Why Onword shipped in the browser before the App Store

Onword Daily reached the App Store on August 20. Onword is a daily word-path puzzle for people who like careful word games: you draw one continuous trail through a letter grid to form a chain of related words, one board a day. The browser version at onword.swizzleworks.com shipped first, and that order was deliberate.

Web first meant real players tested the puzzle before App Store review entered the picture. A rules tweak or a broken board went live in minutes, not at the end of a review queue. By the time the iOS build was submitted, the game had already been played for real.

Both versions come from one codebase: Expo, React Native, and TypeScript. The board, the trail drawing, and the daily puzzle logic are shared. Supabase sits behind an optional sign-in that syncs streaks, so the board you solve on the web counts on your phone.

Sign-in stays optional on purpose. Nobody should have to create an account to try a puzzle. Streak sync is the reason to sign in, not a gate in front of the game.

Onword Daily is free, with no subscription. Android comes next, from the same codebase.

Play in the browser at onword.swizzleworks.com, or get Onword Daily on the App Store. The catalog page is at swizzleworks.com/onword.