Are you aware that puzzles can be a powerful tool to engage customers with your brand? They encourage your target audience to focus on solving challenges centered around your branded content. And creating a puzzle game without coding skills has never been easier, thanks to various no-code platforms available in 2024.
But the hard part is making a puzzle game without breaking a sweat. In this article, we’ll show you how to make a puzzle game in minutes using no-code gamification software. You’ll also learn about gamification marketing, its benefits and how puzzle games work.
Let’s enter the game world!
How to use puzzle games in marketing?
Gamification marketing involves using game design elements to increase brand awareness, customer retention and engagement. Puzzle games are being used more and more in marketing to engage audiences, improve brand recall, and provide interactive experiences. These games can capture users attention longer than traditional ads, forming a memorable interaction with your brand. They also encourage repeated engagement, as users return to solve new puzzles or improve their scores
Gamification software can drive consumers to perform specific actions by engaging them and offering elements of competition and rewards. With a gamification marketing, it also allows you to modify your marketing campaigns into branded games. People can interact better with your brand through games than by reading ads about a product.
Gamification marketing is an easier way to promote your products and services via gamification to customers in the following ways:
- Offering customers a chance to earn a reward in exchange for their contact details
- Include your product images as integral part of the game experience
- Your audience and customers will interact with your marketing game for over 5 minutes on average
- Using the customer data you obtain to run marketing campaigns, e.g., you can increase your marketing e-mail open rate and click through rate if there is a gamified experience, offer discounts or send them your business newsletters
Benefits of gamification in online marketing
Gamification in online marketing offers a variety of benefits that can significantly improve and strengthen your brand’s interaction with its audience. Here are some key advantages of using gamification in online marketing:
1. Increased engagement
Puzzle games draw users in and keep them engaged longer than static advertisements. The interactive nature of puzzles makes users more likely to remember your brand.
2. Better brand recall
By associating your brand with a fun and challenging activity, you increase the chances that users will remember and positively associate with your brand.
3. Data collection
Puzzle games can be used to collect data on user preferences and behaviors, which can help in tailoring future marketing efforts.
Gamification in Marketing in 2024 – Top 5 Key Benefits Explained
Introduction Today – capturing consumer attention is more challenging than ever. The average attention span of a website visitor is a staggering 1.7 seconds!. The
4. Social sharing
Many users share puzzle games on social media, providing organic promotion for your brand. This can lead to increased reach and engagement.
5. Customer loyalty
Engaging customers with fun activities, like puzzle games, can build loyalty and keep them coming back to your brand.
Did you know
Jig-saw puzzles have become increasingly popular over the last years. The World Championships of Jigsaw Puzzles is held in Spain every year where individuals can solve a 500 piece Jig-saw puzzle as fast as in 30 minutes and 38 seconds!
Players must fit separate pieces together to have a completed puzzle.
Some benefits of puzzles include:
- Increase problem-solving skills. By using logic to master patterns and game objects, our brains can develop problem-solving skills.
- Improve visual and reasoning ability. Through challenging puzzles, our brain learns to memorize and focus, thus increasing our visual and reasoning skills.
- Make our brain release dopamine. Solving puzzles produces a neurotransmitter that balances our mood and concentration, making it easier to complete a whole game without difficulty.
How to make your own puzzle game
With gamification software like Adact, you can run and make puzzles online. The platform uses cloud-based services to help you make an in-game marketing campaign that only you can analyze and control. Let’s look at a step-by-step guide on how to make a puzzle game.
1. Upload an image
The initial step involves uploading an image, such as your branded image, to build brand awareness. On the right side of your screen, Adact provides a preview of your puzzle game board, while the left side offers options for dropping and uploading your image.
In the example below we uploaded an Image of Adact featuring our mascot Addy in various different positions.
Here are some other things you can modify with the image:
- Hint Opacity – Shows the solved image on the background of the puzzle and specify how well is it shown.
- Hint Border Color – shows the outline of the correct piece on the background
- Piece Visual border – The border color and thickness of the puzzle pieces
2. Choose the number of pieces & set a timer
With Adact, you can customize your puzzle by selecting the number of pieces and setting a timer for each level. You can opt for puzzles with 3 to 5 rows and 3 to 5 columns.
Why not more? Because 80% of participants in gamified marketing campaigns solve puzzles on mobile devices. A 9×9 grid would make the pieces too small to manage effectively on a mobile screen.
Set a time limit for players to complete the puzzle. For a 5×5 grid, it’s advisable to allow plenty of time for players to solve it. However, with a 3×3 grid, you can make a fast-paced challenge by setting a time limit of just 15 seconds.
It’s essential to incorporate a sense of challenge in all gamified marketing campaigns. In a 5×5 puzzle, the complexity comes from having more pieces, while in a 3×3 puzzle, the challenge comes from the time constraint.
3. Create an interactive Landing Page
With Adact software, you can handle everything from start to finish. You can design the landing page, create content, add background images, and more – all without any coding. The Adact puzzle game maker offers extensive customization options for your game, including changing the background, adjusting the game size, modifying registration form data, and selecting custom fonts, icons, videos, logos, placements, and animations.
Bonus: Get a personal example made by Adact
We are happy to help you set up the entire game and provide you a custom made example over a short call
4. Inspire healthy competition with a leaderboard
Majority of students have a positive attitude towards the use of leaderboards for gamification in education to boost motivation. This same principle can be applied to customers. Adact allows you to create puzzles that foster healthy competition by measuring and ranking your users. You can set up a leaderboard to rate and monitor players’ progress based on their performance.
Each leaderboard can display the score – the time it took to solve the puzzle, or a combination of both. By default, the leaderboard is sorted by score, and if scores are tied, the faster solver is declared the winner. The score is calculated based on the number of moves made and the time taken to solve the puzzle.
5. Publish your custom puzzle game
Adact offers several ways to publish your game once you’ve finished your puzzle. By default, Adact generates a custom landing page for your puzzle game. You can use this provided landing page and direct people to it via social media, newsletters, paid advertisements, QR codes, and more.
4 ways how to add gamification to your website
First you can publish your custom puzzle on our domain by creating your brand landing page on the Adact domain. Use the drag-and-drop features to publish the puzzle.
Secondly you can integrate the puzzle to your website or even in the middle of your website content. To do so, you will copy a single line of code from our Adact puzzle generator to your website and the custom puzzle will instantly appear.
Thirdly you can even create an entirely new subpage to your website dedicated to Adact campaigns. This automatically publishes all the games in your desired subpage!
Lastly you can create a widget to your website. When visitors click on the widget, the campaign can either open from the side of the page or as a popup.
Adact Tip
The campaigns perform best if the only thing to do in that page is to participate in the campaign.
The Adact domain is more appropriate for your audience since once they land on the page, they only have the option to play the game. It has no traffic distractions, increasing user engagement and campaign results. It is also the fastest way to publish your puzzle.
6. Analyze your gamification campaign
Once you identify the main objective for using Adact gamification – you can analyze your campaign’s performance, observing the following metrics:
- Number of clicks on your landing page
- Number of active game players
- Completion rate of the puzzle games
- Time spent solving a puzzle
- Number of participants who won a prize
- Frequency of button clicks
- Sources of visitor traffic to your campaign
- Leaderboard of all scores
These insights help you understand the effectiveness of your campaign and make data-driven decisions to optimize future efforts and work on puzzle game development.
Examples of how puzzles and gamification can help businesses
Gamification, particularly through the use of puzzle games, has emerged as a powerful strategy to achieve these goals. By integrating game elements into marketing campaigns, companies can create interactive and enjoyable experiences that are memorable for users, while boosting brand loyalty, and driving significant business results.
Many businesses have successfully incorporated gamification into their marketing strategies. For instance, Coca-Cola used gamification at its exhibition booth to engage visitors, resulting in a more interactive and fun experience. Similarly, A1 Slovenija developed a basketball-themed game during the FIBA World Cup 2023 to increase user engagement with their app, achieving significant success in user interaction and satisfaction.
Another example is Euronics, which utilized a Candy Crush-inspired game to engage customers and drive them to their store. This approach significantly boosted brand interaction and awareness, demonstrating the power of gamification in attracting and retaining customers.
Puzzle game FAQ
How to create and design a puzzle game?
- Decide on the type of interactive game – determine the kind of puzzle game that best suits your goals and audience.
- Choose a no-code game maker – select a user-friendly platform, like Adact, for creating your puzzle game without needing any coding skills.
- Upload an image – add your chosen image, decide on the number of puzzle pieces, and set a timer to challenge your players.
- Customize and publish – use the no-code game maker to personalize your puzzle, adding elements like backgrounds, fonts, and animations. Once satisfied, publish your game.
- Create a leaderboard – set up a leaderboard to foster healthy competition, encouraging players to improve their scores and engage more deeply with your game and brand.
How long does it take to make a puzzle without coding?
You can build a puzzle game with Adact that takes an average of only 10 minutes.
In contrast, using traditional coding methods can take around 80 hours – 40 hours for coding and another 40 hours for project management. This approach can cost approximately €8000/ $9000, considering average rates. Adact’s efficiency and cost-effectiveness make it an attractive choice for developing puzzle games quickly and affordably.
Are puzzle games good for your brain?
Solving an online or a jigsaw puzzle game enhances brain cell connections to improve mental speed and memory and increases the production of dopamine, which balances mood, concentration and memory.
What kind of puzzles are most popular?
Jigsaw puzzles and word puzzles are among the most popular types. They are easy to create and offer varying levels of difficulty to engage users. Jigsaw puzzles, in particular, are visually appealing and can be customized to match your brand’s aesthetic.
What is a jigsaw puzzle builder?
A jigsaw puzzle builder is a tool that allows users to create digital jigsaw puzzles by uploading an image and dividing it into pieces. These tools often include customization options like adjusting the number of pieces and adding hints, making it easy to create engaging puzzles without coding skills. This functionality is crucial for brands looking to create unique and personalized puzzle experiences for their audiences.
How do you generate a puzzle from an image?
Making a puzzle from an image involves uploading the image to a no-code platform like Adact. You need to choose a platform that allows you to customize the puzzle by setting the piece count, shape, and difficulty level, and then generate the puzzle for users to solve. This process is straightforward and allows brands to quickly create puzzles that align with their marketing goals.
How to create a puzzle game for free?
Several platforms offer free versions or trials for creating puzzles. These platforms are excellent for beginners looking to explore puzzle game creators without financial investment. Using these free tools, businesses can experiment with different types of puzzles and test user engagement before committing to a paid plan.
What software is used to generate puzzles?
Popular software to create your own puzzle online includes Adact, GDevelop, and hyperPad. These platforms offer extensive tool sets for creating, customizing, and publishing puzzle games. They provide user-friendly interfaces and various features to improve and simplify the puzzle-making process, making it accessible for users without any technical background.
How do you develop your own puzzle game?
To develop your own puzzle game, use a no-code game development platform. Start by uploading an image and customizing the puzzle settings. These platforms provide comprehensive guides and community support to help you through the process. You can start with simple templates and gradually add more complex features as you gain confidence. This careful approach allows you to refine your game based on user feedback and improve its effectiveness as a marketing tool.
Can I use AI to generate puzzles?
Yes, AI can improve puzzle-making by providing features like adaptive difficulty and personalized experiences. AI algorithms analyze user behavior to adjust the puzzle’s difficulty level in real time, guaranteeing a balanced and engaging experience for all players. This adaptive approach can help maintain user interest over time, as the puzzles remain challenging and rewarding.
Make your first puzzle game with Adact
Adact offers a variety of tools to create, customize, and publish puzzle games quickly. Its user-friendly and extensive customization options make it easy to launch an engaging puzzle game for your audience. The platform also provides analytics tools to track user engagement and optimize your game for better performance. With Adact, you can create a variety of puzzle types, including jigsaw puzzles, word puzzles, and logic puzzles – each tailored to fit your brand’s unique needs.
Ready to engage your audience with interactive puzzle games? With Adact, you can make captivating puzzle experiences tailored to your brand. Launch your first puzzle game today and unlock the potential to boost engagement, build a stronger brand, captivate your audience, and gather valuable insights with our built-in analytics tools. Transform your marketing strategy effortlessly with Adact – get started now and watch your audience connect with your brand in new and exciting ways!
