Words with friends 2: Tile Styles
Tile Styles are collectible cosmetic tile sets that let players personalize their game experience without affecting gameplay. They can be earned, unlocked, or purchased and introduce a long-term progression loop that deepens ownership and identity.
Zynga
Tile Styles: A cosmetic progression system for Words With Friends 2
Words With Friends 2 lacked long-term progression and had no way for players to personalize their experience. Engagement was shallow, and players had few reasons to return. Tile Styles introduced collectible cosmetic tiles, a progression loop, and a system that let players express themselves without disrupting core gameplay.
ROLE
Senior UX Designer
Team
Product manager
UX Director
Eng manager
3 Engineers
Timeline
2017 - 2018
Tools
Sketch, React, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator
The Problem
Retention Opportunity
Words With Friends 2 had no long-term progression system. Players lacked ongoing goals or rewards, leading to shallow engagement and fewer reasons to return.
The Approach
Exploring the Player Experience
I explored ways for players to browse and switch tile styles without disrupting the core gameplay loop. Keeping the board visible was essential since players rely on spatial context and momentum. I validated navigation patterns through wireframes and prototypes, focusing on clarity, speed, and minimal friction.
A competitive review of cosmetic inventory systems informed decisions around rarity, organization, and placement within the product.
The VISION
Tile styles
Create a collectible cosmetic system that motivates players to return, progress, and personalize their experience without interfering with the core gameplay loop.
The Solution
Tile Styles added a cosmetic progression layer to Words With Friends 2. Players collect “paint” through gameplay to complete tileset, equip styles on the board, and switch quickly without breaking flow. The system supports clear collection goals, rarity-based rewards, and meaningful personalization.
The Framework
Principles
Clarity over complexity.
Ensure players can preview and switch tile styles without confusion or disruption, keeping interactions simple, visible, and intuitive.
Flow over Decoration.
Prioritize preserving the core gameplay rhythm over adding visual embellishments, ensuring cosmetic features never slow players down.
Expression over Uniformity.
Support personalization by making each tileset feel distinct and meaningful, encouraging players to express themselves through the styles they earn.
Tile switching
I designed the switching flow to preserve board visibility and keep players in rhythm. Showing styles in context allowed players to quickly judge readability and visual balance. Each tileset needed to feel distinct to encourage expression and collection.
Progression
A key design question was determining what players should collect before completing a tileset. I introduced the idea of “paint” as a thematic resource used to finish a style. This narrative approach tested well and it gave players a clear story behind progression and made the collection loop more intuitive and rewarding.
Reflection
Because players can be sensitive to features that alter the core experience, I designed a global on/off control for Tile Styles. This ensured players could engage on their own terms and reduced the risk of feature rejection by preserving the familiar gameplay feel.
ONBOARDING
To help players discover the inventory organically, I surfaced it through a profile badge. This approach avoided disrupting play, but in hindsight, it may have been too passive. A more guided onboarding could have improved discovery while still respecting the core loop.
Prototyping
Prototyping revealed timing issues and edge cases in the rewards flow that forced players through several consecutive screens. To reduce friction, I introduced a “tap anywhere to skip” interaction, allowing players to control pacing and stay in flow.
The EXecution
Gallery of Tile Styles
The Impact
Tile Styles added a meaningful cosmetic progression system to Words With Friends 2 and strengthened long-term engagement without disrupting the core gameplay loop.
3% increase in Daily Active Moves
Each 1% lift represents roughly $1M in monthly ad revenue.