Gamification

Try gamifying a mundane goal, like reaching inbox zero, by recording streaks and awarding shareable badges once users hit a milestone.

Example from

Superhuman

You could animate a coin flying from a completed task into the balance, while letting users toggle the gamification off if it isn't for them.

Dark mode app UI shows bedroom cleaning tasks with last cleanup dates and "It's shiny clean!" status bars. Settings panel highlights enabled Streak and Shop toggles.

Example from

Sweepy

You could experiment with asking users to pick a reward upfront, e.g., a gift card, then framing each daily challenge as gamified progress towards it.

Xbox rewards UI shows a £5 Xbox Gift Card goal with 6% progress at 6300 points, highlighted in green. PC Game Pass and Roblox rewards are also listed with progress bars.

Example from

Xbox

Rather than auto-unlocking rewards, you could try making users actively redeem them for a random number of gems, so the gamified payoff feels more satisfying.

Mobile app Achievements UI shows badges: Photogenic (Level 1, yellow) with "CLAIM REWARD" button, Legendary (Level 1, blue), Challenger (Level 1, purple) progress bars.

Example from

Possible impacts

Gamification could help reduce churn, as streaks and milestones give users a reason to keep returning, i.e., 'okay, just one more milestone'.

As seen in:

Xbox Working towards a reward

Gamified goals, such as daily challenges framed around a chosen reward, may increase feature usage by nudging users into parts of the product they'd otherwise skip.

As seen in:

Gamified loops like daily goals and streaks might help users form habits around your product, as the rewarding loop makes coming back feel automatic.

As seen in:

Sweepy Rewarding household chores

Gamified mechanics like lives, coins and levels could increase users' motivation to put effort into tasks, making even dull chores feel worth completing.

As seen in:

Duolingo Gamification to maintain focus

Celebrations, variable rewards and mini games may increase users' enjoyment, as gamification turns routine moments into small, satisfying surprises.

As seen in:

Consultant to 100+ companies

Written by Peter Ramsey

Published: 11/08/2023

How to utilise this in your designs

You could add a gamified 'lives' mechanic to a task, giving it a sense of importance so users have a clear reason to pay attention and stay focused.

Example from

Try gamifying a mundane goal, like reaching inbox zero, by recording streaks and awarding shareable badges once users hit a milestone.

Example from

Superhuman

You could animate a coin flying from a completed task into the balance, while letting users toggle the gamification off if it isn't for them.

Example from

Sweepy

You could experiment with asking users to pick a reward upfront, e.g., a gift card, then framing each daily challenge as gamified progress towards it.

Example from

Xbox

Rather than auto-unlocking rewards, you could try making users actively redeem them for a random number of gems, so the gamified payoff feels more satisfying.

Example from

Possible impacts

Gamification could help reduce churn, as streaks and milestones give users a reason to keep returning, i.e., 'okay, just one more milestone'.

As seen in:

Xbox Working towards a reward

Gamified goals, such as daily challenges framed around a chosen reward, may increase feature usage by nudging users into parts of the product they'd otherwise skip.

As seen in:

Gamified loops like daily goals and streaks might help users form habits around your product, as the rewarding loop makes coming back feel automatic.

As seen in:

Sweepy Rewarding household chores

Gamified mechanics like lives, coins and levels could increase users' motivation to put effort into tasks, making even dull chores feel worth completing.

As seen in:

Duolingo Gamification to maintain focus

Celebrations, variable rewards and mini games may increase users' enjoyment, as gamification turns routine moments into small, satisfying surprises.

As seen in: