Deconstructor of Fun breaks down successful free-to-play games in search of what makes them fun - or not. All of the contributors to this site are both gamers and game makers.
Third part of the series analyzes the social mechanics in mid-core games.
Second part of the series analyzes the retention mechanics that make players stick in mid-core games.
The first part of the mid-core series explains the core loop of mid-core games.
First free-to-play Plants VS Zombies was not the success it could have been.
Wooga's Jelly Splash is a newcomer in the puzzle category with an improved monetization mechanics compared to the old king, Candy Crush Saga.
Parisian studio, Pretty Simple, was late to the matured Facebook market but was nevertheless still able to capture is a sizeable chunk of it.
King's newest puzzle game hit Pet Rescue Saga doesn't seem to have the same potential for success as Candy Crush Saga did.
What does it take to dethrone the best puzzle game ever made?
GungHo's Puzzle & Dragons is a Japanese monster hit. Here's how and why.
Infinite runners, like Subway Surfer, horde installs but have a hard time in monetizing their players. This post analyzes how they could do a better job.
A sit-down with Timur Haussila, the lead of a team that created Hay Day.
Rage of Bahamut was the first global card collection hit. This post analyzes how the game monetized so well.
Kingdom Rush is an amazingly addictive tower defense game. This post analyzes how the game could have increased its revenue.
Supercell's Battle Buddies is a fun and creative game that was few mistakes away from being successful.
Disney's Where's My Water did a great job in luring a player to pay for the full version of the game.
Natural Motion's CSR Racing was the first true Western free-to-play mega-hit.
This post analyzes the importance of the first month for the overall success of the game.
Back when App Store featured both paid and free apps, the role of the free app was to drive players into the paid one.
What should you take into an account when turning your paid app into a freemium one.
A clean, high-signal newsletter for builders who want to understand what's working in games—fast.
