First-Time User Behaviour
Jan–Jul 2024
From first play to repeat play:
improving early user retention in a
real-money gaming platform
First time cash play Retention
0
0
%
Gameplay Conversion increased
0
0
%
Turn time out Dropped by
0.0
0.0
%
While a large number of users were successfully entering the product and reaching gameplay, a significant portion of them were not continuing beyond their first experience. This project focused on improving the first-time cash play journey, ensuring users not only start playing, but also understand the system well enough to continue engaging with confidence.
Overview
At a surface level, the funnel looked healthy — users were signing up, joining games, and interacting with the system. But deeper observation revealed a more fragile reality: users were moving forward with hesitation, often unsure of actions, system responses, and outcomes.
The real opportunity wasn’t just bringing users into the product — it was helping them feel oriented, confident, and in control once they were inside it.
The Problem
Despite strong initial engagement, the early user experience showed clear friction across multiple touchpoints. Users were able to enter gameplay, but struggled to complete it with clarity and confidence.
This was reflected in key metrics:
First-time cash play retention was low at
24%
indicating weak first-time experience
Turn timeout was high at
8%
suggesting missed or misunderstood actions
Drop-offs
occurred during
gameplay and post-game stages
These issues directly impacted user trust, repeat engagement, and monetization potential. The core problem was not functionality — it was lack of clarity across critical moments in the journey.
The goal was clear:
Improve first-time
user understanding
gameplay confidence
cash-play retention
user understanding
gameplay confidence
cash-play retention
user understanding
gameplay confidence
cash-play retention
user understanding
gameplay confidence
cash-play confidence
Problem Framing
Field Work: Understanding the real problem
To move beyond assumptions and understand real user behaviour, we conducted on-ground research over 3–4 intensive days across high-density areas such as auto stands, residential clusters, and corporate surroundings.
4 Days
In-depth user Interviews
100+
Users
We interacted with a diverse set of users — drivers, security guards, office helpers, and first-time
RMG players, & capturing their natural behaviour while they downloaded, signed up, and played the game for the first time.
These conversations revealed hundreds of micro-moments of confusion, hesitation, and misinterpretation. This helped shift our perspective from analysing metrics to understanding how users actually experience the product in real-world conditions.
Key highlights
From the research, a few strong and recurring patterns emerged across different user groups:
Users were
Acting without understanding
System states (joined, turn, win) were
Not clearly visible
Timeout was often
Unintentional
Rewards and money flow created
Doubt instead of excitement
Small confusions across steps led to
Early drop-offs
These insights highlighted that the journey was not broken — but it was
“not self-explanatory enough for first-time users.”
What users experienced
Shiv misinterpreted early steps—entered OTP in the referral field and was unsure if signup was complete.
During gameplay, he misinterpreted “Joined” as “Jeetna” and was unable to understand the timer or turn-based actions.
“Game start ho gaya ya nahi, kuch samajh nahi aaya”
Shiv Pandey
(33)
(Cab Driver)
Bhavna hesitated early—questioned app safety, chose English with limited understanding, and struggled with gameplay and scoring.
She remained unsure and questioned if opponents were real.
“Ye asli player hai ya system?”
Bhavna
(29)
(Home cook)
Ashok relied on audio cues, often missed visual signals, overlooked rewards, and didn’t connect scoring with outcomes.
Even after winning, he was unsure whether he had actually earned money.
“Paisa kaise mile, maine toh daale hi nahi.”
Ashok Shukla
(22)
(valet)
Reimagining the “JOURNEY”
Based on these insights, the problem was reframed from improving individual screens to improving the overall journey experience.
The focus shifted towards designing an experience where users always understand:
What just happened
What to do next
Why their action matters
Goal
From:
❌ “User should figure it out”
To:
✅ “System should guide when needed”
Solution
Solution
Introducing contextual guidance across the journey
The solution focused on bringing clarity throughout the entire experience, not just improving individual screens.
This meant making states more visible, guiding users during gameplay, and reinforcing understanding at key moments—so users get the right support exactly when they need it, without feeling overwhelmed.
Prize Pool
₹32
i
YOU
Score
0
First Mover
Score
0
Second Mover
10:00
WEAK
Tap on tokens to move
Tap on the dice
My Contribution as a Lead Designer
My vision was to make the product intuitively understandable during use, rather than relying on pre-existing familiarity or external learning.
The goal was not just to improve usability, but to create a system where users could naturally build confidence as they progressed through the journey.
Clarity builds confidence
When users clearly understand what’s happening, they feel in control.
And that sense of control is what builds trust—and keeps them moving forward.
Guide at the right moments
Instead of overwhelming users upfront, support shows up when it’s needed.
This keeps the experience light, while still making progress feel effortless.
Make the next step obvious
At any point, users shouldn’t have to pause and think about what to do next.
Removing that guesswork helps them move faster—and with confidence.
THE REDESIGN
Here’s how we transformed the experience:
Entry & FTCP Start Clarity
Users were unsure if signup was complete, rewards were credited, or if they had successfully joined their first game. We made success states, reward visibility, and game-start cues clearer — helping users move from entry to first play with confidence.
Signup success & reward confirmation
First Time Cash Play (FTCP) Start
Gameplay Guidance & Turn Recovery
Gameplay asked users to understand *dice, token movement, scoring,* and turn timing all at once. We introduced contextual nudges, visual cues, and VO prompts — helping users *learn while playing* and recover before timing out.
Post Game Clarity
Post-game, users struggled to interpret results and understand rewards. We simplified the winner state, clarified rewards, and strengthened next steps — helping users move forward with confidence.
IMPACT & RESULTS
User Testing
Post-redesign testing showed a significant improvement in user comprehension. Users were able to complete gameplay with fewer errors and demonstrated higher confidence in their actions.
Key Outcomes
Post-redesign testing showed a significant improvement in user comprehension. Users were able to complete gameplay with fewer errors and demonstrated higher confidence in their actions.
Phased Rollout
Post-redesign testing showed a significant improvement in user comprehension. Users were able to complete gameplay with fewer errors and demonstrated higher confidence in their actions.
METRICS
Daily & Montly
Metrics
Cadence
Before
After
Impact
FTCP Retention
Turn Timeout
Gameplay Conversion
ARPU
Monthly
Daily
Daily
Monthly
24%
8%
80%
₹40
52%
3.5%
90%
₹60
+28 pp
↓56%
+10 pp
+50%
Closing Thought
What started as an effort to reduce early drop-offs evolved into a deeper shift in how we approached the first-time user journey. By focusing on clarity at every step, we didn’t just improve usability — we helped users feel more confident, ultimately driving stronger retention and business impact.
“Sometimes, the biggest impact comes not from adding more — but from making things clear enough to trust.”