Lex Friedman

Debating business models for my new Scrabble-inspired app:

* play the computer for free; subscription to play friends

* as long as one human is paying, they can play a nonpaying human

* sync with Lex.Games subs. I can detect these from the server. Is that even allowed for Apple-initiated subs?

* free for all but bonus features paywalled

* ads lol

Mar 17 at 3:00amWeb
Show threadMike SaxMar 17
@lexfri You want the “viral” element (play with friends) to be free. What about limiting the number of games per month? Or the time between moves? (eg: three free moves per day). The paywall would pop up every time they ran out of free bees, with an option to be notified when they can play again.
Show threadMichael CookMar 17

@lexfri #1 won’t catch many, such as me. #3 is the kind of thing Apple has been a jerk about lately.

What about the daily puzzle only without a subscription? Doesn’t NYT do that for some things?

Limited features can work. Limit bot difficulty? Slow the bot down + no playing against people?

Show threadScott McNultyMar 17
@lexfri Vowels cost $3 a month. And sometimes y.
Show threadJeremysean55Mar 17
@lexfri does having people play across servers add to your costs? If so that should be the sub.
If you want to catch friendless people like me, maybe one game per day (not just the daily puzzle)
What would you see as the bonus features? #4
Show threadGreg PierceMar 17
@lexfri sort of annoying, but the pure business answer is to add a “coin” system. That gives you flexibility to give free/earned coins, have a subscription that gives infinite coins, one-time purchases for some, or, yes, watch an ad for some.
Show threadJason SnellMar 17
@lexfri I think letting paid members play with free friends is a good idea. Otherwise you have to talk your friends into paying before you can play.
Show threadLx LeckfordMar 17
@lexfri Please no ads! Perhaps the basic dictionary is free but bigger word sets will cost you. The dictionary of two-letter words being the most extortionate
Show threadLx LeckfordMar 17
@lexfri Or only subscribers can use the letter E
Show threadMarc Robinson Mar 17

@lexfri Option 2 makes the most sense to me, assuming only subscribers can invite friends. Then the invite button brings up either a share sheet or a subscribe cta.

I think you can get around option 3 by having users declare their sub status (log in with credentials) and just verify on server i.e. opt in

Show threadJasonT5d ago
@lexfri Have you seen any research to suggest how “as long as one human is paying…” might perform? I don’t know that I’ve ever seen it in the wild, but it seems like it has terrific potential to grow the user base while also generating income, especially if paying users get access to any other features.
Show threadLex Friedman5d ago

@JasonT Hehe, nope! I just decided to... try it? But you nailed it: I'm trying to avoid limiting growth but also make it worth it to run the server, build the code, keep the domain, etc.

I don't need to get rich from it. But I'd like it not to be a cost to me if I can!