural backgrounds.

Recognition

• TIGA 2025 Finalist — Puzzle Game category

Play

Available on iOS. Free puzzles Monday and Thursday.

Go to web site: www.inotherwords.app
See Apple App Store