At Playsimple Games, I worked on 50+ features for Crossword Jam, a live, large-scale word puzzle game. My work focused on systems and feature design, live-ops loops, content and economy tuning, UX improvements, and retention mechanics, supporting both ongoing live operations and long-term growth.
Crossword Jam is among the top word games on the Google Play Store and App Store. As the sole game designer, I collaborated closely with Product, Engineering, QA, UX, Art, and Animation, contributing across roadmap prioritization, feature scoping, end-to-end design, and establishing a scalable content delivery pipeline.
This work contributed to a 50% increase in LTV, 80% revenue growth, and a 76% increase in DAU over two years, driven by data-informed iteration and cross-functional collaboration.
Below are the highlights of some of my contributions
1. Economy & Monetization Systems
I contributed to multiple high-impact monetization features, primarily focused on IAP optimization, rewarded video strategy, and economy balancing.
My work included:
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Pricing & value tuning (IAP-to-coin ratios, no-ads pricing, decoy anchoring packages).
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Designing new deal structures (lightning deals, limited-time offers, personalised mini-store updates).
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Standardizing and restructuring all store packages for consistency and clarity.
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Expanding rewarded video based systems (W2E fixes, coin jar, rewarded placements in puzzle UI).
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Creating surfacing logic for purchase nudges, exit pop-ups, and session-based triggers.
Major Contributions: competitive benchmarking, economy balance, surfacing logic, progression tuning, UX clarity.
2. Engagement Systems & Core Feature Design
I worked on several systems designed to increase gameplay depth and player motivation:
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Streak systems (streak medals, streak shields) and their reward logic.
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Re-engagement loops with escalating goals, rewards, and flow revisions.
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New puzzle mechanics (Frenzy Jam, Level Difficulty Tagging, Event Specific Boosters).
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Event systems (River Race / Turbo Turtles, Wordmaster ladder system).
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Session structure improvements (Outro flow cleanup, unified LLP+Outro redesign).
Major Contributions: progression curves, system logic, trigger rules, reward structures, surface timing, economy impact.
3. Retention Mechanics & Player Lifecycle Design
I designed both early-game and late-game retention drivers:
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FTUE overhaul (copywriting, UX flows, competitor deconstruction).
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Return User Gifts & long-lapse reactivation rewards.
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Puzzle Clear Streak (Bronze/Silver/Gold tiers + failure cases).
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Event lighthousing to help players anticipate available features/events.
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Login system design (Google Play, Gmail, restore logic).
Major Contributions: lifecycle mapping, FTUE clarity, habit formation, long-term progression.
4. Collections, Meta Systems & Long-term Goals
I contributed to long-term engagement features that give players goals beyond core gameplay:
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Collection Book system (reward unification, UX direction, meta-progression).
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Pets system, inspired by wordscapes (16+ pets, activities, timers, reward loops, appointment mechanics, secondary currencies, rarity, duplicates logic).
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Inventory separations (Ladybug inventories, logic, priority rules).
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Quest System Improvements (Quest schedules, Cyclic logic, Quest variety types and priority system, secondary currencies and rewards)
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Battleship minigame (Puzzle design, progression tuning, Art/UX/Animation Direction)
Major Contributions: meta-progression, collection systems, appointment mechanics, UX flows, art/animation direction and guidance.
6. Design Documentation & Specification Ownership
For every feature I owned, I delivered complete design specifications, including:
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Objectives & problem statements
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Scope (MVP / V2)
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Vision & anti-vision
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UX flows & UI breakdowns
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Copywriting
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Core logic & rules
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Puzzle content (where applicable)
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Notifications, sounds, haptics
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Dashboard Runtime logic
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Experiment design & variants
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Edge case handling
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Schematic diagrams & flowcharts for clarity
I worked closely with engineering and QA to capture all runtime cases, edge cases, dependencies, and technical scenarios.
7. Competitive Benchmarking & Market Trend Analysis
Across nearly all features, I conducted:
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Deep competitor teardowns
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Pricing benchmarks
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Engagement loop comparison
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FTUE & UX pattern studies
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Meta-system benchmarks (pets, streaks, collections, events)
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Trend tracking across top studios and global casual market leaders using data.ai and sensor tower
This allowed us to design features aligned with current market standards while adding our own differentiators.
My contribution involved:
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Systems Design
Progression systems, reward loops, monetization logic, streak mechanics, event design, appointment mechanics, collection systems, surfacing logic, tuning & economy work. -
Feature Design
UI/UX flows, pop-ups, store updates, new puzzle mechanics, FTUE changes, visual polish. -
Live Ops & Meta
Event loops, re-engagement structures, daily/weekly progression, notifications, player lifecycle design. -
Product Thinking
Benchmarking, trend analysis, problem statements, scoped delivery, goal alignment, experimentation (A/B), KPI orientation.