Language Learning Apps Are Bad Games. Can Addictive Word Games Do Better?

An experiment in hiding vocabulary inside a real game loop

February 4, 2026 by Sam Glassenberg

I've done the language learning app thing - the streaks, the subscriptions. And every time, I fell off the train. Not because I didn't care - but because it always felt like work pretending to be fun.

At the same time, I can happily lose hours dragging letter tiles around in word games. No streaks. No badges. No fake progress bars. Just the quiet satisfaction of turning chaos into meaning.

Comparison: bored language app user vs happy word game player

That gap bothered me. So I started asking a simple question: What if language learning didn't borrow shallow game mechanics - but instead stole the actual core loop from real word games?

This post is about that experiment.

The problem with most "gamified" language learning

Most language learning apps aren't games. They're quizzes wearing a costume.

Frustrated user surrounded by gamification elements: streaks, badges, XP points

The so-called gamification usually boils down to:

streaks that punish you for having a life
points that don't map to mastery
badges that reward compliance, not understanding

It's extrinsic motivation layered on top of memorization. You're constantly aware you're being trained.

That works for many people. It never worked for me.

Word games, on the other hand, don't need to convince you to keep playing. The motivation is intrinsic. You're solving a real puzzle, and the rules themselves create tension, reward, and flow.

So instead of trying to "make learning fun," I tried something else: Hide learning inside a loop that's already fun.

The experiment: LingoBPT

LingoBPT is a word-building game first - and a language learning system second.

You drag letter tiles, combine them into words, and try to survive increasingly demanding constraints.

If you build a valid word, the game asks you to commit: do you actually know what this word means in the target language?

Translation quiz - pick the correct answer — Pick the correct translation to play your word.

No hints. No partial credit. You pick an answer.

Get it right, you move on. Get it wrong, the game keeps score - quietly - and brings that word back later.

Feedback showing correct and wrong answers — Wrong answers resurface later - another shot to get it right.

There's no separate "study mode." No flashcard screen. No moment where the game stops and says, "now you are learning."

You're just playing. And foreign-language vocabulary leaks into your brain whether you like it or not.

Try it

You can try the early alpha here: lingo.brainpowertools.com

It's early - just the core loop (no metagame yet). But it's playable.

Language selection - Arabic, Chinese, French, Hebrew, Spanish and more — Choose from Arabic, Chinese (Pinyin), French, Hebrew, Spanish, and more.

If you try it and something feels confusing, boring, or unexpectedly satisfying, that's the most useful signal I can get right now.

If you like word games and have strong opinions, I'd love your feedback. Feel free to request a specific language you're trying to learn.