Quick, think of every five-letter word associated with Seattle. If several come to mind instantly, you might want to dive into the Wordy-verse from Flying Comet Games.
Seattle natives Calli Fuchigami and Eden Ghirmai are the co-founders of this fairly new company. Fuchigami’s background in finance at several game companies fostered her love for the creative environment, while Ghirmai, an engineer from the University of Washington, has previous experience at Google and Slack.
“We both reached a point in our careers where we wanted to do something independently and start our own company/project/experiment,” Fuchigami shared. “After exploring several ideas, games were a natural choice due to my background, and he is also an avid gamer.”
They gravitated towards word games because — like millions of others — they are both fans of “Wordle” and other New York Times games. They felt that offering custom categories under their Wordy-verse umbrella could be a unique way to draw players.
Beyond Seattle, the 13 categories include television shows like “Friends” and “Survivor,” yoga, gymnastics, and the video game “Animal Crossing.” There’s a category for boba tea enthusiasts and another for accounting aficionados. There’s even a Y Combinator category that occasionally features three-letter puzzles with tech and business-related acronyms.
Flying Comet isn’t alone in adopting the “Wordle” concept. There are many variations on the popular game, including versions dedicated to Taylor Swift, sports, Star Wars, and more. The New York Times has pursued some of these creators for copyright infringement.
“We definitely avoid using the term ‘Wordle’ on our site,” Fuchigami explained. “But we embrace the game mechanics and play style.”
In addition to the Wordy-verse games, Flying Comet is testing about eight other mini games. One, an app-based game named “Keep Bufo Alive,” is a “clicker game” that has attracted over 600 players.
“It’s just a light-hearted, casual way to kill time at the bus stop or in the car, and it was a good introduction to game mechanics,” Fuchigami said.
Currently, Flying Comet consists solely of Fuchigami and Ghirmai. They hope to monetize their efforts by adopting The New York Times model and getting users to subscribe. They also aim to secure partnerships with smaller publications and websites that could host customizable games for readers.
The startup founders, both graduates of Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines, Wash., have recently moved to the Bay Area. However, their hearts remain in Seattle, continuing to think about five-letter words. It’s particularly challenging because, unlike “Wordle,” they permit proper nouns.
Imagine the possibilities with street names, businesses, and more. “Dicks” — as in the renowned burger joint — was a recent puzzle answer. Fuchigami emphasized the importance of staying true to Seattle, and other cities will need to wait to enter the Wordy-verse.
“The fun of it is it’s almost like an inside joke, where you really need to live there,” she remarked. “We’re intensely focused on what we know — I spent most of my life in Seattle, worked most of my life in Seattle. It’s Seattle for now.”
