With IDFA regulation adjustments and an inflow of recent video games coming into the market, publishers and cellular sport studios are going through an ever-uphill battle to accumulate new gamers (UA) and retain them. To remain forward of the competitors, studios are exploring revolutionary methods, like enhancing advert creatives to draw new gamers and introducing contemporary gameplay options to maintain present gamers engaged and invested of their titles.
Nonetheless, as we wrote final 12 months, many top-grossing cellular video games have discovered that minigames are one of the simplest ways to spice up UA and participant retention. Minigames can present gamers with new, thrilling methods of having fun with an present sport, incorporating components from broader genres to widen a sport’s motivational attraction. Introducing minigames right into a sport additionally offers a chance so as to add new monetization components, like purchasable boosters or a brand new premium foreign money as a reward.
We beforehand acknowledged that minigames have continued to develop in reputation for the reason that IDFA adjustments, particularly amongst informal and midcore video games. That’s much more true now than it was again in April 2023. On this weblog, we have a look at a number of the new and fascinating methods builders have carried out minigames into a number of the hottest cellular titles in the marketplace, from Royal Match’s Wordle-inspired potion puzzle to Goddess of Victory: NIKKE’s recreation of Dave the Diver.
Royal Match’s Wordle-inspired Magic Cauldron
Dream Video games is not any stranger in relation to minigames. As we wrote in our earlier weblog publish on minigames, the developer beforehand launched “The King’s Nightmare” into Royal Match – timed match3 puzzle ranges the place gamers solely have a restricted time to finish the extent and save the King. Contemplating that profitable instance, it’s hardly shocking that Dream Video games has been taking a look at methods to include minigames into its reside occasions pipeline additional.
Maybe probably the most notable instance is the Magic Cauldron occasion, launched in September 2023, which we named the “Finest Minigame Occasion” for the Informal Market on this 12 months’s Cell GameDev Awards. Magic Cauldron duties gamers with determining the ‘method’ of assorted elixirs by inserting them within the right order to unlock varied rewards, akin to boosters and collectible playing cards.
To do that, gamers should first place elixirs (acquired by taking part in match3 ranges) in a row of three slots on the Magic Cauldron’s occasion web page. As soon as a row has been stuffed, the sport reveals whether or not or not the elixirs had been positioned within the correct place. In the event that they had been, the slot would gentle up inexperienced. Assuming they weren’t fortunate sufficient to get it proper the primary time, gamers should then full extra match3 ranges to have one other try at guessing the method, utilizing what they discovered from the earlier spherical to work out the right mixture.
Should you’re a fan of the viral puzzle sport Wordle, all of this could sound very acquainted. Magic Cauldron follows Wordle’s template, with comparable mechanics however that includes potions as an alternative of phrases. Wordle fanatics reportedly collectively play the sport for over 72 hours a 12 months; whereas we doubt this occasion will ever show to have that very same degree of immense success, it’s positively impacted normal engagement on the very least.
The success can be made evident by Lily’s Backyard, which added its personal Wordle-inspired minigame, Juice Bar, in July 2024. The one main distinction between the 2 is beauty, with Lily’s Backyard gamers needing to determine the “recipes” of fruits by inserting them in the proper order.
Digging engagement with extra Royal Match minigames
However there’s extra to Royal Match’s minigame providing than simply matching up potions, particularly for these prepared to fairly actually dig beneath the floor. In Hidden Temple, which has been working weekly because it launched in July 2023, gamers should use pickaxes – once more, acquired by taking part in match3 ranges – to dig out gems from a hidden grid.
It’s considerably harking back to the basic PC sport Minesweeper, besides with out the hazard of mines. As soon as all of the gems have been discovered from a grid, gamers obtain a reward, and so they unlock a brand new temple to dig up.
Very like Magic Cauldron, Hidden Temple’s success has been famous by the competitors — considerably extra so the truth is, with numerous totally different titles launching their very own iterations of the occasion. Listed below are only a few examples:
- Cooking Insanity checked out the way it might additional monetize the idea past pickaxes with Pirate Treasure, which encompasses a $4.99 premium battle move.
- Sweet Crush Saga took an unsurprisingly candy method to the Digging craze with Baker’s Field, which swaps sand for cookies and pickaxes for spoons.
- Matchington Mansion’s Jewellery Jubilee sees gamers cracking open bricks from a grid with Hammers. Beneath, gamers can discover collectible gems that unlock varied rewards.
- State of Survival’s variation on the digging minigame occasion, Jungle Gems, sees gamers utilizing Jungle Chisels and boosters to dig out differently-shaped gems from a grid. As soon as all of the gems have been discovered, the extent is cleared. The occasion development consists of regular ranges and randomly triggered bonus ranges, the place gamers get freebie Jungle Chisels earlier than beginning and further rewards for clearing.
Midcore goes informal with minigames: State of Survival & Honkai: Star Rail
Talking of State of Survival, this midcore hit has additionally been seeking to increase engagement by introducing its gamers to extra informal gameplay components by way of minigames. Alongside the aforementioned digging minigame, the title additionally launched the Paw-Some Puzzle Occasion, the place gamers can take a break from State of Survival’s common 4X Technique gameplay (and its post-apocalyptic zombie stylings) in favor of feline-themed match3 battles.
In every match, gamers are joined by a kitten with a particular match-3 energy that helps gamers clear the board. This capacity might be charged additional by clearing gems that match the kitten’s colour. By reaching a better kitten energy by the tip of the spherical, gamers can win the minigame by lowering their opponent’s well being to zero. Opponents are managed by AI and might be tweaked by way of three issue settings (straightforward, regular, and arduous).
Whereas this may sound like a singular concept for the midcore market, it was truly Honkai: Star Rail which first coined the thought with Origami Chook Conflict. Launching in July earlier this 12 months, this match3 minigame occasion noticed gamers going head-to-head with precise gamers to clear the board of fruit and feed their Origami Birds. On this occasion, whichever participant cleared probably the most fruits throughout the restricted out there strikes in every spherical would harm their opponent’s HP, with victory going to whoever took down the opposition first.
Regardless of arriving later, Honkai: Star Rail’s iteration of the occasion affords far more depth. For instance, Origami Chook Conflict encompasses a Story Problem mode the place gamers tackle characters from the primary sport and expertise a brief narrative. This mode additionally unlocks a number of new Origami birds that gamers can select to carry into battle, every of which has distinctive talents that gamers can use to their benefit. The Birefly, as an illustration, randomly triggers a cross-shaped detonation on the board each time seven bananas are eradicated from the board.
Finishing the story even unlocked two additional modes, an “Open Problem” the place gamers can tackle the story battles once more with tougher opponents and all the totally different mechanics unlocked, and Multiplayer Bonanza, a 6-player battler royale the place the final participant standing emerged victorious. Participating within the minigame additionally gave gamers helpful objects for the primary sport, akin to a 4-star Character and Stellar Jades (premium foreign money).
Dave the Diver x Goddess of Victory: NIKKE
As Honkai: Star Rail demonstrates, it’s attainable for minigames to have an immense quantity of depth and cater to a wholly totally different viewers. However one title that confirmed how one can take this idea even additional is Shift Up’s Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, which not too long ago went as far as to recreate a totally totally different title that’s unavailable to cellular gamers.
In fact, we’re referencing the motion RPG’s collaboration with Dave the Diver, a restaurant administration sim turned action-adventure fishing hit that has offered over three million copies throughout PC and console. In Aegis the Diver, gamers dived, fished, and foraged for substances to make use of in a restaurant administration simulator— similar to in Dave the Diver—besides utilizing fan-favorite Goddess of Nikke characters. The occasion regarded the half too, using the identical pixelated artwork type as Dave the Diver, and was monetized by way of a premium battle move.
The occasion was virtually like a demo for Dave the Diver, with the complete title on sale throughout PlayStation, Swap, and different platforms in the course of the occasion. All gamers might additionally get a particular Goddess of Victory pores and skin for his or her boat in Dave the Diver by coming into a code, additional bolstering the hyperlink between the 2 titles.
It’s price noting that Dave the Diver isn’t out there on cellular, and the developer behind the title, Mintrocket, hasn’t urged a port is coming. Nonetheless, this minigame occasion might have been a method for the studio to check how the sport could carry out on cellular units through Goddess of Victory’s large, pre-established viewers. If that’s the case, it’ll be fascinating to see whether or not different titles find yourself sneaking their method into Goddess of Victory. It wouldn’t be all that shocking, as the sport additionally launched a roguelike reverse bullet hell-type minigame harking back to Vampire Survivors in November final 12 months, so the developer is greater than accustomed to wider gameplay sorts.
Island Hoppers: Thriller Farm – Minigames built-in into narrative components
There are fairly just a few tycoon and crafting video games on the cellular market, and also you’d be forgiven for not giving Island Hoppers: Thriller Farm a second thought when it totally launched onto the scene late final 12 months. In spite of everything, taken at face worth, Island Hoppers seems comparatively much like different titles from the subgenre, akin to Household Farm Journey, combining exploration and useful resource gathering with conventional tycoon sport components, together with farm building, crop harvesting, crafting, and fulfilling orders.
Nonetheless, Nexters World LTD’s Island Hoppers has managed to discover a solution to stand out from the pack by interweaving closely story-driven gameplay design with a plethora of various minigames. However first, to elucidate how that works in apply, we have to dial again a bit.
In Island Hoppers, gamers take management of a personality who has grow to be caught on an odd island. The narrative focuses on discovering their lacking brother (whom they grew to become separated from upon arrival) and unraveling the numerous mysteries of the island. The first gameplay loop revolves round an deserted farm, which gamers must take care of to outlive, planting and harvesting crops, establishing buildings, and fulfilling orders for villagers.
The place it begins to diversify is whenever you start to discover the broader island. With a purpose to progress the story and enter new areas, gamers should resolve totally different sorts of distinctive puzzles, which nearly all the time take the type of totally different minigames. For instance, one has the participant placing collectively a jigsaw puzzle to assemble an essential map. One other has them working by way of a grid of similar-looking keys, looking for the right one to progress. Others embrace navigating a maze or transferring obstacles into a selected path to create an exit.
Island Hopper has additionally built-in minigames into day by day login mechanics, presenting gamers with a refreshing reminiscence minigame day by day. In the event that they full it, gamers are rewarded with vitality to assist them progress in the primary sport. In addition they obtain the same old commonplace bundle of currencies and supplies both method.
Whereas none of those minigames are notably revolutionary, Island Hoppers is exclusive in that it’s one of many solely cellular video games in the marketplace to have built-in the idea in such a big method. Gamers are clearly followers too, given the sport has remodeled $47 million in income and been downloaded greater than 20 million occasions. We suspect that success might grow to be much more efficient in the long run, because the builders can naturally introduce new minigames over time if gamers grow to be drained of the present choice.
Apparently, Playrix has additionally launched an identical title, Thriller Issues, which works in a really comparable style. This leads us to consider many different builders have larger plans for the way forward for minigames.
Protecting observe of minigames utilizing our reside occasions tracker
Minigames supply a number of advantages that may improve participant expertise, total engagement, and income. They supply thrilling and refreshing methods for brand spanking new and returning customers to play, boosting retention, whereas additionally remaining completely choices for individuals who choose to not interact with them. By catering to numerous participant motivations and interesting to a broader viewers, minigames may assist appeal to new gamers and broaden the potential participant base. From a enterprise perspective, they increase monetization by introducing new alternatives for IAP, akin to by way of a devoted minigame battle move.
Should you’d prefer to see much more examples of minigames throughout the cellular market, then it’s best to check out our Dwell Occasions Tracker. In case you’re not accustomed to this software, it lets you analyze, visualize, and evaluate the efficiency of over 35 various kinds of reside occasions. The tracker has a spread of filters that mean you can simply hone in on the precise sort of reside occasions you’re most serious about, which embrace three totally different choices for minigames.
With these utilized, you may monitor the period and timing of various minigames, perceive how they’ve been carried out, and immediately see how they’ve influenced income. There’s no restrict on what number of sorts of reside occasions you may evaluate directly both, enabling you to see how minigames had been factored into the technique of particular titles as an entire, akin to opponents in your particular style.
If that’s nonetheless not sufficient for you, keep in mind you can additionally discover a whole bunch of further examples by merely looking with the “Minigame” characteristic tag within the GameRefinery platform.
Loved this weblog publish and need to study extra about minigames, in addition to a number of the different ways in which cellular sport builders are boosting engagement? Then remember to take a look at a few of our different content material: