Engaging Mini Games and Where to Find Them

Like any business, games exist to generate revenue. Without a solid monetization strategy, even the most passionate developers struggle to sustain their projects. But every successful developer knows that a game’s ability to make money is deeply tied to its retention metrics. While revenue is the ultimate measure of success, retention serves as a crucial intermediate indicator that is often prioritized even over direct revenue figures. And the strategies to ensure strong retention evolve over different stages of a game’s lifecycle. In the short term (call it D1 to D7), a compelling core loop is essential: a mechanic that is easy to pick up but challenging to master, providing endless variations without becoming stale. In the long term (call it D180 and beyond), retention hinges on intrinsic motivation: social engagement, a thriving community, and compelling end-game content. But what about […]

Ahmetcan Demirel March 23

Journal

System: Successful Games’ Formula

The formula for a successful game isn't magic, it's a system. Here’s the blueprint: 𝟭. 📊 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 • Research trends and player behavior • Analyze competitor strengths and weaknesses • Gather player feedback and track key metrics 𝟮. 𝗛𝗼𝗼𝗸 • Grab attention in 5 seconds • Define your unique selling point (USP) • Align advertising with what makes your game special 𝟯. 🎮 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 • Focus on fun and engaging mechanics • Set clear win/loss conditions • Create an addictive core loop 𝟰. 🎨 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀 • Establish a distinct art style • Make your game visually unique • Add "game juice" for a polished feel 𝟱. 📈 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 • Offer upgrades, new skills, and unlockables • Design a smooth difficulty curve • Keep players coming back for more 𝟲. 🏆 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮 • Define short-term and long-term goals • Add non-gameplay rewards […]

Anton Slashcev March 23

Journal

Most Played New Games of 2025

If I don’t play my competitor's games as much as my own, I shouldn’t call myself a game designer. Period. ❗ There are over 7500 games published in 2025,87% of them didn’t even get 1k downloads.Actually, only 2% are slowly scaling.You may wonder what is the difference?Those 2% figured out what works.A game developer’s job isn’t just to create,it’s to analyze, adapt, and innovate.That means to:🎯 Identify your real* competitors,🔔 Set alerts for new launches, and updates,🎮 Play these games to understand why? *If you’re designing in isolation, you’re guessing.And in this market, guessing is the fastest way to fail.That’s why I use AppMagic:—> to track trends,—> to analyze competitors,—> to make data-driven design decisions. Its really not rocket science.You can’t design great games,If you don’t know what’s already working.Every hit game has a blueprint.Are you studying it ?PS: Yes, […]

Gökhan Üzmez March 23

Journal

New Match-3: Block Genre?

Is Block 🟥 the new Match3? Block Blast by Hungry Studio continues to scale past 1,2 Million downloads a day 🤑 its the 11th most downloaded App on all of the stores and 2nd most downloaded game after Garena FF for last month. On the other side Color Block Jam by Rollic did $12 Mil. in IAP 💰 revenue last month. We have already covered Block Blast on two & a half gamers podcast in January, but since then it has aggressively grown its active users by nearly 40% 😱. And the giant market appeal of this core gameplay (which stems from Tetris) is starting to be very obvious. In June it should comfortably hit 500 Mil. lifetime downloads 🏆.Interestingly, the next game in the genre charts based on downloads is Color Block Jam, which is still heavily monetized by […]

Jakub Remiar March 21

Journal

45 New Puzzle Games

I gathered 45 New Puzzle Games you need to be aware of! Save and use for your game ideations and design. We have been watching the market carefully.Every ideation matters, it could be a hit.If you are not using AppMagic by now,Most likely, you are behind.Start the conversation.Data is your future.

Gökhan Üzmez March 21

Journal

Soft-launch Sonar #8

Soft-launch Sonar #8 📡 is back with 12 brand new soft-launched games with no particular filter. There are games from a lot of big players in the market such as Metacore, Supercent, Supercell, Homa, Century Games, Spyke Games, tap4fun, MY.GAMES. Come check out what we caught this time 😎. Metacore is continuing the innovation in the merge genre, with level based merge boards, now with the 2nd game. New shots in the Match3 battlefield with MY.GAMES "Wizard" based game and Century Games's farming game. They are really pushing hard into casual, this is the 8th or 9th game as we lost count now 😅. On the other and Spyke Games is again surfing the trend, trying to do an IAP driven Block Blast game. Homa is iterating on Tripledot Studios's Nut Sort. Supercell announced a new "Boat game" 🚢, seems […]

Jakub Remiar March 20

Journal

Alternative App Store… for Cars?

Since recently, I tried many different cars. Not because I like to switch cars but because during the COVID period, I frequently visited Jeju Island, where renting a car was essential due to the limited public transportation. This gave me the chance to drive a variety of models in Korea from the Hyundai Kona Electric to the Kia EV6, and even the lesser-known Renault SM3 Electric. Also after a few (unfortunate) accidents where I was always the victim (100%! 😅), I even got to experience higher range models like the Porsche, Range Rover, Benz etc. while my car was being repaired. But despite testing so many different cars, one thing remained constant: I never used the built-in navigation or media system. Most in-car navigation systems were outdated and inconvenient. I also couldn't access my media except using my phone (who […]

Laurent Pawlowski March 20

Analysis

Gossip Harbor’s Live Ops Strategy

Gossip Harbor’s Live Ops Strategy Gossip Harbor is a masterclass in Live Ops execution. In 2024 alone: • 20 new events • 5 new offers • Significant revenue growth 🎯 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗚𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 • WEEKLY EVENTS – Short bursts (1-3 days) on specific weekdays • MID-TERM EVENTS – Rotating events lasting 4-7 days • LONG-TERM EVENTS – Spanning 2+ weeks, often back-to-back • HOLIDAY EVENTS – One-day themed specials • SHORT-TERM EVENTS – Quick engagement boosters (30 min - 1 hr) 🎮 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞𝗟𝗬 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 – 𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦 • Sam’s Road Trip – Collect wheels from orders for rewards • Pinata Party – Merge bats to reach max level and earn prizes • Coconut’s Sky Journey – Merge balloons for increasing rewards • Olivia’s Lollipop Hunt – Merge lollipops to max level for bonuses • Ziva’s Goldrush & Beat The Heat Wipeout […]

Anton Slashcev March 20

Journal

How to Optimize Placement Networks on Admob?

How to optimize placement networks on Admob? I wanted to devote this week's newsletter to some more practical information on a pain point that I frequently have to contend with. That is how to optimize placement networks on the Admob mediation platform. Admob can sometimes be confusing and clunky to use, so here’s how I optimize placement networks on Admob. You’ll need to access the mediation report tab and split up the data into useful components by App and ad type. Start by selecting for example: App → Select one Android App → Last 7 days → Dimensions → Ad Source Instance Once you have the data set up like this, click the 3 dots in the top right corner, download it as a CSV, and open it in an Excel spreadsheet. To accurately read the data you’ll need to […]

Felix Braberg March 20

Journal

Ads Monetization Guide For Mobile Games

Ads Monetization Guide For Mobile Games 𝟭. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗱𝘀• Use event-based ads after key moments like level-ups or feature unlocks.• For timer-based ads, add a countdown and offer small rewards• Delay ads if the player is mid-action to avoid frustration.𝟮. 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼𝘀 (𝗥𝗩)• Offer temporary boosts like speed boosts, extra capacity, or 2x income.• Place RV triggers inside the game world for better immersion.• Use high-quality visuals to make rewards feel premium.𝟯. 𝗔/𝗕 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴• Test when and how interstitials appear to balance revenue and retention.• Experiment with different RV rewards to find the best incentives.• Cap total ads over time to avoid fatigue.𝟰. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸• Average RV views per user• Churn post-ad view• IAA revenue• Ad fill rate• eCPM𝟱. 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀• Avoid disrupting the player experience.• Reward generously for RVs to make ads feel fair.• Offer a "No […]

Anton Slashcev March 19

Analysis

What the Hex! is Going On? Agave Games’ New Soft Launch

Soft-launching in Canada & Brazil. Data: AppMagic Casual puzzle game lovers, it’s time to pay attention—Agave Games just dropped a new title into soft launch, and if you’ve been following their recent $18 million investment, you know the industry has its eyes on them. The game? What the Hex!—a mix of color-sorting puzzles with a Monopoly GO! style town-building meta. I played it, and here’s the scoop on what it’s all about, how it plays, and why people are curious about Agave’s next move. A Hexagonal Spin on Sorting Puzzles If you’ve played Hexa Sort, you’ll feel right at home with What the Hex! The gameplay is simple but strategic: you stack and merge hexagonal tiles of the same color to clear space and meet level goals. Sounds easy? Well, not so much. The game doesn’t hold your hand for long—later levels introduce more colors, trickier […]

Aylin YAZICI March 18

Journal

Match Villains by Good Job Games scaled to $60K a Day!

Match Villains by Good Job Games already scaled to $60K per day 🤑. Last week they raised $23M from Menlo Ventures & Akin (Arcadia Gaming Partners) so there is definitely potential and money for UA 😎 How is the game looking? Even though the game was soft launched in last year's April and started scaling at the start of this year, this is a veteran team founded in 2017. Despite starting as Hyper casual developer, it already scaled and sold Zen Match to Moon Active (for something between $100-150 Mil. 💰). Zen Match has done $130 Mil. in IAP lifetime revenue. This is where the basis for IAP puzzler expertise was gained from and in Match Villains this 100+ team just perfected it.The game is going directly after match3 heavyweights such as Dream Games's Royal Match 👑. The production quality […]

Jakub Remiar March 18

#Marketing

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