Home › Work › Small Games
Mobile UI Engagement In-App Games 2024

Small Games —
Little hooks that
bring people back

A set of small in-app games designed to lift daily engagement — quick to play, easy to return to, and visually consistent with the host app.

View the games ← Back to work
My Role
UI / Interaction Designer
Scope
6 small games + shared shell
Platform
iOS · Android
Goal
Daily engagement & retention
Tools
Figma · FigJam
Hero
01 — The Brief

Engagement comes from tiny daily wins

The host app needed a low-stakes reason for users to open it more than once a day. A set of small games — quick to learn, satisfying to finish — turned out to be the lightest possible answer. Six games, one shared shell, all designed to fit naturally inside the host app's existing visual system.

6
Games
1
Shared Shell
< 2min
Avg. Play Time
Game 01
Daily Match — spot the pair
A quick visual matching game that resets every day. Designed for one-handed play on the commute — a satisfying win in under 60 seconds.
Matching Daily Reset Casual
Game 02
Word Drop — shape the word
Falling letters that the player arranges into valid words. A familiar mechanic with a fresh, soft visual identity that fits the host app's tone.
Word Puzzle Falling Tiles Short Sessions
Game 03
Color Slide — find the hidden gradient
A meditative colour-matching game where the player slides tiles to recreate a target gradient. Slow, calm, and never quite the same twice.
Color Slide Puzzle Meditative
Game 04
Tap Tempo — keep the beat
A simple rhythm-tap game with friendly visual feedback. Designed to feel forgiving but still rewarding — accessibility-first beat windows.
Rhythm Tap Accessible
Game 05
Path Maker — connect the dots
A minimal path-drawing puzzle. Each level adds a tiny twist, so the difficulty curve stays gentle even as the board gets denser.
Path Puzzle Minimal Levels
Game 06
Streak Quiz — five quick questions
Five-question daily quiz with a visible streak. Designed for a strong daily-return loop without nagging — the streak is celebrated, never enforced.
Quiz Daily Streak Retention
02 — The Result

Six small reasons
to open the app today

A tiny surface area, a big effect on daily-return behaviour.

6
Games Shipped
Each playable in under two minutes — quick wins by design.
1
Shared Shell
One launcher, one progress model, one visual system across all games.
↑
Daily Returns
Measurable lift in daily-open behaviour after launch.
A11y
First-Class
Forgiving timing, high contrast, large tap targets across every game.
Up Next

App
Transformation

Selected screens from an app transformation — each one with the short UX justification behind it.

View next case study ← All projects