Green is earned, and never a selection
Green means exactly one thing, that something scored, so a player sees it instead of reading it.
Context
Before 3.21.1, tapping a word on a review board (the daily board, game results, the longest word on the board) lit its path and its pill in green, the same green as a word that scores. Looking at a word and earning one looked identical.
Options
| Option | Why it lost |
|---|---|
| Green for anything positive (selected, found, progress) | Green stops meaning "earned" and starts meaning "green"; players have to read it |
| A second accent for selection | A new hue breaks "no fourth hue" and adds a meaning to learn |
| Green only when something scores; selection uses the lit tile | Chosen |
Decision
--earned appears only at the moment something scores (the word pill when a word counts, a solved question) and on a Compete card once that game is done today. Showing a word on a review board, including the longest word on the board, lights it in the pressed-tile state: --select fill, --select-stroke edge, --select-ink letter. Its pill flips the same way.
Evidence
This rests on reasoning rather than a test: one hue with one meaning is read pre-attentively, which matters for a player racing a clock (principle 02). The 3.21.1 change removed every green that didn't mark a score.
Consequences
- Recaps and progress use weight and ink, not colour.
- Confetti is built from tile colours and is never green.
- A new feature can't use green to make something feel good; it has to have earned it.