Your users aren’t “lazy”. Your game just kinda sucks.
You' been told you need to gamify your project, but you have no idea how to do that. Here I'll give you the EXACT framework that I follow for my clients, step by step, to do it by yourself, so you don't have to hire expensive marketers on
@radarblock like Vitalik
First, Why Gamification Matters (Especially in Crypto)?
Most crypto GTM today is:
- Run some airdrop quests
- Add points, XP, mystery “Season 1”
- Give Airdrop
- Launch token
- Kill project
Short-term? Fine.
Long-term? People farm, dump, disappear.
That’s GTM (Go-To-Market) thinking:
Value capture > Value creation.
In crypto, we need a more GTC: Go-To-Community:
GTM = “How do we get users?”
GTC = “How do we turn users into players, and players into advocates?” Shout out to
@thedanrodman for this
GTM:
Target personas
Leads → customers
Mechanics: Paid ads, KOLs, funnels
GTC (with gamification):
Community personas
Observers → advocates
Mechanics: Quests, value loops, roles, status
Gamification is how you design that journey on purpose
instead of just throwing XP and raffles at people.
What gamification actually is (No, it’s not just points), using game elements and game design in non-game contexts.
Not “turn your protocol into Candy Crush”.
It’s:
- Clear goals
- Rules/constraints
- Feedback (XP, levels, progress)
- Voluntary participation
- And some actual fun, not just bribery
And crypto is perfect for this:
- Onchain actions are trackable
- Tokens already exist as points/rewards
- Communities live on Discord/Telegram = instant “guilds”
But without design, you just get:
- Sybil farms
- Fake “engagement”
- No real loyalty
When Should a Crypto Project Use Gamification?
Quick 4-question check:
Motivation:
Can you solve a real problem by changing behavior?
(e.g. more swapping, more holders, more building, more teaching?)
Meaningful choices:
Are the target actions interesting?
If it’s just “click claim button every 24h”… people will game it, not enjoy it.
Structure:
Can you model the behavior in rules/steps/progress?
Onchain is great for this.
No conflict:
Does this break your existing incentives?
(e.g. over-incentivizing trading volume → just getting whales farming points)
If you can tick these, gamification is a good weapon for you.
Internal vs External Gamification in Crypto
Think in two layers:
1️⃣ Internal (team, contributors, mods)
Goal: Motivation, productivity, alignment. e.g:
- Contributor “seasons” with levels, streaks, recognition
- Hall of fame for bug hunters, banger posts, and community helpers. (Microsoft did this with internal bug-finding, no money, just leaderboard pride)
- Internal quests for PMs / devs (ship feature → earn role/title/access) No need to always be monetary incentives (If someone stays for money will leave for money as well, please
@blingoh give a raise)
2️⃣ External (users, holders, community)
Goal: Growth, retention, loyalty, behavior change. e.g:
- Onboarding quests and daily streaks
- Trading/usage challenges
“Citizen → Guardian → Elder” style ranks
- Community reputation that outlives any single airdrop. Think of Monad cards; you are featuring users and giving social recognition, and getting UGC in return.
Most projects only do external, and badly.
The best ecosystems will do both.
Plug & Play Framework for Crypto Gamification
Here’s your copy-paste blueprint you can adapt to any project. You are welcome in advance:
STEP 1 – Define the Boss Fight (Objective)
Don’t start with “we need XP”.
Start with: “If gamification works, what changes?”
Examples:
- More active wallets doing X onchain action weekly
- More retention in Discord beyond airdrop season
- More builders using your SDK
- More content created by community, not just team
Write 1–2 hard objectives, not vibes please.
STEP 2 – Break It Into Behaviors
For each objective, list specific actions:
Example: “Increase real usage of our DEX”
- Connect wallet
- Make first swap
- Provide LP
- Come back 3 days later
- Try a more advanced feature
- Invite a friend to try
Now you have quest material.
STEP 3 – Know Your Players (Community Personas)
Use something like this:
Our community is dedicated to: [e.g. trustless perps for degen traders]
Our mission is to: [e.g. make pro tools accessible to anyone]
Community personas (examples):
Newcomers – “Heard about us from CT, no idea where to start”
Degens – “Live on perps, care about fees UX”
Power users – “Use advanced features, trade size, give feedback”
Builders – “Want to build tools on top of your infra”
Advocates – “Create content, host calls, bring people in”
Overlay this with the Orbit Model:
Orbit 4 – Observers: just watching on X / Telegram
Orbit 3 – Participants: occasionally use, lurk in Discord
Orbit 2 – Contributors: help others, create content, answer questions
Orbit 1 – Champions: run communities, organize, ship stuff
Gamification = system for moving people inward.
STEP 4 – Design Your Activity Loops
You need two loops:
🔁 Engagement Loop
Trigger → Action → Feedback
Example (DEX):
- Trigger: Notification “Try your first leveraged trade”
- Action: User opens app, does the trade
- Feedback: “ XP, you just unlocked your personal AI agent trader”
📈 Progression Loop
“How do I grow over time?”
Examples:
- Level 1–5 trader → unlock fee discounts/insights
- Community roles and private channels
- Access to beta features for higher ranks
- Chat with Founders on a monthly call (
@leonabboud would be proud)
- Special shout-outs on socials
Ask yourself:
“Would I actually want to progress in this system?”
If not, go back.
STEP 5 – Pick the Right Mechanics (Not All of Them)
Out of the classic mechanics, in crypto I’d start with:
- Quests / Challenges: Clear tasks, clear rewards
- Progression / Levels: Feel of growth
- Streaks: For habits (BUT don’t make them too punishing, check Duolingo for inspo)
- Status / Roles: Discord roles, NFTs, onchain badges
- Cooperation: Teams, guilds, squad-based quests
- Chance: Mystery boxes, raffles (small, not the core loop)
- Exploration: Hidden easter eggs, secret quests
- Leaderboards (careful): Better segmented: “Newcomer board”, “Whales”, “Builders”
Avoid:
- Pure points farming with no meaning
- One giant global leaderboard where 99% of people are perma-bottom
STEP 6 – Build Your Master Quest Flow (MQF)
This is where tools like Galxe, Zealy, Kazm, Layer3, and my frens from
@claimrio come in, where you can build this in-house
Think in phases:
🟢 1. Onboarding Quests (Day 0–7)
Goal: Get people from Observer → Participant
Examples:
- Join Discord verify
- Read “Start Here” answer 1–2 questions
- Do first onchain action
- Attend 1 community call
- Get initial role/badge
🟡 2. Habit Quests (Week 2–4)
Goal: Make them come back
Examples:
- 3 trades over 7 days
- 2 governance votes in a month
- Participate in 1 community activity and 1 contest
- Onboard users on Discord
🔵 3. Depth Quests (Month 2 )
Goal: Turn players into contributors
Examples:
- Write a guide/tutorial
- Build a simple script using your API/SDK
- Host an IRL event
- Design a meme campaign in your region
All of this can live in your quest platform Discord roles onchain badges.
STEP 7 – Make It Fun, Not Just “Earn”
Biggest mistake: only extrinsic rewards (tokens, points).
Self-Determination Theory says people stick if you hit:
- Autonomy: “I choose how to play”
- Competence: “I’m getting better”
- Relatedness: “I belong here”
So mix rewards:
Extrinsic:
Tokens, fee discounts, WL, multipliers...
Intrinsic:
- Status (roles, titles, “Hall of Fame”)
- Access (private channels, early features)
- Identity (poaps or badges that actually mean something)
Ask this brutally honest question:
“If I removed all token rewards, would anyone still find this enjoyable or meaningful?”
If answer is “no”, redesign.
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And now what I promised you: "A Simple Plug-and-Play Template for Your Project"
You can literally fill this out today:
Objective:
“We want ______ to do more ______ so that ______.”
Key Behaviors (3–7):
- Connect wallet
- Do [core action]
- Come back X days
- Join community
- Contribute once
Personas (3–5):
Newcomer, Degen, Builder, Creator, Whale
Orbit Level for Each Persona:
Where are they now? Where do you want them?
Activity Loops:
Engagement loop: Trigger → Action → Feedback
Progression loop: How do I “level up”?
Mechanics Selected:
Quests, XP, roles, streaks, teams, surprises...
Flow (High level)
Week 1: Onboarding
Week 2–4: Habit
Month 2 : Depth / Contribution
Success Metric:
“Gamification is working if we see ______ improve by ______% in ______ weeks.”
Damn, this article was very long. I hope you enjoyed and applied it. Bookmark for future and send me a DM if you have questions on your gamification design process ❤️