Gamification to maintain focus
How do you add a sense of importance when engaging with a task? Duolingo do it with a "lives" mechanic, which encourages people to pay attention and stay focused.
Design Examples
Gamification Examples in Real Apps
See how companies like Duolingo, Tesla and Sainsbury's use gamification, with examples including lives, shareable streaks, rub-to-reveal rewards and social comparison.
Real world examples:
Updated: 23/09/2026, view all 1,490 examples
Examples on Built for Mars include
Duolingo's lives stop careless tapping
Sainsbury's rub-to-reveal creates a habit
Tesla frames charging as days on a treadmill
Gamifying answering emails
Superhuman have gamified the process of answering emails ("hitting inbox 0") by recording streaks, with badges you can share.
Emotional tap challenge
After completing lessons, you'll trigger this 'emotional tap' mini game. It compares your personal best score to the all time high score.
Redeeming variable rewards
You need to actively redeem rewards on Duolingo (which then gives you a random number of gems). The action of redeeming makes this more satisfying than if it automatically unlocked.
Winning Nectar points
After making a purchase, the Sainsbury's app shows a 'rub to reveal' mini game to unlock nectar points.
Gamified reading
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121 days on a treadmill
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FAQs
How can gamification improve the quality of user input, not just engagement?
Giving mistakes a cost makes people think before they tap. For example, Duolingo removes a heart for each wrong answer. Hearts come back through correct answers rather than payment, so the mechanic rewards focus instead of pushing an upsell.
Why make users claim a reward manually instead of unlocking it automatically?
The act of redeeming adds a moment of anticipation, which makes the reward feel more satisfying than one that simply appears. This is what Duolingo does with its achievements, where tapping 'Claim reward' reveals a random number of gems.
Does a mini game need to relate to the product's core value?
Not necessarily. A game can work as a mental break and a reason to come back. For instance, Ahead's emotional tap game has almost nothing to do with learning, but comparing a personal best to the all-time high score motivates people to complete another lesson and try again.
How do you add competition to a solo activity like dieting?
Frame the personal achievement against other users. For example, MyFitnessPal tells people on a 5-day streak that they're in the top 29% of users, which adds light social competition to a private habit.
Do streaks work outside learning and fitness apps?
Streaks suit almost any task people repeat. As an example, Superhuman tracks weekly streaks for reaching inbox zero and adds shareable badges, while Artifact shows daily reading streaks alongside levels such as 'Savant'.