Case study
Real Money Word Search
Find the words. Win the cash.
Real Money Word Search was the first competitive word search game where players compete for real cash prizes by finding the words the quickest. It has been enjoyed by over 1.5 million people and once ranked in the top 30 word games on the App Store.
- Genre
- Competitive word search
- Prizes
- Real cash
- Store
- App Store
- Our role
- Design, art & development
1.5M+
people have played Real Money Word Search
Top 30
word games on the App Store
First
competitive word search with real cash prizes
A classic puzzle, made competitive.
Everyone knows how to play word search. That made it the perfect game to turn into a competition: no tutorial needed, just a grid, a list of words and a clock.
We made speed the skill. Players race through the same kind of themed puzzle, and the quickest, sharpest finders win real cash prizes. Nobody had done that with word search before.
Gameplay
Two minutes to win
A round is short, clear and easy to replay. Here is how it plays, from category to cash.
01Get your category
Every round starts with a theme, like Street Foods or Islands of the World, plus the time limit and how many words to find.
02Race the clock
Swipe across the letters to find each word. Found words light up on the grid and get crossed off the list.
03Submit your score
Words found, time bonus and bonus words add up to your total. The quickest, sharpest finder wins.
Artwork
Characters people remember
Most word games are just letters on a grid. We gave this one a cast: a couple and their dog, hand-illustrated in a warm, playful style that shows up across the key art, menus and results screens.
Development
What we built
Turning a relaxing puzzle into a fair, fast competition took more than a grid of letters.
Puzzle generator
Themed word lists are hidden across the grid in every direction, so each category feels fresh round after round.
Swipe to select
Drag across the letters and a glowing highlight locks in when you hit a real word. It had to feel instant.
Speed scoring
Points for every word, a bonus for time left on the clock and extra points for bonus words.
Competitive cash play
Players submit their score and compete against others for real cash prizes, not just a spot on a leaderboard.
Progression stats
Players track their in-game performance and unlock special badges and bonuses as they improve.
Game feel
Coin bursts, confetti and score pop-ups reward every find, so a quiet genre feels exciting.
Want the next 1.5 million players?
We design, illustrate and build competitive games that people come back to. Tell us about yours.