TOURNAMENTS FEATURE

Redesigning the tournament experience

COMPANY

Kindred

ROLE

Product designer

EXPERTISE

UX/UI Design

YEAR

2024

Project description

When users don't understand how to participate, even the best gaming feature can fall flat. We tackled this challenge head-on by redesigning the tournament experience from the ground up, transforming complex competition mechanics into an intuitive journey.

Timeline

The redesign phase took two months, but the overall project has been ongoing for eight months. This extended timeline reflects the scale of tournaments across the app, requiring updates to multiple touchpoints to ensure a cohesive and engaging experience.

Background

The tournament redesign stemmed from low user engagement and confusion around tournament mechanics. Users didn’t fully understand how to participate, and the existing UI/UX lacked clarity. Tournaments were previously hard to access, limiting visibility to certain areas of the app.

As part of the redesign, we expanded tournament access points across gameplay, lobby widgets, and iOS home screen widgets. This frontend-focused project introduced clearer UI, animations, and custom haptics to improve interaction and understanding.

Process

This project, spanning 8 months of continuous development, required iterative improvements and deep collaboration. For each enhancement, we organized workshops and A/B tests to ensure the best possible solutions for users.

A crucial part of the process was our close collaboration with developers, particularly for micro-interactions and animated transitions. Since these were new to both teams, we refined them together through continuous testing. Similarly, the development of the native home screen widgets was a first for us. To accelerate this effort, we organized a hackathon, fostering teamwork and rapid prototyping to bring the iOS widget to life.

Beyond design, our goal was to deliver real value and improve engagement. We explored the integration of the tournament bar directly into gameplay, reinforcing context and ensuring users could easily access tournament features at critical points throughout the app.

FigJam board illustrating the tournament feature's continuous improvement process, created collaboratively with Product Owners and stakeholders.

Test documentation template capturing user research sessions, including observations, findings, and key insights.

Solution

The result is a tournament system that doesn't just tell players how to participate - it shows them. By integrating tournament information directly into gameplay through the dynamic bar, we created a more intuitive and engaging experience that keeps players informed and motivated throughout their tournament journey. Custom animations and micro-interactions add that extra layer of polish, while the contextual prompting system ensures players always know their status and next steps.

Clear Path to Play

Reshaped tournament information architecture to help players understand exactly how to participate, highlighting that tournaments are free and explaining mechanics like Lucky Spin in plain language

Context When It Matters

The tournament bar appears right where players need it - in eligible games - eliminating confusion about which games are part of active tournaments while providing relevant status updates

Delightful Micro-Moments

Added thoughtful touches like haptic feedback for key actions and smooth animations that make each interaction feel more engaging and responsive

Smart Tournament Bar

An in-game dynamic bar that adapts to player status - showing opt-in prompts for non-participants, tracking progress for active players, and displaying real-time leaderboard positions and points for ranked players.

Tournament Discovery
Ensure players can seamlessly access ongoing and finished tournaments.
Progress Tracking
Keep users engaged by allowing them to track their progress in real time.
Tournament Details and CTA
Tournament pages present key details upfront, with clear entry points and opt-in buttons.
Clear Tournament Guide
Simplify tournament participation by providing a dedicated guide.
Seamless Game Integration
Embedded directly into eligible games, allowing players to opt in or track progress without leaving the game screen.
User Feedback on Actions
Provide immediate feedback when users take key actions, such as opting into a tournament.
Home screen widget
Enabled users to track their progress directly from their home screen.
Tournament Discovery
Ensure players can seamlessly access ongoing and finished tournaments.
Progress Tracking
Keep users engaged by allowing them to track their progress in real time.
Tournament Details and CTA
Tournament pages present key details upfront, with clear entry points and opt-in buttons.
Clear Tournament Guide
Simplify tournament participation by providing a dedicated guide.
Seamless Game Integration
Embedded directly into eligible games, allowing players to opt in or track progress without leaving the game screen.
User Feedback on Actions
Provide immediate feedback when users take key actions, such as opting into a tournament.
Home screen widget
Enabled users to track their progress directly from their home screen.
Tournament Discovery
Ensure players can seamlessly access ongoing and finished tournaments.
Progress Tracking
Keep users engaged by allowing them to track their progress in real time.
Tournament Details and CTA
Tournament pages present key details upfront, with clear entry points and opt-in buttons.
Clear Tournament Guide
Simplify tournament participation by providing a dedicated guide.
Seamless Game Integration
Embedded directly into eligible games, allowing players to opt in or track progress without leaving the game screen.
User Feedback on Actions
Provide immediate feedback when users take key actions, such as opting into a tournament.
Home screen widget
Enabled users to track their progress directly from their home screen.
Tournament Discovery
Ensure players can seamlessly access ongoing and finished tournaments.
Progress Tracking
Keep users engaged by allowing them to track their progress in real time.
Tournament Details and CTA
Tournament pages present key details upfront, with clear entry points and opt-in buttons.
Clear Tournament Guide
Simplify tournament participation by providing a dedicated guide.
Seamless Game Integration
Embedded directly into eligible games, allowing players to opt in or track progress without leaving the game screen.
User Feedback on Actions
Provide immediate feedback when users take key actions, such as opting into a tournament.
Home screen widget
Enabled users to track their progress directly from their home screen.

Tournament Discovery
Ensure players can seamlessly access ongoing and finished tournaments.
Progress Tracking
Keep users engaged by allowing them to track their progress in real time.
Tournament Details and CTA
Tournament pages present key details upfront, with clear entry points and opt-in buttons.
Clear Tournament Guide
Simplify tournament participation by providing a dedicated guide.
Seamless Game Integration
Embedded directly into eligible games, allowing players to opt in or track progress without leaving the game screen.
User Feedback on Actions
Provide immediate feedback when users take key actions, such as opting into a tournament.
Home screen widget
Enabled users to track their progress directly from their home screen.
Tournament Discovery
Ensure players can seamlessly access ongoing and finished tournaments.
Progress Tracking
Keep users engaged by allowing them to track their progress in real time.
Tournament Details and CTA
Tournament pages present key details upfront, with clear entry points and opt-in buttons.
Clear Tournament Guide
Simplify tournament participation by providing a dedicated guide.
Seamless Game Integration
Embedded directly into eligible games, allowing players to opt in or track progress without leaving the game screen.
User Feedback on Actions
Provide immediate feedback when users take key actions, such as opting into a tournament.
Home screen widget
Enabled users to track their progress directly from their home screen.
Tournament Discovery
Ensure players can seamlessly access ongoing and finished tournaments.
Progress Tracking
Keep users engaged by allowing them to track their progress in real time.
Tournament Details and CTA
Tournament pages present key details upfront, with clear entry points and opt-in buttons.
Clear Tournament Guide
Simplify tournament participation by providing a dedicated guide.
Seamless Game Integration
Embedded directly into eligible games, allowing players to opt in or track progress without leaving the game screen.
User Feedback on Actions
Provide immediate feedback when users take key actions, such as opting into a tournament.
Home screen widget
Enabled users to track their progress directly from their home screen.
Tournament Discovery
Ensure players can seamlessly access ongoing and finished tournaments.
Progress Tracking
Keep users engaged by allowing them to track their progress in real time.
Tournament Details and CTA
Tournament pages present key details upfront, with clear entry points and opt-in buttons.
Clear Tournament Guide
Simplify tournament participation by providing a dedicated guide.
Seamless Game Integration
Embedded directly into eligible games, allowing players to opt in or track progress without leaving the game screen.
User Feedback on Actions
Provide immediate feedback when users take key actions, such as opting into a tournament.
Home screen widget
Enabled users to track their progress directly from their home screen.

Results

The redesign significantly improved user understanding of tournament mechanics and dynamics – a breakthrough compared to the previous version. Users were not only more aware of the feature but also more inclined to take action.

This led to a 72.5% increase in average opt-ins, jumping from 120 opt-ins (January – July) to 207 opt-ins (July – December) after the update. By enhancing visibility and streamlining the experience, the new design successfully encouraged more players to join and engage with tournaments.

In February 2025, we launched a user survey to assess the awareness, clarity, and overall perception of Unibet’s casino tournaments among app users. The goal was to identify potential pain points and opportunities for improvement.

Key Findings

High Awareness: A majority of users were aware that tournaments were available on the platform.
Understanding of Tournament Mechanics:
- 75% of app users reported that they found the tournament concept clear.
- Users who had opted into a tournament in the past three months demonstrated a better understanding of how tournaments worked compared to those who had not participated.
Satisfaction Drivers:
- Mechanics clarity was one of the highest-rated aspects of the tournament experience.
- However, users expressed uncertainty about winning chances and rewards, which were among the lowest-rated factors.

Key Findings

High Awareness: A majority of users were aware that tournaments were available on the platform.
Understanding of Tournament Mechanics:
- 75% of app users reported that they found the tournament concept clear.
- Users who had opted into a tournament in the past three months demonstrated a better understanding of how tournaments worked compared to those who had not participated.
Satisfaction Drivers:
- Mechanics clarity was one of the highest-rated aspects of the tournament experience.
- However, users expressed uncertainty about winning chances and rewards, which were among the lowest-rated factors.

Key Findings

High Awareness: A majority of users were aware that tournaments were available on the platform.
Understanding of Tournament Mechanics:
- 75% of app users reported that they found the tournament concept clear.
- Users who had opted into a tournament in the past three months demonstrated a better understanding of how tournaments worked compared to those who had not participated.
Satisfaction Drivers:
- Mechanics clarity was one of the highest-rated aspects of the tournament experience.
- However, users expressed uncertainty about winning chances and rewards, which were among the lowest-rated factors.

Future improvements

We are refining the tournament details view to provide clearer, more engaging information, ensuring users can easily understand tournament rules, requirements, and performance. A key part of this process is addressing technical issues such as missing live information on game tiles and improving UI elements like the tournament drawer and trophy icon navigation.

To ensure we deliver the best results, we’re collaborating closely with content designers and developers to implement backend solutions and address UI/UX challenges. We’re also working with the QA team to ensure accurate and relevant messaging, such as the "Terms apply" link, and testing the performance impact of these changes. Ultimately, the goal is to drive higher engagement and enhance the user experience in the app’s tournament feature.

We are enhancing the app’s lobby to prominently feature tournament games from tournaments users have opted into, allowing them to quickly access active competitions without unnecessary navigation. This initiative aims to improve engagement by surfacing relevant content and streamlining the user journey.