Explore gamification options for your app

Power up your app with proven game mechanics

See how the best apps use gamification to turn everyday features into habits. We break down each mechanic, map how they fit together, and help your team apply the ones that suit your product.

What's inside the library

28

Case studies

Full breakdowns of how real apps build engagement, mechanic by mechanic.

Browse case studies
26

Systems

How mechanics combine into the loops that keep users coming back.

Explore systems
6

Cheatsheets

Practical implementation guides your team can build straight from.

Open cheatsheets
Free case study

See exactly what a full breakdown looks like

FreeRetentionStrava

Strava records sports activities and places them inside a social layer of feeds, followers, clubs, challenges, and segment rankings. The app asks a user to record an activity, then connects that activity to other users through following, kudos, comparison, and shared challenges. Its rankings are scoped to individual segments and to rolling 90-day windows rather than to the whole user base, and its streak is counted in weeks rather than days. A large share of the deeper tracking and mapping features is paywalled and becomes available after the user subscribes.

Read the Strava breakdown
Strava screenshots

Start with the mechanics

Each mechanic comes with the psychology behind it, the users it fits, and what your app needs in place to use it well.
Browse all mechanics
This week's system map

How the Uptime system holds together

FreeUptime

A micro-learning app where achievement cards are designed as social media content rather than in-app trophies.

Explore the Uptime map
Work with us

We find the mechanics that fit your app

We study the features you already ship, your users, and your category, then map where engagement is leaking and which mechanics would take root in your product. You walk away with three things: a map of what your app is already doing, a comparison of what your category relies on and leaves untapped, and a prioritized roadmap of the mechanics worth building, in order, each with what it asks of your product and why it earns its place.

Book a discovery call
Category comparisonFitness · your app
  • Daily streaksCommon
  • Milestone rewardsCommon
  • Social challengesUntapped
  • Loss-framed nudgesTry first
  • Team leaderboardsTry first

Latest entries

How we work

A practice you can hire, not just a library you can read

  1. Discovery

    We learn your product, your users, and your goals.

  2. Analysis

    We review your app and your category to find the best openings.

  3. Gamification recommendations for your app

    An evidence-backed roadmap your team can ship.