Serpentine Game

"A word puzzle game (clone of Tangleword/Boggle) that monetizes through advertisements and premium subscriptions, originally built in 2008 and currently being rewritten."
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SerpentineGame.com
Maker: AtticusTheGreat
$500+/mo (creator states revenue is 'close to that' referencing the thread's $500/mo threshold)

Marketing Channels

Primary

Advertisements

The game generates revenue through in-game advertisements

Ongoing

Premium subscriptions

Users can subscribe to a premium tier, likely for an ad-free experience or additional features

Secondary

Hacker News

Creator shared the project on HN, highlighting the 16-year history and ongoing rewrite

Growth Levers

  • Leverage the technology rewrite as an opportunity to modernize the user experience and re-launch to capture new users
  • Capitalize on the word puzzle game trend (popularized by Wordle) with targeted marketing
  • Optimize ad placement and formats during the rewrite to improve ad revenue per user
  • Experiment with premium subscription pricing and features to increase conversion from free to paid
  • Research and adopt the most effective ad platforms for casual gaming audiences

First Customer Strategy

The game was originally built in 2008, giving it over 16 years of organic user acquisition. As a word puzzle game in the Boggle family, it benefits from an established genre with built-in demand. The long history suggests steady organic growth rather than any single acquisition channel.

Pricing Insight

The product uses a dual monetization model: free tier with advertisements and a premium subscription tier. No specific pricing details were shared in the thread.

New Market Opportunities

  • Ad platform optimization Commenter asked about preferred and disliked ad platforms, suggesting there is community interest in ad monetization strategies for indie games

Key Takeaways

  • • Long-lived projects (16+ years) can generate sustainable revenue through incremental improvements and organic growth
  • • Technology rewrites are necessary to maintain older products but also present re-launch marketing opportunities
  • • Dual monetization (ads + premium) is a proven model for casual games that serves both free and paying users
  • • Word puzzle games benefit from an evergreen category with consistent demand, especially after Wordle's cultural impact
  • • Maintaining legacy products has real costs — the creator cited the old tech stack as 'cumbersome to maintain,' reinforcing the importance of periodic modernization

Sentiment Analysis

1 Neu

Notable Quotes

"What ad platforms do you like and dislike? — kethinov"

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