I am having issues getting feedback from Apple review to understand whether the game I created is not unique enough or whether it is something else.
My game was inspired by Wordle and uses the idea of marking letters as green/yellow to provide hints, but in my view (and the view of all the testers I've had), creates extremely different and unique experience, which is the core goal of guideline 4.1.
Core gameplay:
The game is real-time multiplayer (or vs an adaptive difficulty computer that mimics human play), where two players each choose a starting hint word, then based on those hint words (yellow/green letters), in 3 minutes, need to find as many unique words that fit those hints. You see what the player guesses and can't guess the same words. Each word gives 1 point, but the last word and 1 bonus word give +5 points. At 120 seconds, a third hint is provided that limits the number of possible options (making it more likely to reach the very final word with +5 bonus or the bonus word if it wasn't guessed yet). There's a rating system, a customisable reward firework system (which you can show off in multiplayer matches). The game is in Lithuanian only, not targeted globally. When playing with another player, there's a voice chat possibility (initial idea was to create a fun way for friends to have quick voice chats daily who like word games). Screenshots used in store listing attached at the end of the post.
App review responses
I have had close to 10 back-and forth messages with Apple review, trying to ask which parts are the issue (or whether it's the whole concept of the game), but the responses have always been very abstract and vague, no matter how much I ask for specifics, mentioning metadata and in one message, the screenshots. An example response:
Regarding guideline 4.1, the app and its metadata contain content that resembles Wordle without obtaining the necessary authorization.
To resolve this issue, it would be beneficial to demonstrate your relationship with any third-party brand owners represented in the app.
Additionally, the app’s metadata includes third-party content that resembles a popular app or game already available on the App Store. This content may have been sourced from a developer’s website, distribution source, or a third-party platform.
Changes I have made so far/things I checked:
No mentions of Wordle anywhere in the metadata
The colors in the game are not the same ones that Wordle uses
Changed the letter elements to be different from Wordle (circles, not squares).
Made the screenshots focus on the fully unique items first (the fireworks system, the multiplayer aspect)
Sent video recordings to Apple Review to demonstrate how different the gameplay is compared to Wordle
Repeated multiple times there is no association with Wordle.
Asked if the name "Žodlė" is the piece of metadata that is causing the issue (I would consider renaming if it is) - but got no reaction to this.
I have also submitted a formal appeal through the App Review Board more than a week ago but have not yet received a response.
For reference, the same app was recently approved and published on Google Play without any copycat concerns.
This has been a hobby project of mine for learning about creating and publishing an iOS app, but has turned into something that quite a few people enjoy, so I would like to make sure that I'm not giving up too early trying to publish it. Would love to hear the opinion of someone with more experience on whether there's a chance to get this published or whether any kind of a game that involves guessing words with yellow/green hints would be considered a copycat of Wordle.