🌍 Polyglot – A Word-Based Language Matching Game

I put the kettle on, unwrap a KitKat, and spend 15 minutes glued to my screen every morning, just like thousands of others addicted to their daily NYT puzzle fix.

There’s something so effortlessly charming about the New York Times games, from their calming UI to their clever mechanics, that keeps people coming back each day. I wanted to try building something in that same spirit.

Around the same time, I’d been learning Greek on Duolingo, and language was top of mind. That gave me the idea: what if I made a relaxing, language-inspired word game?

🧠 What Is Polyglot?

Polyglot (literally meaning someone who speaks multiple languages) is a casual mobile game where the player selects a category (e.g. stationery) and four different languages.

The goal is simple: match the same word across all four languages.

• You’re shown one word per language.
• Each round, you must drag and align the words that mean the same thing.
• It starts easy, but with more abstract words, things get surprisingly tricky!

I wanted the vibe to feel calming and rewarding. I borrowed some of the NYT Games aesthetic — light serif fonts, soft borders, and a soothing color palette — to make it a joy to play.

🛠️ What I Learned

This was the first project I fully completed using React Native, and I picked up a lot of the core fundamentals:

• Understanding how to structure components in a mobile context
• Managing local state and user input through a simple game loop
• Implementing basic touch gestures and drag interactions

More than anything, this was a project I genuinely loved building. I’m planning to expand it with more word packs. Stay tuned!