Infinite Timers, Two Goals & In-Level Leaderboards

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Every week in Master Game Monetization, we study the systems, offers, LiveOps events, and design decisions behind today's top mobile games. Sometimes the most valuable insights come from a small UI change or a simple offer tweak.

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This week I'm looking at an Infinite Time Ticket that turns off the timer until you win, and two win screens that give new players a short goal and a long one. I also noticed Match Factory keeping its leaderboard on screen inside the level. Plus a quick Halloween reminder.

I came across the Infinite Time Ticket in a timed puzzle game called “Water Out”. Before a level starts, under the usual boosters, there's a slot for it. Use one and the timer is gone until you win. In the shop it's sold in packs, from 2 tickets for $7.99 up to 80 for $99.99.

It reminds me of skip-it tickets, just built for puzzle games with short timers and hard levels. The pain is clear: you're close, the clock runs out, you lose a life. The ticket removes exactly that pain, and you pick it before the level, not after you fail.

If your levels are timed and the hard ones are where players get stuck, a timer-removal item could be an interesting test. I'd keep an eye on how it affects booster sales.

Quick one this week. I love holiday offer design, and Halloween offers are already live in a few games: a Trick or Treat pack with a daily limit, a Vampire Taffy pack you can only buy once, and a Trick or Retreat bundle of skip-its with a countdown.

They're all simple offers. The theme does most of the work: new art, a fun name, and a timer that matches the holiday. If you haven't got your Halloween offers ready yet, now's the time.

I saw these two win screens for new players in a couple of games. Both put a prize at the end of a progress bar, so after every win you see how many more levels until you get it. The difference is how many goals they show. The first one shows one bar: 5 of 7 levels to a suitcase. The second shows two: a Level Chest at 8/10 and a Journey Chest at 3/20.

I like the second one more. The Level Chest is almost full, so it pulls you into the next two levels. The Journey Chest is far away, but it gives you a reason to come back tomorrow. One short goal and one long goal, shown right when you feel good after a win.

Win Level → See Two Chests Fill → Play One More

If your win screen only shows one progress bar, adding a second, longer goal for new players could be an easy test. The first few days are when they decide if they stay.

Match Factory is running Item Hunt, a pretty standard leaderboard event. You collect points as you play, compete with other players, and the top 3 get coins, boosters and cards. Nothing new there. What caught my eye is the UI inside the level. Right next to the level number there's a counter with the points you've collected in this level, and every time you earn more you see a small animation of the number going up. I didn't figure out exactly how the points are calculated, but that almost doesn't matter here.

I like this because most leaderboard events live outside the level. You check your rank, close the popup, and forget about it until the next win screen. Here the event stays in front of you while you play, and the animation gives you a small push every time the number moves.

If your events only show up on the map or the end screen, a small in-level counter is a cheap thing to try. It's mostly a UI change, not a new feature.