Voice and copy
Outword's words are read with a clock running, so they're short, plain and in the order the eye needs. A control says what happens, numbers come before names, an error names the fix, and the words for a win are as rare as the win.
Most of Outword's copy is read mid-race or in the second after the clock stops. It follows the same rule as the screen (principle 02): every read instant, nothing between the player and the next move. Every example of what the game says is a string from app.jsx, quoted exactly; {name} marks a value the game fills in.
Sentence case and plain verbs
Buttons and titles are written as a person would say them: "Join a game", "Create game", "Play solo", "Find my account", "Bring back your account", "I have an older, longer code". Product names keep their capitals ("Save to Photos", "Save to Notes").
Labels that the CSS sets in capitals are still typed in sentence case in the code. The Home eyebrow is written "Leaderboard · October" and shown in capitals by .cc-eb; the trivia label is written "Question 2 · Easy" and shown by .tv-qn.
Icon buttons get the same treatment in their accessible name: the refresh button on Public games is "Check again", and the trivia hint button is "Hint, one for the whole run".
A control says what happens
A label is a promise about what the tap will do. The code records three places where a label broke that promise and was fixed:
| Was | Now | What went wrong |
|---|---|---|
| "Play again" that went to Home | "Play again" starts a fresh board | "the label promised a round and delivered the home screen" (code comment on soloAgain) |
| "Got it" on the last Playing card of the help deck, which closed the help before Competing | "Next: Competing" | "'Next' there reads as more of the same and 'Got it' ended the run before Competing" |
| A link to "open rooms" | "Public games", always open, with "Games anyone can join. No code needed." | "nobody could tell what 'open rooms' meant" |
While a button waits on the network, it keeps its place and changes its words instead of showing a spinner: "Create game" becomes "Rolling…", "Find my account" becomes "Looking…", and "Next round" becomes "Setting up…". The trivia summary's label reads "Saving…" until the run is stored.
Numbers before names
A line that mixes a number and a player's name puts the number first. The 3.23.2 notes give the reason in one line: "Numbers lead every line so long names only truncate themselves." The trivia card's line ends in an ellipsis when it runs out of room, so whatever comes last is what gets cut. With the name last, a long name only shortens itself and the number always shows.
| Where | The line |
|---|---|
| Home leaderboard row | "843 pts · 94 behind Samra-the real1" |
| Trivia card, behind | "Top 9 · Samra-the real1" |
| Trivia card, leading | "Ahead by 2", or "Ahead on skips" |
| Trivia card, place | "1st today" over "of 4" |
| Podium, 2nd and 3rd | the player's points, then the gap, then the winner: "{points} pts · {gap} behind {name}." |
How errors read
Errors don't apologise and don't shake. They use colour plus plain words (motion rule 8), and they're specific about what to do.
| Where | The error, verbatim |
|---|---|
| Join, wrong length | "Room codes are 4 letters." |
| Join, no such room | "No game found with that code. Double-check the letters with your host, or pick one from Public games below." |
| Join, room full | "That room is full. 12 players max." |
| Join, round under way | "That game already started. Ask the host for a new round." |
| Restore, code not found | "We couldn't find that code. Check it against your saved photo." |
| Restore, offline | "You're offline. Connect and try again." |
| Restore, five misses in an hour | "Too many tries. Wait a little and try again." |
| Restore, too short | "Your code has six characters." |
| Name field | "Names need at least 2 letters." · "Use at least two different letters." · "Pick a different name." |
Most have the same shape: what happened, then the next move. The rest state the requirement itself ("Room codes are 4 letters.", "Your code has six characters."), which is the fix.
The hint and the error share one line: the join sheet shows "Get the 4-letter code from your host." until a code fails, then the error takes its place. The field itself doesn't change.
Feedback on the board
During a round the board answers in two places: the word pill holds the word, and a caption above it says the verdict in words for 750ms.
Empty and waiting states
An empty or offline state says what's still possible, or plainly what's true. It doesn't set a mood.
- "Nothing open right now. Ask your host for a code, or start your own game."
- "No connection. Playing solo works anyway — the board and the dictionary are on your phone."
- "These need a connection. They score to a leaderboard everyone shares."
- "Nobody's scored yet this month"
A rare bad moment gets empathy over decoration, in the moment map's own words. A phone opened from the home screen icon with nothing on it asks "Played before?", explains "Enter your code to bring back your name and scores.", and offers "I have a code" or "I'm new, let's play".
How celebration reads
Words for a win are short, say exactly what was won, and appear only after the round. Green text is earned like any other green: "You solved the most" is green, "Solved in 2 minutes" is not.
| Moment | The words |
|---|---|
| Most solved in today's trivia | "You solved the most" |
| Won the month (the podium) | "You won September", then the points and "October starts at zero for everyone." |
| 2nd or 3rd in the month | "Second in September", with the gap to the winner |
| 4th and below on the 1st | "Zuhayr won September", with their own row and the players either side |
| After restoring a code | "Welcome back, Ru" and "Your name and scores are here." |
| Copied a code | "Copied", for 1.8s, in place of "Tap to copy" |
In 3.23.2 "unlocked" left the trivia copy. Players found "unlocked" and the empty tiles on the Home card confusing, so the card now shows a place ("2nd today"), and the summary says "You solved the most" where it said "You unlocked the most".
Announcing what's new
The update reel keeps its words few and lets the real screens do the showing. Headlines are 5 words or fewer, and the first one carries the player's name ("Ru, Home's refreshed" in the 3.22 reel). Each beat gets one sub line of 14 words or fewer. Fixes go in the changelog only, and a patch release plays no reel. See Update reel.
Do and don't
| Instead of | Outword says |
|---|---|
| "Submit" | "Create game" |
| "Error: room capacity exceeded" | "That room is full. 12 players max." |
| "Invalid input" | "Room codes are 4 letters." |
| "Network error" | "No connection. Playing solo works anyway…" |
| "No data" | "Nobody's scored yet this month" |
| "Next" before a new section | "Next: Competing" |
| "You unlocked the most" | "You solved the most" |
| "SNORE (+3)" in the pill | "+3 pts" in the caption, the word alone in the pill |
Known issues and gaps
- Game or room. The Home button says "Create game", and the button at the foot of its sheet says "Create room". Errors use both words ("That game already started", "That room is full"). The rule is one name per thing; the proposed fix is room for the shared space and game for a single round, used end to end.
- Two lines put the name first. Before you've scored this month, the leaderboard row reads "{name} leads with {points} pts". The tied trivia line, "Tied with {name} +n", puts its count after the name, and the line truncates with an ellipsis, so a long name can hide the "+n". Both break "numbers before names".
- "+1 pts". A 3-letter word scores 1, and the board's caption reads "+1 pts". The help deck already says "1 pt".
- Board verdicts are typed in lower case ("already found", "go longer", "not a word") and set in capitals by
.swipe-hint. The rest of the copy is typed in sentence case.
Related
- Principles: 02, fast and clear, is why the copy is short
- Color: green for earned words, rose for refused ones
- Field: where a form error sits
- Celebration: when the words for a win appear
- Scoring: the numbers that lead the lines above
- Trivia questions: how clues are written