This is the fifth post in a series about UX design principles we can draw on from video games. Click here to start form the beginning.
Ever spend hours building a virtual life in The Sims or conquering empires in Civilization? Surprise — that's great UX design at work. Video games are masters at onboarding players, keeping them engaged, and rewarding their efforts. I'm exploring how popular video games (The Sims, Civilization, Overwatch, Fortnite, Candy Crush, and more) create addictive and intuitive experiences. More importantly, we’ll translate those gaming UX principles into practical takeaways for your digital product — no cheat codes required!
Before I dive in, a quick note: I'll use examples from games purely to illustrate UX concepts. You don’t need to be a gamer or know these titles in detail – we’ll explain the context and draw out the practical insights for product design.
Retention Mechanics: Bringing Users Back in Candy Crush and Farmville
So your user has onboarded, used the product, maybe even completed their initial task – how do you get them to return tomorrow and next week? Video games, especially free-to-play mobile games, have essentially engineered retention through what we might call daily rewards or timed content. Think of games like Candy Crush Saga or Farmville: they often give a daily login bonus – e.g., coins or power-ups just for opening the app each day, with the rewards increasing for consecutive days.
This technique leverages our tendency to not want to “miss out” once we start a streak. Some games literally show a calendar with checkmarks for each day you’ve logged in, enticing you to not break the chain. Moreover, many mobile games impose waiting times (e.g., energy that refills over hours) which nudges players to come back later, or conversely, limited-time events that urge immediate play so you don’t miss rewards. While some of these tactics can border on exploitative, the core idea is useful: provide reasons for users to return regularly, beyond the core utility of the product. In Candy Crush, even if you beat all the levels you intended for the day, you might log in tomorrow to get your free booster spin. In MMORPGs, daily quests and login bonuses are standard to keep engagement going indefinitely.
Product design takeaway
Implement retention hooks that fit your product – small bonuses or content updates that reward users for coming back frequently. This could be as simple as a friendly reminder or as structured as a loyalty program. For instance, many productivity apps send a daily summary email or notification – if that summary includes something beneficial (insight, discount, tip of the day), it can entice a user to log back in. E-commerce apps use limited-time deals (“Today only: 50% off for you”) which act like game events – users open the app so they don’t miss the deal. Educational platforms might have a “daily challenge” or quiz question each day, which keeps learners coming back in bite-sized ways. Even acknowledging login streaks can be effective - loss aversion means users are motivated to simply not lose their streak.
Additionally, consider social or cooperative elements for retention. People come back if their friends or colleagues are there. Many games include guilds, leaderboards, or team challenges to leverage this – you log in not just for yourself but because others expect or challenge you to. Products can mirror this with features like collaborative projects, shared stats among friends (who walked more this week?), or even simple referrals where seeing a friend join triggers you to engage more. Healthy competition or collaboration builds commitment to the app as a social space, not just a tool. Remember, retention tactics should feel like a service to the user, not a spammy distraction. The goal is to provide ongoing value (even if small bits of fun or reward), so users want to return. If you strike that balance, your product will benefit from game-like loyalty without resorting to dark patterns.
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