Eight Top Puzzle Apps Use Nearly Identical Win Streak Mechanics
A trending win streak feature that uses a map mechanic has driven major revenue impacts in multiple top puzzle apps in the past eightmonths. This feature first appeared in Candy Crush Saga in 2022 but had its greatest success when Royal Match introduced the feature in 2023—which generated a 38% MoM revenue impact. After that, the feature exploded across six other top puzzle apps between July 2023 and February 2024. Out of these recent releases, Toon Blast’s version produced the strongest impact of 12% MoM.
In this feature, players beat consecutive levels on the first try to advance on a quest map. Losing a level sends players to the start of the map. Players who reach the end of the map share a prize pool with other successful players from that day.
Quests, which involve completing tasks to advance on a map, are a very strong feature type in the casual market. Quest features consist almost entirely of win streak mechanics and have a solid median and average revenue impact as well as a low standard deviation.
Read this month’s Mechanic Insights for our full analysis of Toon Blast’s win streak feature, which examines how it drives engagement by using prerecorded competitors and clearly communicating its mechanics.
Wood Nuts & Bolts Puzzle: The New Leader in an Emerging Subgenre
Wood Nuts & Bolts Puzzle broke into the top 40 casual apps in mid-January, just two and a half months after its launch. The app’s puzzles involve moving screws between holes to detach planks from a wall.
Puzzles involving screws and planks are trending in the casual market. A similar app published by Take-Two Interactive, Screw Jam, launched in December and entered the top 100 puzzle apps in mid-February.
See the Breakout App section to learn about Wood Nuts & Bolts Puzzle’s YouTube ads, IAPs, and monetization tactics.
EA Soft Launches Plants vs. Zombies 3—for the Fifth Time in Four Years
Plants vs. Zombies 3 stands out from its two predecessors by introducing a more prominent storyline, enhanced graphics, shorter levels, and a custom design progression reminiscent of Gardenscapes. Notably, it also removes players’ ability to choose which plants to use in levels. Meanwhile, Plants vs. Zombies 2 hovers within the top 150 strategy apps.
See the Soft-Launch section for a teardown of Plants vs. Zombies 3.
Win Streak Innovations…and More Imitations
In February, Lily’s Garden and Harry Potter Puzzles & Spells both released nearly identical versions of the win streak mechanics analyzed in this month’s Mechanic Insights. However, while Lily’s Garden’s version is a permanent feature, Harry Potter’s is a three-day event.
Royal Match also introduced a win streak event last month—but with a greater focus on competition. In this event, players complete levels to earn tokens, and win streaks multiply the number of tokens awarded. Tokens fill reward meters, and a leaderboard ranks players based on tokens earned.
In a twist on win streak events, Angry Birds Dream Blast rewards players with points for completing levels but deducts all points if a level is lost. Players can spend their points at any time to submit a score in a tennis mini-game against an NPC, whose score increases throughout the day. Outscoring the NPC by the end of the day awards prizes.
Read full teardowns of all notable releases in this month’s Market Watch.
