Angela Swain and Mariam Mollaghaffari join Aaron Kardell on Hey, Good Game to share how two longtime friends turned a nostalgic obsession with wordplay into Silly Little Games—a vibrant, human-crafted daily puzzle experience.
Angela (a flight attendant with a journalism background) and Mariam (an architect with design chops) break down the collaborative, scrappy spirit behind their Rebus-style puzzle game Silly Little Codes. From hand-drawing hundreds of clever puzzles in Figma to battling bad developers and solving design challenges (including a keyboard that nearly derailed their launch), the duo talks candidly about their indie journey—complete with frog-fueled editing fights and dream expansions into physical card games.
The episode explores how Angela and Mariam are navigating indie game development without coding skills, what they've learned from BlueSky and social media outreach, and why they’ve stayed committed to handcrafted design in an AI-saturated market. They also tease upcoming games under the Silly Little Games umbrella and share honest insights about self-funding, monetization plans, and growing a community of puzzle lovers.
🧩 Games & Favorites Mentioned
- Silly Little Codes (Angela & Mariam's daily puzzle game)
- Backgammon (Mariam’s nostalgic favorite, tied to her Iranian heritage)
- Bingo and Spoons (Angela’s family-friendly picks)
- Architecture as Tetris (Mariam compares architectural design to the game)
🔗 Website & Socials
- Website: https://www.playsillylittlegames.com
- Instagram, Threads, TikTok, BlueSky: @playsillylittlegames
- Note: Not on Reddit (permanently banned 😅)
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- (00:00) - Introduction to the Podcast and Guests
- (01:42) - Favorite Games and Nostalgic Memories
- (05:09) - The Origin Story of Angela and Mariam's Friendship
- (07:47) - Creating Silly Little Games: The Initial Idea
- (11:57) - Designing and Collaborating on Puzzles
- (30:14) - Challenges in Developing the Digital Game
- (32:02) - Starting Over: The Struggles of Development
- (32:46) - Keyboard Woes: A Major Setback
- (33:59) - Finding the Right Developer
- (34:54) - Balancing Passion and Practicality
- (39:59) - Monetization and Future Plans
- (49:25) - Challenges with Social Media and Promotion
- (01:02:15) - Looking Ahead: New Games and Growth
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Check out our brainy games:
Sumplete - https://sumplete.com
Squeezy - https://imsqueezy.com/
Kakuro Conquest - https://kakuroconquest.com
Mathler - https://mathler.com
Crosswordle - https://crosswordle.com
Sudoku Conquest - https://sudokuconquest.com
Hitori Conquest - https://hitoriconquest.com
Wordga - https://wordga.com
