In the European and American mobile game market, puzzle is the largest category, according to foreign media dof previous data, in 2020, the revenue of European and American puzzle mobile games reached 5.1 billion US dollars. In puzzle games, match 3 is the largest subdivision category, and match 3 is also one of the most competitive areas.
However, in the case of the head solidification of the classic match-3 category, the integration of gameplay has become the breakthrough direction of the new game, such as Playrix's many fantasy series mobile games, which have achieved good results and successfully made the company rank among the top 10 of the global mobile game publisher revenue list.
In recent years, this increasingly crowded track has still seen the emergence of excellent new games, such as "Lily's Garden" released in 2019, which is one of the more typical representatives. According to Sensor Tower, Lily's Garden has earned more than 70 million yuan in the last 30 days.
On the surface, "Lily's Garden" seems to be just a replica of the "Fantasy Series", and many people may be more curious about how such a game can achieve success in the mobile game market in the era of boutique.
In order to figure out this problem, foreign media utonis analyst Mihovil Grguric conducted an in-depth experience of this match-3 puzzle game and analyzed the monetization strategy of "Lily's Garden" in detail.
Here's what Gamelook compiled udinis is all about:
An overview of Lily's Garden
Developed by Copenhagen studio Tactile Games and officially launched in January 2019, Lily's Garden is a match-3 puzzle subdivision.
However, while the vast majority of match-3 games on the market use a screen-drawing mechanism, this game is different, Lily's Garden is a game with a three-match blasting mechanism.
In this game, players don't have to draw blocks to create match elimination, instead, they need to click on the same blocks that are also clustered together to achieve explosions, and each blast affects the order on the game panel, so they need to blast strategically.
How does the game perform in the highly competitive puzzle game market? According to GameRefinery's iOS data, the game has garnered more than 7 million downloads and generated $124 million in revenue to date.
As the revenue chart shows, after the game's release, the game grew gradually and peaked in August and September 2020, after which the game revenue declined, but remained stable overall.
On the Google Play Store, the game received more than 10 million downloads, and according to Sensor Tower's Google Play bestseller list in the United States, Lily's Garden is currently the seventh highest on the puzzle game revenue chart.
How did all this income come from? A lot of things have played a driving role in the process of making money with this game. For example, the quality of this game, the similarities with other games, the way it is bought, and so on. However, the most important factor here is the monetization strategy of the game.
Next, we take a deep dive into Lily's Garden monetization strategies.
First User Experience (FTUE)
Lily's Garden is popular because it has a clear difference from other match-3 games: the plot.
The plot is presented through skippable cutscenes and introduces the story of the game's protagonist, Lily. Lily had just experienced a painful breakup, and to make matters worse, the message she received showed that her aunt, Mary, had died.
Then there's the real twist in the plot. Surprisingly, her aunt and grandmother left her a large yard, and Lily drove to check the inheritance, and when she got there, the story went on.
The game relied on the plot to attract users during FTUE, and the unexpected early gameplay was primarily designed to immerse players and get them excited about the story that lay ahead.
Soon, players discover that they need to play match-3 levels to solve problems in the yard, and in this way, the game blends the plot with the core gameplay, giving the player the goal of completing subsequent moves.
Game beginner tutorial
The moment the player arrives in the yard, the beginner tutorial begins. The game gives the player a text introduction and highlights of areas that need attention, such as guiding the player through mission features. The text is long, which is not ideal enough, in general, it is recommended that the beginner tutorial text be reduced to about 8 words in length.
Next, the player engages in the first match-3 level. On the game panel, they can learn how to tap on blast blocks, which is the least information players need to know to start playing.
As players discover new features, the beginner tutorial continues. Each time a new item, obstacle, or something new appears on the panel, the game will explain it, and in this way, players do not need to discover the purpose of these gameplay or items.
This type of beginner's instruction is called a situational lesson, and as we can see in most head games, it has the advantage of teaching players how to react in a variety of situations.
UX/UI
The UI and UX of this game actually don't have much to say, as most of it is something known to match-3 games on the market.
As you can see, the user interface is easy to remind us of scenes we've seen in other meta-play match-3 games, such as Dream Garden, Dream Home, and Project Makeover, a proven and proven way to do this segment.
How does Lily's Garden work?
Lily's Garden is a game that requires a strong connection between the match-3 core gameplay and the rich meta-mechanics, and in order to achieve this goal, the game relies on these mechanics: life points, match-3 level progression, and meta-level missions.
To play in the Match 3 panel, players need to have enough lives to lose a single point every time they fail to complete a level for the first time in the match-3 panel.
In Lily's Garden, players drive progress by implementing new match-3 levels that become more challenging as players play and progress.
In order to complete the level, they need to complete specific objectives within a certain number of steps, and to make things easier, players can take advantage of different value-added items. Once the player passes the level, they receive paid currency (gold) and a star, and while the coins are related to the core gameplay, the other rewards are required by the meta-layer mechanism.
On the Meta Floor, players need to renovate the yard step by step, mainly through quests. In order to complete missions, players need to collect more and more stars by solving match-3 levels, for example, they may be given the task of placing some flowers or repairing a hive.
Finally, with each mission they complete, players can unlock new parts of the story. All parts work like a well-lubricated machine, however, which is not surprising, as the concept has been proven in many similar games.
Meta layer
The game isn't named after its match-3 panel, and the game ads aren't centered on that. Mainly because the meta layer of the game is the most attractive.
Lily's Garden has two meta-dimensions: plot and decoration.
Although the game's plot is clearly inspired by Dream Garden, the story is still fascinating. The protagonist of the game is a character who looks like a real person, not some non-real game character. She seems innocent, but equally funny, eccentric, and traumatized at the same time.
Players can spot some very real problems she needs to deal with (like breakups), all of which make the story more interesting, especially for young women, which is also the main target user base of the game.
The game's story is very dramatic, and it has some interesting characters and twists. For example, players will find out that Lily's mother and her ex-fiancé are having an affair.
Yes, you're right.
Compared to the "Fantasy Series", the game's plot is more detailed and mature, such as in a dialogue, Lily repeatedly removed some garbage from the garden, while joking about the "garbage" of a male character.
Every time a player needs to replace something in the yard, the decoration meta-layer will appear, such as a fountain or mailbox, players can choose their favorite one from some options, some players prefer these meta-layers, they are players who play games to escape the real world, and like to express themselves through gameplay.
The story level allows players to "lose themselves" in the story, on the other hand, the decoration meta layer allows them to customize the game to their liking.
A detailed analysis of Lily's Garden monetization strategy
We're not without reason for the game's first experience, gameplay, and meta layer, all of which lead to the game's ultimate destination: player monetization.
How does Lily's Garden Monetization Strategy work? What do players spend the most? Under what circumstances will free players be able to enjoy the game? Let's answer each of these questions.
Which monetization mode does Lily's Garden use?
When Lily's Garden was first released, it was only monetized through in-app purchases. By 2021, however, the game had joined the mixed monetization army, and now the game has both in-app purchases and in-app ads.
"Lily's Garden" Monetization: In-app Purchase Settings and Strategies
Most of Lily's Garden profits come from in-app purchases, and in order for the in-app purchase mechanism to work, it's important to present the right promotions to the right players. So, what kind of promotion does Lily's Garden bring?
Let's start with the in-game store.
Lily's Garden in-game store is very modest, where players can find six different in-game currency (gold) promotional packages with prices ranging from $0.99 to $74.99.
I've seen this in a lot of other games, usually casual games, and developers don't think players are going to spend a lot on each promotional package. For this reason, the smallest promotional package takes the lowest pricing point. More importantly, there are 3 promotions below $10.
According to Sensor Tower's free data, these three promotions are within the top 4 best-selling (in the US iOS region), and their sales even exceed other more valuable special promotions.
Why is that?
These promotions are always at the discretion of the player, and unlike special promotion pop-ups, they appear less aggressively, with players often visiting the store and considering buying when they have difficulties in the game. At these moments, players are not thinking about reaching the best price for the next level.
But what makes players care so much about gold coins?
With this currency, players can buy three things: steps on the game panel, value-added items, and lives.
By purchasing extra steps, players can avoid failing the level they are in now, they will only choose to pay if they are very close to completing the level, if not, they would rather lose a life and start over.
Gamers plan ahead, they want to be in control of everything, they don't like to get stuck in a certain level. For this reason, they pick up the value-added items that appear on the game panel before starting a level.
Finally, the time-honored game life mechanic limits the number of times a player can be, and gold coins can also solve this problem if the player has 0 health in stock and wants to continue playing the game. All of this makes the gold coin a paid currency, through which players can get everything they want.
How does in-app purchase work in Lily's Garden?
In-app purchases go far beyond the in-game store, but more importantly, what brings the player to the game store for the first time, for which we can see the beginning of the experience in the first 5 days of the game.
Day 1
When you play for the first time, it's hard to know too much about the in-game economy, and there's nothing inherently wrong with that.
During this time, I played three levels and made three restorations to the yard. Each new level shows new features in the game panel and is more complex than previous levels, but even so, it's still easy to get through.
As new levels are passed, the gold rewards continue. At this stage, however, I didn't realize the value of paid money because I needed to use gold for everything, all of which made the first game enjoyable and rewarding, which made players want to get into the game again.
The next day
The next day in the game, it was still very easy to get through the levels. However, there is a key difference between the first and second days: the next day's value-added items are important.
In levels 4, 6 and 9, I got the boosted items from the game. Most of the time, the game will explain how to use them through beginner tutorials, and this also encourages me to try these props.
Why is all this important for the game economy? Mainly because, at this time, players first realized the importance of in-game props. However, at this time, developers are giving props through free samples.
People usually like to receive samples because this allows them to try exciting new things, and if they like to see something, then they are also likely to pay for it in the future.
This is a very subtle way to introduce the game economy, and from this moment on, players realize how game value-added items are used, and as the level becomes more challenging, they will most likely need these items again.
Day 3
After passing the tenth level, everything becomes more challenging for the player.
In my experience, there are very few direct passes, and often you have to pay to experience other levels.
At level 12, I was almost ready to pass, but there were no steps, and the game gave me a choice: buy extra steps or lose a life to start over.
In this case, most players will choose the same thing: the number of extra steps. The point is that they've invested time and effort in the stuck levels, they don't want everything to be in vain, and besides, they've accumulated a lot of in-game coins so it's time to spend them.
The game relies on the classic difficulty progression strategy.
After going through a challenging level, the next level will be relatively easy to please the family, so the next level does not cause me too much difficulty. Nearing level 14, I saw an in-app sale for the first time from the game.
I analyze this game between holidays, so the promotions are Christmas-themed, which is a good strategy because they look personalized and less cookie-cutter.
The name of this promotion is "Santa Outfit", named after the characters of the game meta layer, and contains three different promotions.
However, the choice it gives is unusual.
The first promotion is completely free, all players only need to apply to get, after which they can get a bunch of value-added items
What about the other two? Players can only unlock the next one if they buy the previous one, and more importantly, players can only get the set for this promotion if they purchase three promotions.
In this way, these promotions appear more exclusive, and players can't just choose a promotion to buy, before that, they need to be eligible to buy the promotion.
Finally, there's no reason why this promotion focuses on Luke's Santa Suit, primarily to attract players who are invested in the meta level of the game, and others may not care as much about a character putting on a Santa costume.
Day 4
When I first landed on the game the next day, I saw a brand new in-app purchase promotion.
It's called The Trees Offer, which is very similar to how the first promotion worked. The important difference is that it doesn't have a free promotion, and it's clear that by this time the game has begun to tighten the channel for free samples.
The next level was very challenging, so I had to buy extra steps to complete the level, at which point I had plenty of in-game currency to pay for, and the subsequent levels were as easy to pass as before.
There are some problems at this stage, and players still don't feel the need to pay. Usually, when a special promotion comes along, players should have an incentive to consider buying.
Day 5
On a new day, the Christmas-themed in-app purchase promotion appeared on my screen again, and for the first time it was named Special Delivery Offer, which had a similar concept to the first two, however, the promotions were not arranged from cheapest to most expensive.
What is the logic behind this? If a player decides to buy the first promotion, they are likely to buy the second, cheaper promotion. It's like if you buy yourself something like ice cream, why not buy more frosted sugar with a little more money when you're in the store? In this way, you can get the full experience.
That's how developers want players to react.
On the last day, I only played one level because I encountered a lot of difficulties.
First, I bought the extra steps with the last batch of coins, but that wasn't enough, so the game let me buy the minimum promotional package for $0.99, in which case it could turn a player into a consumer.
Players who don't want to buy anything, on the other hand, can choose to lose one life and start over, using up two before I finally complete the level. Now, that's when players are really starting to think about in-game purchase promotions.
Lily's Garden in-game commercial
Relying on paying players is high risk, and if you can get players to become consumers, that's great. But what if all these users who play the game don't plan to spend?
You can't accept the fact that you don't get any income from them. The developers of Lily's Garden solved this problem by means of rewarded video ads.
Why choose an incentive video?
This form of advertising is very suitable for in-app purchases, and many players like this format and often interact with it.
Rewarded video ad placement
In Lily's Garden, there is usually only one incentive video ad slot.
When players first experience the game, they don't see ads, only players with higher engagement.
Crucially, the game's rewarded video slot only appears after the player has completed the 15th level, when the level becomes more difficult and the gold coins saved at the beginning begin to slowly disappear.
The appearance of the ad slot depends on the level completion, it appears in a visual form, a hand holding a can of gold coins and a Play logo, and an X2 tag. When players see this, they immediately know what it means, and for this reason, the game is not explained by beginner instruction.
By watching an ad, players can get double gold after completing a level, but they can't do this every level, and the ad slot appears once a hour.
There's a reason the game does this: if players can often get something for free, the "gifts" lose their excitement and can be boring, but when there are some limitations, it makes the opportunities more unique and exciting.
Lily's Garden user retention
Match-3 games with meta-layer gameplay tend to have decent long-term retention rates. The two complement each other very well, with meta layers immersing players in the game and progressive match-3 progression making the game more challenging.
However, this is not enough for a successful retention strategy. For this reason, Tactile Games added other popular retention techniques to Lily's Garden, including: in-game activities, social media connections, and unexpected rewards.
There are no push notifications here, and it is estimated that many people will be as surprised as I am.
It's clear that the game relies on the players' own desire to get back into the game, and I'm pretty sure they tried push notifications and ultimately chose to give up. However, almost all match-3 games take advantage of push notifications, and they won't use them if they can't accomplish their goals.
So it seems that push notifications can also work for Lily's Garden, but maybe it's just that the developer doesn't need another way.
Lily's Garden Monetization: Best Practice
In my analysis, you've seen some of the good and not-so-good monetization strategies of Lily's Garden, however, we'll summarize them with some positive lists, and here's the best example of Lily's Garden for game monetization:
Integration of two monetization models;
Use only one paid currency;
Join a limited-time in-app purchase promotion;
Customization of online events;
Gentle in-app buying strategies;
Launch rewarded video ads for highly engaged players;
Limit ad engagement.
I hope that through this article, I can help my peers understand how match-3 games with rich meta-layer gameplay can attract, retain users and monetize players.
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