What do these games have anything to do with tech products? They’re 1300 and 3500 years old respectively…
It’s true that almost no tech products will last as long as this.
But these games hold an important lesson for keeping users engaged in the long term.
Easier isn’t always better.
Too easy is boring. Too difficult is anxiety-inducing.
Just right is flow. Flow makes happy, engaged users.
Tic Tac Toe is a very simple, fun game for young kids. Then at some point they realise the ‘trick’ and the game almost instantly becomes boring. They can no longer find flow.
On the other hand, as they grow older and throughout adulthood, Chess is a game that doesn’t get boring.
The rules are much more complex. There are 288 billion possible move combinations after just 4 turns.
When playing against a partner at a similar level, each game feels new and just challenging enough to produce flow.
Easier isn’t always better.
Too easy is boring. Too difficult is anxiety-inducing.
Just right is flow. Flow makes happy, engaged users.
Tic Tac Toe is a very simple, fun game for young kids. Then at some point they realise the ‘trick’ and the game almost instantly becomes boring. They can no longer find flow.
On the other hand, as they grow older and throughout adulthood, Chess is a game that doesn’t get boring.
The rules are much more complex. There are 288 billion possible move combinations after just 4 turns.
When playing against a partner at a similar level, each game feels new and just challenging enough to produce flow.
Is your product part of a boring or anxious experience for your users? Think of ways you can simplify OR complicate the experience to help users get into flow states.
Chess and Tic Tac Toe have stood the test of time. I’d guess more than 99.99% of games haven’t. That tells you something.
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