I'm Not Dead Yet!

Keeping Losing Players in the Game

Get the latest articles delivered to your inbox and contribute to our community by opting for a free or paid subscription. Paying subscribers enjoy an abundance of extra game design content and an additional exclusive newsletter with new lessons, archive access, videos, and more!

Getting stuck in a game with no hope of winning can be exceedingly frustrating, especially in longer games. Keeping players competitive for as long as possible is essential for maintaining excitement and a positive player experience. Comeback Mechanics are crafted to solve this problem. When integrating comeback mechanics into your game, keep these key considerations in mind:

Early vs. Late Game Decisions

One key tradeoff when evaluating comeback mechanics is the importance of early-game decisions vs. late-game decisions.  By magnifying the significance of late-game decisions (e.g., offering more points in later rounds of a game), you can help players feel like they can still overcome an early-game deficit.

It is…