Best Mobile App Gamification Examples

Gamification offers a way to tap into users' intrinsic motivation and create a more immersive and rewarding experience.

What is Gamification in Mobile Apps?

Gamification refers to the application of game-design elements and principles in non-game contexts. In mobile apps, this means incorporating features such as points, badges, leaderboards, challenges, and rewards to motivate users and enhance their overall experience. By making the app more engaging and fun, gamification helps in retaining users and encouraging them to interact with the app more frequently.

Why Should You Gamify Mobile App User Experiences?

Gamifying mobile app user experiences offers numerous benefits:

• Increased Engagement: Gamification elements make the app more interesting and interactive, keeping users engaged for longer periods.
• Enhanced Retention: By rewarding users for their interactions, gamification encourages repeat usage and reduces churn.
• Motivation and Productivity: Gamified apps can motivate users to achieve their goals, whether it's fitness, learning, or personal development.
• User Loyalty: Rewards and recognition systems foster a sense of loyalty among users, making them more likely to stick with the app.
• User Satisfaction: Gamification can provide valuable insights into user behavior, helping apps customise the app experience.

By integrating game-like elements into the app, you're on the right track to boost user engagement and retention.

What are Tools for App Gamification?

Several tools are available for adding gamification elements to mobile apps. They enable you to gamify the user experience using UI components like:

1. Scratch Cards
2. Quizzes
3. Badges
4. Leaderboards
5. Spin to win and more

If you're looking for some inspiration to improve your own mobile app gamification experience, you've come to the right place. Below table summarises few gamification elements that are used by different companies in their mobile app.

Duolingo: The OG in infusing gamification

Duolingo is a widely recognized case of successful gamification. Given that language acquisition is a gradual process that necessitates continuous practice and repetition, Duolingo inspires its users to use the app daily.

Through gamification infused in the educational product, it incentivizes users to continue learning by implementing various elements like

1. Earning Points and Maintaining Streaks: Duolingo offers users points for completing lessons and challenges, while also motivating them to maintain a continuous streak of daily activity.
2. Engaging Leaderboards: Duolingo incorporates a leaderboard feature that enables users to engage in friendly competition with peers and gauge their standing within the community.
3. Interactive Lesson Games: Duolingo enhances the learning experience by infusing game-like elements into its lessons, offering interactive exercises and mini-games.
4. Unlocking Levels and Achievements: By structuring lessons into distinct levels and providing users with achievements as they advance through these levels, Duolingo fosters a sense of accomplishment and advancement.

Headspace: Building motivation through gamification

Headspace is a meditation app that provides guided meditation sessions. Its interface is user-friendly, enabling users to monitor their journey and personalize their meditation practice. Habit building through gamification is the secret to Headspace's success.

A few gamified elements that we can see in the app are

1. Streaks: Headspace motivates users to practice daily meditation by acknowledging and rewarding their efforts with badges for maintaining an unbroken streak of daily meditation.
2. Leaderboard with ‘no leaders’: This functionality resembles the one of a leaderboard, but there are no actual leaders. Instead, you can check if your 'buddies' used the app today. If they didn't, the app prompts you to send them a reminder nudge.
3. Engaging Meditation Games: Headspace offers gamified meditation exercises like the "SOS" scenario, turning them into interactive experiences. Users help a character conquer challenges using mindfulness techniques.
4. Tailored Progress Monitoring: Headspace systematically tracks users' advancement and offers individualized recommendations for fresh meditation content based on their preferences and requirements.

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Cred: Revolutionizing finance through gamification

CRED, a prominent fintech company in India, utilizes gamification to create an engaging approach to financial responsibility. By blending financial management with game-inspired features, CRED has substantially elevated user engagement, positioning itself as a standout player in the fintech industry.

A few prominent gamification elements present in the Cred app are

1. Spin-the-wheel: A daily engagement strategy that allows 10 chances daily for users to try their luck and win rewards like bitcoins, gift vouchers, and more.
2. Cred coins: With each use of the app, users can accumulate CRED coins. This encourages increased spending within the app to earn more coins, which can then be exchanged for enticing rewards.
3. Cred games: The platform also hosts interactive games, such as ‘CRED Snakes & Ladders’ or ‘CRED Wipeout,’ for users to earn extra coins and prizes.

Here's how the best fintech apps are gamifying their app experience and engaging users.

Starbucks: Brewing engagement through gamification

The essence of the Starbucks app lies in gamification, where purchasing products earns you stars. These stars can be used for free rewards or discounts. Beyond this, the app elevates the experience with quests that, when completed, offer bonus stars.

Some notable gamification features that can be observed in the app are

1. Star Dash: This incentivizes members to visit multiple times within a specific period. It monitors their visit frequency, motivating them to advance a progress bar akin to video game mechanics, ultimately leading to the achievement of a special reward.
2. Starbucks for Life: This program provides customers with the chance to win free coffee for a year, a month, or a week by completing challenges and earning game plays.
3. Other games: The Summer Game offers prizes through challenges, Starland rewards purchases, and Roastery Challenge is an interactive VR/AR exploration of Starbucks' roasteries, boosting engagement and brand connection.

Fitbit: Fitness through gamification

Through gamification, Fitbit tackled sedentary behavior by raising users' awareness of activity and providing incentives for sustained movement. By turning movement into a game, Fitbit prompted healthier habits, decreased sedentary time, and enhanced overall well-being.

A few gamification features are

1. Badges: Users earn achievement badges by accomplishing specific activities, like reaching step goals, and providing tangible markers of progress.
2. Social Interaction: Fitbit enables users to connect with friends on the platform, engaging in friendly competition through sports challenges.
3. Virtual Adventures: Fitbit introduces original challenges such as virtual city walks, allowing users to "explore" new places while maintaining their fitness routine.

You can dig deeper for inspiration from the best gamification examples in fitness and wellness apps to understand how to impliment it for you app.

Shape your unique gamification adventure

And there you have it. Gamification from some of the best mobile apps in the consumer tech space.

Are you considering incorporating gamified elements into your app as well?

Our no-code builder is designed to assist you in integrating interactive gaming features into your mobile app. Additionally, you can use scratch cards, confetti, and other UI elements like tooltips, spotlights, stories, blinkers, coachmarks, etc., to educate, retain, and motivate your users effectively.

Want to see how to create gamification experiences for your apps within minutes through Plotline? Check out the interactive demo below. 👇

Start a free trial with Plotline now to gain a deeper insight into how we can enhance your app's gamification and improve engagement.