Project Overview
With a growth target to reach a specific number of users, we explored leveraging the hype of Telegram mini apps. The idea was to create an experience within that ecosystem, using the popularity of mini apps as a driver to attract users and funnel them into the main platform. Gamification was chosen as the core mechanic to make the acquisition journey engaging and rewarding.
key objectives:
- Drive user acquisition through playful and rewarding first-time experiences.
- Increase retention with daily loops that encourage users to return and engage.
- Boost engagement by integrating missions with social features and competitive elements that encourage ongoing participation.
Hooking Users with Spin the Wheel
The onboarding flow centered on playful mechanics. New users received three free spins on a roulette-style wheel. After these spins, access was blocked until they created an account. This ensured the experience was fun and rewarding from the start, while directly linking continued participation to the signup. The design connected excitement with conversion, transforming curiosity into committed users.
Driving Growth with Missions & Rewards
Missions were designed as both growth drivers and engagement loops. They ranged from one‑time actions such as verifying an email or joining a Telegram group, to recurring daily challenges that kept users coming back. Each mission rewarded players with Gems, Spins, or Tickets, the core resources of the mini app. Missions were closely linked to rewards, giving users clear incentives to complete tasks and reinforcing the cycle of play and progression.
Building Community with Friends & Leaderboards
To strengthen the social layer, the mini app introduced Friends and Leaderboards. Users could connect with friends, compare progress, and see how they ranked globally.
Friends also acted as referrals, bringing new participants into the ecosystem and amplifying growth. This competitive environment tapped into peer recognition and motivated users to stay active, turning individual play into a community experience. By blending social proof with competition, the feature increased both retention and engagement.
Raising the Stakes with Jackpots
Jackpots provided aspirational goals for users. By collecting Tickets through missions, players could enter draws for large rewards. The Jackpot raised the stakes further with higher prizes. The feature included tabs for rolls, rewards, and history, giving users transparency and reinforcing trust in the system.
These high-value goals provided users with long-term motivation to continue completing missions and engaging with the app. They also created anticipation and excitement that reinforced the overall gamification loop.
Outcome & Learnings
In my role as Product Design Lead, I not only guided the design process but also coordinated cross‑functional collaboration, ensuring that product vision aligned with the product goals.
The mini app successfully combined growth and gamification into a cohesive product experience that met its growth targets. Curiosity was converted into signups through Spin the Wheel, sustained engagement came from missions and rewards, and community was fostered through Friends and Leaderboards. Jackpots added an aspirational layer that not only maintained long‑term interest but also reinforced trust and anticipation around high‑value rewards.
Key learnings:
- Tying account creation directly to gameplay (blocking spins until signup) was a powerful driver of conversions toward growth targets.
- A finite reward economy with Gems, Spins, and Tickets balanced scarcity and motivation, sustaining engagement loops
- Friends doubling as referrals blended social engagement with acquisition, amplifying user growth while fostering connections.
- Leveraging platform trends like Telegram mini apps amplified distribution and relevance, accelerating user acquisition when combined with clear incentives.