Synonymy

About

Synonymy is a single player and multiplayer casual strategy game. It was developed by Christopher Cinq-Mars Jarvis and was released on March 5, 2015. It received neutral reviews from players.

Synonymy is a non-profit, educational word game narrated by Richard Dawkins where players are challenged to find a path between random words through their network of synonyms. By taking the synonym of a word, and then a synonym of that synonym, and so on, you can ultimately arrive at any other word in a language.

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52%

Audience ScoreBased on 69 reviews

graphics3 negative mentions

Unique and interesting word association puzzle concept that challenges vocabulary and English skills.
Educational value for language learners and enthusiasts; helps expand vocabulary and understanding of word meanings.
Low cost and suitable for casual play or short mental exercise bursts with some multiplayer and leaderboard features.

Poor PC port with clunky UI and controls, no fullscreen support, no options menu, and awkward window sizing.
Gameplay feels repetitive, trial-and-error based with many questionable or missing synonym connections, leading to player frustration.
False advertising of narration by Richard Dawkins; lacks engaging audiovisuals and depth, which limits replayability and enjoyment.

gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
The gameplay is simple and puzzle-focused, involving navigating through word associations to reach a target word, providing a good mental exercise and educational value. However, the controls and navigation are often described as confusing, unintuitive, and mechanically awkward, which may detract from the overall experience. While some appreciate the fast-paced, minimalist style, others find it lacking depth and polish.
- “The game is a good form of memory training and if you like simplistic but very fast gameplay, this might be a puzzle game for you.”
- “The gameplay itself is quite simple to pick up: you start with a word, given the definitions, and set off with a completely unrelated word to find your way through synonym choices to get to your target word.”
- “But the gameplay makes you think, and is a change up of some concepts.”
- “Aside from that, this is a shonky minimalist mobile port, with no fullscreen option and next to no real gameplay at all.”
- “The gameplay is kinda confusing, and the controls and navigation are hard to use.”
- “The result is very arbitrary feeling, mechanical, and unintuitive.”
graphics
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The game's graphics are considered very basic and unimpressive, lacking any visual appeal or engaging elements to enhance the experience. Users suggest that even minimal visual progression indicators would have significantly improved the presentation.
- “Also, if you do have a dictionary lying around at home, it has better graphics than this game.”
- “Even if you will be missing fancy graphics, or an outrageously beautiful soundtrack or some style of suspense.”
- “At least with some sort of graphic to show progression or a story of some kind would have made this so much better.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The game's music is minimal and unimpressive, consisting of only a single repetitive sound effect with no full soundtrack. This lack of engaging audio detracts from the overall experience and leaves players wanting more.
- “Even if you will be missing fancy graphics, or an outrageously beautiful soundtrack or some style of suspense.”
- “I'd reconsider this game if the soundtrack was addressed, and if Richard Dawkins actually makes it into the game.”
- “- No soundtrack, just one single, annoying sound every time you click a word.”
- “Even if you will be missing fancy graphics or an outrageously beautiful soundtrack or some style of suspense.”
- “♬ music ♬”
story
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The story is minimal and lacks depth or suspense, primarily serving as a backdrop for word-based gameplay. It spans about 10 to 20 hours if you focus on the main narrative. Overall, the experience would benefit from better storytelling elements or visual progression.
- “At least with some sort of graphic to show progression or a story of some kind would have made this so much better.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and repetitive, turning what could be a fun word game into a monotonous clicking exercise. However, audio cues provide some assistance to help prevent players from feeling lost during gameplay.
- “This original idea had so much potential to become a fun word game, but instead is just a tedious exercise of clicking.”
- “Game can get tedious if you find yourself lost, but there are audio cues that help guide you in the right direction.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game demonstrates improved stability, with users reporting a smooth experience free of glitches and more attainable gameplay.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers limited replayability and caters to a niche audience, making it less appealing for general players seeking long-term engagement.
- “But it's a very niche game without much in the way of replayability, so it is difficult to recommend to the general consumer.”