How to create a swap & match game

Do you want to generate engagement and brand awareness with a swap & match game? This article aims to provide a step-by-step tutorial so that you don’t miss any important points. You will learn all the options that are available to manage and customise the game.

These are the contents of the tutorial:

1. About this game
2. Create the campaign
3. Set up the swap & match game
4. Customise the form, the exit screen and the design of the campaign
5. FAQs

About this game

In this addictive game, participants have to move the items around in the grid to make a row of three or more matching items. When a match is made, the tiles are removed and participants have to repeat the steps until time’s out. The more pieces they match, the more points they will score.

The genre is that of tile-matching video games. These games are popular because of their very simple rules and low barrier to entry: playing does not require any specific knowledge. In addition to being very easy compared to some other game types, there is little negative feedback (players are usually not punished for mistakes).

Create the campaign

Start a new campaign in your account by clicking Create a new campaign > Games > Swap & match.

There are two different participation modes:

• the identified mode, where the participants must identify and register before or after playing;
• the anonymous mode, where the participants can play the game without identifying themselves.

Set up the swap & match game

How to start creating a swap & match game? Go to the Game step of the campaign and choose a game to customise.

We have designed several swap & match games for you. They include Christmas-themed and yummy fruits matching games. Choose a game from the list; you can fully customise it with your brand – whether you’d like participants to swap jewels, colourful candies or some of your products.

Note: Custom games allow you to create and save your own game templates. To save the design and gameplay mechanics as a custom game, you only need to open the editor, edit your game however you like, and then click “Save as new game”. Custom games can also be created in the Documents section under the “Advanced formats”.

Layout

• Background image. You can upload a background image. That image is used as a background on all game pages.
• Sound on/off buttons. Participants can turn audio on and off at will. The “sound off” button will mute all audio in your game, while the “sound on” button will reactivate all audio in your game.

Game mode

Go to the Game mode tab of the editor. There is one simple mode to play: you set the time participants have to complete as many matches as possible. The time ranges from 10 seconds to 2 minutes.

Swap & match

Then go to the Swap & match section. This is where you can configure the game items.

Upload 4-6 different items that will be shown in the grid and that participants must match in a line of three at least. The images should have a 200x200px format.

Every item combined scores points. You can manage the number of points awarded for each object. For example, if an object is worth 1 point, completing a match of three will give the participant 3 points:

💡 You can increase the difficulty of the game by adding bad objects (malus) that participants have to avoid combining. A combination of these objects will have a negative impact on the participant’s score (e.g. every bomb match removes 6 points).

Furthermore, making matches of more tiles than is needed can result in special bonus points. In that case, the normal point reward is multiplied by some positive factor.

For example, a “2” multiplier means that, for every extra tile, the participant receives double the points they would normally for that tile. Thus, a match of four will give them 5 points, a match of five will give them 7 points, etc.

4 tiles
(3 objects x 1 point) + (1 object x 1 point x “2” as multiplier)
(3x1) + (1x1x2) = 5 points

5 tiles
(3 objects x 1 point) + (2 objects x 1 point x “2” as multiplier)
(3x1) + (2x1x2) = 7 points

Another example: with a “10” multiplier, the participant who matches four will add 13 points to their score.

4 tiles
(3 objects x 1 point) + (1 objects x 1 point x “10” as multiplier)
(3x1) + (1x1x10) = 13 points

Panels

Panels are interactive in-game screens and are one of the principal elements of the game. They inform players and give them directions on the next move to make.

• The tutorial panel shows how the game is played and opens up automatically once the game is loaded.
• The pause panel shows a menu with a “Resume” button and opens up automatically when the participants click outside the game.
• The game-over panel shows the participant’s score and automatically opens up once the game ends.

💡 You can use the “preview” dropdown to test the user experience when playing:

Sound effects

You can also add sound effects to your game to enhance the experience:

• Background music to set the atmosphere and help users connect emotionally with the game.
• Sound effects at crucial moments or during specific actions:
  • when participants click on the start button,
  • when a match is made,
  • when time runs out (game over).

Be sure to click the “Save as new game” (creates a new custom game based on the one you’ve opened) or “Save & close” (replaces the original game) button on the bottom toolbar.

Customise the form, the exit screen and the design of the campaign

Once you have configured the swap & match game, the next step is to finish the configuration of the other steps of the campaign, such as customising the design template of the campaign with your own colours and introducing the legal stuff. Check out the tutorial to set up the rules of your contest.

💡 Use the leaderboard to display the top-scoring players. To generate competition among participants and make them want to play again and again, a ranking can be generated with the participants’ highest scores. You can decide how many of the leading competitors should be shown.

FAQs

Do I need programming skills to create a swap & match?

No. The system will automatically generate the game. You can create it in a few clicks, set up the time limit and customise it easily with your icons and corporate branding.

How can I publish and share the swap & match?

To ensure responsiveness on smartphones and tablets, campaign integration must be done in the following way:

1. Create a minisite or iframe channel.
2. Customise your swap & match.
3. Add a mobile channel.
4. Make use of the minisite/iframe channel smart URL to share. To learn more, please check What is a smart URL and how to use it?

Furthermore, all Qualifio campaign types can include buttons for the participants to share on social media.

Can I collect the participants' data?

Yes. You can customise the registration form to collect the contact details of all participants. Export all the data to a CSV/Excel sheet, or send it to any external system through webhook.