Conference Gamification

Start with the behavior you want

Gamification works when points follow behavior you actually want. Choose three or four goals and ignore the rest.

Gamification ideas for conferences

Pick a few. Too many tasks make the game feel like homework.

• Trivia rounds

  Short quizzes about speakers, the host city or the industry, run between sessions. Flash rounds work well at the midday dip.

• Exhibit hall passport

  A list of booths to visit, with points for each and a bonus for completing a set.

• Session streaks

  Points for attending sessions across all days, so day-two attendance does not fall away.

• Connection challenge

  Points for connecting with a set number of new people, with a bonus for people from another organization or country.

• Sponsor challenges

  A task set by a sponsor, such as finding a product feature, with points when completed.

• Team leaderboard

  Teams by company or region add up their members' points, which suits corporate events and avoids a few individuals dominating.

A sample point scheme

Use this as a starting point. The numbers are invented for illustration. Adjust them so no single activity can win the game alone.

Running the leaderboard

A visible ranking is what makes points matter, but it can also discourage people who are far behind. A few design choices keep it motivating.

1. 1

   Show it in public places

   Display the top ranks on a screen near registration or the exhibit hall, and in the app.

2. 2

   Cap repeatable actions

   Set a limit on each action, so one person cannot win by repeating the easy one.

3. 3

   Reset or add daily prizes

   A daily winner gives people who start late a reason to join, and keeps day one from deciding everything.

4. 4

   Show people near them

   If you can, show an attendee their rank and the people just above, rather than only the top ten.

5. 5

   Decide ties in advance

   Publish the tie-break rule, such as the earliest time to reach the score.

Prizes and rules

Prizes should be worth the effort without being the reason people attend. Sponsor-donated prizes work well, and a clear prize list shows what the game is worth.

Write short rules: how points are earned, when the game closes, how winners are picked and how they are told. Check any local rules on prize draws before you publish.

What Eventdex covers

Eventdex's trivia and leaderboard pages describe trivia games for conferences and a real-time leaderboard inside the event app. Organizers choose which actions earn points, such as adding a session to a personal schedule, sharing a post on the feed or connecting with another attendee, and whether points are awarded once or every time. The leaderboard can show on the event homepage, in session rooms or in the app, and organizers get participation analytics afterward.

The pages describe these features, not the sample point values above or any specific result. Use the sample scheme as planning advice, and ask in a demo how your point rules would be configured.

• Trivia and leaderboard

  Customizable trivia, a live leaderboard, branded screens and participation analytics.

  Trivia and leaderboard

• Event gamification

  Points, challenges and leaderboards for engagement and networking.

  Event gamification

Pitfalls to avoid

Most gamification problems come from rewarding the wrong thing or making the game hard to join.

• Rewarding clicks, not value

  Do not give points for tapping a button. Reward actions that help attendees, such as sessions attended or people met.

• Too many rules

  If you need a page to explain the game, simplify it. One sentence per goal is enough.

• Excluding quiet attendees

  Include actions that do not require talking to strangers, such as quizzes and session check-ins.

• Ignoring sponsors

  Tell sponsors how their challenge works and what data, if any, they will receive.