Here is my hot take regarding New Player Experience - we don't need new players just to start the flywheel. I believe we can achieve this with the existing and returning player base. That's why when I think about New Player Experience, my thinking is New "Player Experience" and not "New Player" Experience. In this post, I focused on how to retain the existing players and make the old ones return to the game. I introduce to you - Achievements.

As players we need the feeling of achieving something. Whether it is by completing a difficult quest or finding rare loot in dungeons. This feeling keeps us playing a game more. In Splinterlands, we feel this when we win a near-impossible battle. We feel validated when we achieved a higher rank in the leaderboards. Even non-leaderboard players are happy when they reached their desired league. But what's missing? What else can we achieve in a Trading Card Game (TCG).

Quests or Achievements are the ones missing in our experience. Achievements like Playing with Fire Splinters five times in a row or Trample three to five monsters in one consecutive turn. These achievements are good additions to the game.

Now that you understand what I meant. How about the rewards when these achievements are met?

The rewards for achieving these achievements can be in a form of tokens or exclusive cards. Tokens like GLINTs and VOUCHERs can be awarded to individuals who achieved a certain quest. This will motivate players to complete such tasks. For example, when the achievement "Kill a fiend five (5) times." is met, the player can have 0.001 GLINT and/or 0.0001 VOUCHER. Of course we can give just give out GLINT and not include VOUCHERs.

Rewards can be in a form of exclusive cards. For example, when the "Trample five (5) monster units in one turn" is achieved, the player can receive an exclusive Trample monster card. This Achievement system can accumulate points. These points can be redeemed to get a particular reward. For example, 1000 points = 1 GLINT.