Growth Playbook

Gamification

Gamification isn't about turning your app into a game—it's about using proven psychological principles to make routine actions more engaging and rewarding.

Why It Works

Game mechanics tap into fundamental human psychology: our need for achievement, progress, and social comparison. Duolingo saw retention jump from 12% D1 to 55% after implementing streak mechanics. The key is choosing mechanics that align with your core user behavior, not just adding badges everywhere.

Core Mechanics by Impact & Effort

Strategic Implementation

1. Daily Streaks

Why this first: Highest retention impact with moderate effort. Creates powerful daily habit loops.

Core concept: Track consecutive days of user activity, celebrate milestones, make breaking streaks feel costly.

Implementation strategy:

• Store currentStreak, longestStreak, lastActiveDate per user
• Check daily: consecutive day = +1, gap = reset to 1
• Celebrate at days 3, 7, 14, 30 with visual rewards
• Show streak prominently in app header

// Simple streak logic
const updateStreak = (lastActive: string) => {
	const daysSinceLastActive = getDaysDifference(lastActive, today)
	return daysSinceLastActive === 1 ? streak + 1 : 1
}

2. Progress Bars & Visual Momentum

Users hate leaving things 80% complete. Visual progress creates urgency to finish.

Where to use:

• Profile completion: 2/5 steps remaining
• Daily/weekly goals: 7/10 tasks done
• Social milestones: 3/5 friends invited
• Skill progression: Level 4: 80% to Level 5

Key principle: Always show progress toward the next achievable milestone, not distant end goals.

3. Achievement Badges

Strategy: Create collectible moments that trigger completion bias and provide social proof.

Badge categories that work:

• Onboarding: "First Steps" (welcome badge), "Explorer" (tried 3 features)
• Social: "Social Butterfly" (first share), "Connector" (5 friends invited)
• Engagement: "Week Warrior" (7-day streak), "Power User" (daily active for 30 days)
• Milestones: "High Achiever" (reached level 10), "Completionist" (100% profile)

Design tips:

• Make early badges easy to get within first session
• Create clear progression: Common → Rare → Epic
• Show badge collection in user profile for social proof

4. Social Leaderboards

When to use: Best for apps with clear scoring metrics (points, levels, achievements completed).

Types that work:

• Weekly leaderboards: Reset regularly so everyone has a chance
• Friend leaderboards: Compare with people you know (higher engagement)
• Category leaderboards: "Top Streaks", "Most Social", "Fastest Completion"

Key strategies:

• Keep it simple: Top 10 list with current user highlighted
• Refresh weekly to prevent permanent dominance
• Only show verified users to prevent gaming

World App advantage: World ID ensures fair competition with one-person-one-account guarantee.

5. Variable Reward Systems

Psychology: Variable rewards trigger dopamine more than predictable ones (slot machine effect).

Implementation ideas:

• Daily mystery box: Random reward from a small pool (coins, badges, features)
• Streak bonuses: Random multiplier for milestone completions
• Surprise rewards: Occasional "lucky day" bonuses for regular actions
• Loot boxes: Earned through achievements, contain random useful items

Reward pool strategy:

• 70% common rewards (small coin amounts, basic items)
• 25% rare rewards (larger bonuses, temporary premium features)
• 5% epic rewards (exclusive badges, significant bonuses)

Key principle: Make the anticipation of opening more exciting than the reward itself.

Design Principles

1. One Core Loop

Pick one primary habit loop and nail it before adding more. Example flow: Daily check-in → earn streak → unlock reward → share achievement → invite friends

2. Early Wins

Users should earn their first badge/reward within 30 seconds of first use. This creates immediate positive reinforcement and sets expectations for future rewards.

3. Surface Progress Everywhere

• Show current streak in app header/navigation
• Display progress bars for any incomplete goals
• Badge count in user profile for social proof
• Preview next achievable reward/milestone

4. Measure & Optimize

Track key events: streak_extended, badge_earned, leaderboard_viewed, reward_claimed

Golden rule: If a mechanic doesn't improve D7 retention after 2 weeks, remove it.

Common Pitfalls

1. Over-gamification: Don't add badges for every tiny action—dilutes achievement value
2. Participation trophies: Make early badges easy but later ones meaningful
3. Pay-to-win mechanics: Keep purchases separate from core progression
4. Feature creep: Start with one mechanic, prove it works, then expand

Your Next Steps

1. Start simple: Implement daily streaks first—highest impact for effort invested
2. Add visual progress: One progress bar or completion indicator
3. Create 3-5 early badges: Tied directly to your core user actions
4. Measure ruthlessly: Track D7 retention before/after each mechanic
5. Expand gradually: Only add new mechanics after current ones prove effective

The goal isn't to build a game —it's to make your core experience more engaging and habit-forming.