EVERFI: WORD Force

Project Overview

Background

WORD Force is an educational game designed to help K–2 students build foundational literacy skills through play. Originally launched in 2020 with 15 desktop games, the first version showed strong potential but suffered from steep engagement drop-off after the first few games.

With the launch of WORD Force 2.0, our goal was to reimagine the experience through structured UX design, kid-friendly testing, and science-backed literacy interventions. The redesign offered an opportunity not only to fix friction points but also to create a more immersive, intuitive, and effective way for children to learn to read.

Goals + Opportunties

Goal

1

Support Struggling Readers

Introduce new science-backed approach to help struggling learners understand the foundations of the lesson through game interventions and tutorial videos.

Goal

2

Update User Understanding

Build new personas and conduct user testing with children ages 4–7.

Goal

3

Enhance Fun & Usability

Refine UI, simplify interactions, and apply testing feedback to ensure a playful, age-appropriate experience.

Design Process

Discovery

We reviewed and audited the original 1.0 version of the games to get a feel for the experience, as well as create a list of modifications each team (LX, Product, and Dev) would like to make for the upcoming 2.0 release.

Design

After Discovery, I worked on both UX testing and product design.

One of the bigger challenges was remapping the overall game flow—figuring out where to place lessons, mini-games, and interventions so the learning felt seamless rather than disruptive. This was essential to keeping kids engaged from start to finish. We ended up updating and expanding the user flow to create a more comprehensive look at the entire game experience.

We knew, from version 1.0 user feedback as well as from observing user testing videos, that the game interactions and navigation was proving to be a challenge for our younger audience. As a result we reworked and simplified user interactions making them more accessible and age-appropriate,  and refined user interfaces making it more intuitive and consistent across the whole experience,

Testing

Because WORD Force was a game meant for children, testing posed a unique challenge. Most user testing platforms require the testers to be at least 18 years old. In the end, we developed a process of unmoderated tests through Trymata, recruiting guardians of children ages 4–7 who were willing to have their child’s screen and audio recorded. Over the course of the project, design decisions were validated through an aggressive, iterative testing schedule. I ran more than 20 tests, reviewed over 100 videos, and wrote detailed research summaries.

For each game, I highlighted where kids were engaged, where they struggled, and what patterns emerged across participants. I also ran A/B comparisons between v1.0 and v2.0 to measure progress. This process not only gave us actionable insights but also taught me how to adapt testing methods for a very young audience.

Develop

On top of all the other design work that was done, the design team update the components library with new, streamlined assets that helped to create a more consistent visual experience in the product. We now had a components library that could be pulled from and duplicated with standardized colors, sizing, icons, and typography.

Outcome

Project Launch

After six months of collaborative work, WORD Force version 2.0 launched with a stronger design, clearer educational flow, and more engaging gameplay.

Key results included:
• Higher Engagement: Children played longer and returned more often compared to version 1.0
• Less Pain Points: More intuitive understanding of the games and less frustration with understanding the learning objectives or how to play.
• Better UI: Easier time with the mouse controls, especially for the younger children.
• Better Learning Support: Interventions and videos improved comprehension for struggling readers.
• New Testing Methodologies: Successfully ran large-scale usability tests with a very young audience.
• Team Insights: Learned how accessibility needs shift dramatically between ages 4 and 7, and how flexible processes are key in kid-centered design.

The new science-backed interventions and tutorial videos introduced made reading concepts clearer and supported struggling readers more effectively—a core goal of the redesign.

From a design systems standpoint, expanding the component library and standardizing UI elements ensured visual coherence across all 15 games. This also laid a scalable foundation for future updates or feature additions.

On a personal note, I learned how UX design for children requires flexibility, empathy, and continual adaptation. Testing with very young users was eye-opening. I learned how different accessibility needs can vary within even a one-year age gap, and how intentional design tweaks—from animation pacing to button size—can make or break a child’s experience.

WORD Force 2.0 demonstrates how thoughtful UX, evidence-based learning strategies, and rigorous testing can transform an educational game into a tool that both delights children and supports literacy growth.

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