Case Study: UniWords
The objective
Classic word game accessible to everyone.
The company and the product
UniWords is a word game app for iOS and Android, created by a Danish team passionate about reimagining the classic word game for today’s players. Their mission: to create the best classic word game accessible to everyone, right at their fingertips.
Designed for both the seasoned word-game enthusiast and curious newcomers, UniWords welcomes a diverse community of players: competitive strategists, casual gamers, those in academia, and attracts players of all ages. The team researched multiple word games and attended tournaments in their quest to create the ultimate app.
Their research showed that players wanted features more akin to in-person playing, leading UniWords to develop a dynamic blend of learning, competition, and connection. Players can:
- Expand their vocabulary with intuitive word explanations built into the game.
- Join official and private tournaments to test their skills against a vibrant community, something previously only available at in-person tournaments.
- Be part of a community hub that encourages them to share their best moves, exchange tips on words being played, and discover new opponents.
- Play against an AI-powered bot that responds within five seconds. Perfect for quick solo sessions or building confidence without waiting for another player to respond.
Beyond gameplay, UniWords’ visual identity sets it apart:
“UniWords features an inspiring graphical universe that invites players on a ‘language journey’ through a vast ‘universe of words’. The visual identity is defined by a-deep-blue colour palette representing the cosmos. The astronomical theme is reinforced by playful imagery, using rockets and planets, which makes the gameplay feel like a grand exploration.”
Max Vestberg | Graphic Designer, UniWords
Whether sharpening their competitive edge, discovering word games for the first time, or looking for a more enriching way to play, UniWords invites everyone to grow their curiosity, confidence, and enjoyment with every move.
The problem
Alongside the ambition to create a joyful, user-centric game, the team recognized that fairness and credibility were fundamental to any successful classic word game. Players need complete confidence that every word played is judged accurately and transparently.
To ensure that every confirmation of a word played felt fair and transparent, the team knew they needed trusted, authoritative language data at the heart of their game.
The Solution
“In a classic word game, it is necessary to have a dictionary to assess whether a word is valid or not. In this context, it is important that this validation is based on a dictionary that users trust. We could have found a word list in the public domain. However, such a word list would not inspire the same confidence as data provided by Oxford Languages.”
Alexander Stobbe | CEO, UniWords
UniWords licensed the Oxford Languages UK English word game dataset, grounded in authoritative British English dictionary data. By integrating trusted lexical data at the heart of the game, the UniWords team ensured that word validation felt reliable and intuitive, allowing players to focus on strategy, discovery, and fun.
But accuracy was only the starting point. UniWords wanted the game to offer more than competition alone. By incorporating features such as definitions, the developers added educational value directly into gameplay, enabling players to expand their vocabulary and discover new words naturally as they played.
Reducing frustration was another key priority. Many word games leave players guessing why a word has been rejected. Using the word game dataset’s part-of-speech feature, UniWords could clearly identify word categories that are not valid in-game (such as proper nouns) and explain these decisions to players. This transparency helped remove a common pain point, ensuring smoother gameplay and a more positive experience overall.
UniWords also introduced features such as word frequency indicators, powered by Oxford Languages data, allowing players to see how rare or common their valid words are, adding that ‘aha’ moment, and an opportunity to learn something new.
Finally, the Oxford Languages dataset enhances UniWords’ trophy system. Players can win a trophy when, for example, an 8-letter word is played or when 5 words are played in one turn.
Each trophy has a description attached to it, which allows users to learn something about the universe. In addition, there are four words associated with the universe in one way or another. Users can click on these four words and get an explanation of the words based on the Oxford Languages dataset, expanding their vocabulary within the game.
Built with Flutter, UniWords launched seamlessly across both iOS and Android from a single codebase. Oxford Languages’ data structure aligned naturally with UniWords’ development workflow, requiring no additional adjustments and enabling fast, efficient integration. The file format contributed to optimized performance and quick response times, supporting a smooth experience across devices.
“Integration was remarkably straightforward. The data arrived in a clean, well-structured format that we could implement directly into our word game without any pre-processing or transformation. This saved us significant development time and allowed us to focus on the game experience rather than data processing.
The dataset was comprehensive, clearly organised, and ready to use right away. We went from initial access to working implementation faster than expected.”
Sebastian Brandt | Software Engineer, UniWords
Additional information
If you’d prefer to read this case study offline, you can download it as a PDF. Discover how UniWords used Oxford Languages’ trusted word game dataset to build an engaging and educational experience for players worldwide.
Find UniWords online
If you’d like to learn more about UniWords you can visit them here:
Images courtesy of UniWords