The Journal wrote on The Font Game, the iPhone edition of the font recognition game, a month ago. We sent a set of questions to John Boardley, the creator of the popular type blog I Love Typography. He recently wrote back with answers. In the interest of a new, more complete perspective on the subject, his responses are reproduced below.

The web version was created years ago, what led to the idea of the Font Game for the iPhone?

The iPhone’s popularity, and that it’s the perfect format for a game like the Font Game. And because it would be a challenge and an opportunity to work with Justin and Kari.

Why the word “fargo?” Why not “Handgloves,” or something else?

Handgloves is too wide for the iPhone screen in portrait mode — and too many letters. We don’t want to make it too easy. Fargo is happy compromise, and includes the a and g, which often can be quite distinctive.

What are your fastest times and scores?

I’ve played (in testing), thousands of games; getting all the fonts right is not a problem; but I couldn’t hope to beat the present high scores — my fingers aren’t that fast. In fact we’re all a little surprised at how fast those scores are.

If you had anything to say about Nancy Wu (the highest scoring user) what would it be?

She’s fast, very fast. And we’re excited to see that she’s obviously addicted to the game. I’m hoping she’ll be a beta tester for future versions of the game.

How did you go about selecting the fonts for the game?

Started with the easiest level, including lots of system fonts. Pitching the other levels just right was more difficult, and that’s where the beta testers come in. Analysing their scores helped me to refine those levels.

What is the feedback from users?

Incredibly positive. Fun and addictive are adjectives oft’ repeated.

The Journal also asked Mr Boardley for advice and insight into running a blog:

The success of any blog is in large part down to luck — right time, right place. However, the first thing to remove from the equation is pecuniary gain. It’s not that blogs can’t make money, but the most popular blogs are written by those who have a passion for their subject. All too often people jump on the band wagon, because they think blogging is an easy money-maker — it’s not. If you have a passion for your subject, it will come through — the converse is, of course, also true. Also, it’s important to interact with your readers — again, not with an eye on how much you can milk them for, but because you just love to chat with like-minded folk about that which inspires you most. Don’t post about what you think everyone will like — post about the things that inspire you. Don’t be afraid to express opinion. If you like something say so; if you don’t, then say so, or don’t write about it.