Playable has an advanced way of handling prizes. This gives you (the game designer), flexibility, control, and security when it comes to awarding prizes. But it also means that setting up prizes can be complex.
The right prize setup depends on a few different factors:
What game concept you are building
luck game, skill game, knowledge game
How many prizes you have
how many different kinds, and how many in total
What kinds of prizes they are
physical prizes to be sent or picked up in store
virtual prizes to be redeemed with a code
high value or inexpensive
When players should win the prize and be notified
while playing the game
at a later date
If you don't know the answer to these questions yet, think about your campaign KPIs.
If you are trying to drive foot traffic to a physical location, it makes sense to offer prizes that must be picked-up in store.
To encourage a purchase online, a time-sensitive voucher code may be the best option.
If you want your newsletter subscribers to engage with your content, it can be smart to do a prize drawing and announce the winner later.
In this article we will cover:
Terminology
Game Category, Winner Logic, and Prize Type
Watch this video for an introduction to how prizes are won in Playable games.
Regular prizes | Bulk prizes |
Default on all campaigns | Have to be added as an integration |
One prize in the platform = 1 object in the real world | One prize in the platform = many identical objects or a collection of voucher codes (up to 5000 per prize) |
Can be won while playing the game or at a later date (prize draw) | Can only be won while playing the game (no prize draw) |
Instant Win
"Instant win" is a kind of winner logic that can be used with both regular and bulk prizes.
With instant win, the game outcome is controlled by the prize. The registration must come before the game, since the player will technically win the prize before the game.
This is why instant win is only an option on luck games — because with other game types, you cannot control who will win and who will lose.
Note that we don't recommend using instant win for high-value prizes (over €100) because it increases the risk of players trying to cheat in the game.
| Luck games | Skill and Knowledge games |
Regular prize options | Winner pool or | Winner pool |
Bulk prize options | Game-based or | Game based |
Consolation prize
A consolation prize, or loser prize, is a prize that can be won by players who lose the game.
It can also be a way to make sure everybody wins something, if you have a limited number of "high value" prizes.
SMTP
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol: setting this up lets you send winner emails from your own email server. This may be required if you are sending more than 500 emails on a single campaign or have an unlimited bulk prize.
Read more here: Setting up SMTP
Luck games
How to decide if you have "few" prizes or "many" prizes?
There is no hard and fast rule, but if you have more than 50 total prizes, you should probably use bulk prizes.
However, bulk prizes work best if you have many of the same prizes. If you have more than 25 different kinds of prizes, you should use regular prizes.
What is the difference between the two kinds of consolation prizes?
With instant win, the prize controls the game outcome. This means that nobody will win the game without winning a prize.
You can, however, create "loser" prizes. This will mean the player will lose the game, but can still win a prize.
If they should win this prize while playing, you will make game-based bulk prizes and select "loser" (this is the only option available). If they should win this prize later, you can create regular prizes and select "loser" under the draw settings.
Why do I need to combine regular and bulk prizes to have multiple winner pools?
If you use regular prizes, you can only have one "winning" game outcome.
If you want to have different winning game outcomes (for example, scratch 3 pictures of a burger to be entered into the drawing for a burger, scratch 3 pictures of a milkshake to be entered into the drawing for a milkshake), you need to create "prize draw" bulk prizes for all of the different winner pools.
These bulk prizes are instant win and players are winning them while playing. The "prize" in this case is just an entry into a prize draw.
Later, you can manually draw winners for your regular prizes, and filter by participants who won the different bulk prizes. See how here.
Skill and Knowledge Games
How do I ensure 100% winner chance?
You need to make sure your bulk prize is distributed by percentage, not time, and that the chance of winning is 100%.
You also need to remove any limit from the prize (the number of times it can be won, and whether or not it can be won if another prize has already been won).
See how in this article.
Why do I need separate winner flows if I don't have an unlimited number of prizes?
With these game concepts, it is possible to have an unlimited number of game winners. You cannot predict how many people will play and win.
If you have a limited number of prizes, you should create one flow for players who win the game and win a prize. You will create another flow for players who win the game but don't win a prize.
See how here: Bulk prize visibility