Tech vets launch their own game company and create ‘Wordle’-style puzzle with a Seattle focus
Quick, think of every five-letter word you can that has anything to do with Seattle. If several popped into your head right away, you should be entering the Wordy-verse from Flying Comet Games.
Seattle natives Calli Fuchigami and Eden Ghirmai are the co-founders of the relatively new company. Fuchigami worked in finance at a couple of game companies where she grew to love the creative environment. Ghirmai is an engineer who graduated from the University of Washington and has prior experience at Google and Slack.
“We both kind of got to a point in our careers where we wanted to do something for ourselves and start our own company/project/experiment,” Fuchigami said. “After trying a few different ideas, it just naturally landed upon games because that’s my background and he’s also a big gamer himself.”
They gravitated toward word games because they — like millions of others — are both fans of “Wordle” and other offerings from The New York Times. They thought creating custom categories under their Wordy-verse banner could be a unique way to attract players.
Beyond Seattle, the 13 categories include television shows such as “Friends” and “Survivor,” yoga, gymnastics, and the video game “Animal Crossing.” There’s a category for boba tea lovers and one for accounting geeks. There’s even a Y Combinator category that sometimes features three-letter puzzles (think tech and business-related acronyms).
Flying Comet is not alone in copying the “Wordle” concept. There are numerous takes on the popular game, including ones dedicated to Taylor Swift, sports, Star Wars and more. The New York Times has gone after some of these game makers for copyright infringement.
“We definitely avoid using the term ‘Wordle’ on our site,” Fuchigami said. “But it is the game mechanics and play of it.”
Beyond the Wordy-verse games, Flying Comet is experimenting with about eight other mini games. There’s one that is app-based, called “Keep Bufo Alive” — a “clicker game” that has attracted more than 600 players.
“It’s just a silly, casual way to pass the time at the bus stop or in the car that was a good primer on game mechanics,” Fuchigami said.
Flying Comet is just Fuchigami and Ghirmai right now, and they eventually hope to monetize their efforts by following The New York Times model and getting users to subscribe. They also hope to land deals with smaller publications and websites that could surface customizable games for readers.
The startup founders, who both graduated from Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines, Wash., recently relocated to the Bay Area, but their hearts are still in Seattle, thinking of five-letter words. It’s especially challenging because unlike “Wordle,” they allow proper nouns.
Think of the possibilities with street names, businesses and more. “Dicks” — as in the famed burger joint — was a recent puzzle answer. Fuchigami said it’s important to feel true to Seattle, and other cities will have to wait to enter the Wordy-verse.
“The fun of it is it’s almost like an inside joke, where you really you need to live there,” she said. “We’re really focusing on what we know — I spent most of my life in Seattle, worked most of my life in Seattle. It’s Seattle for now.”