Candy Crush Soda Saga running on a phoneBackKing
Onboarding caseRetention feature
King

Candy Crush Soda Saga

Onboarding30million
playerswithsuccess

Candy Crush Soda Saga has 200 million daily players. Mr. Toffee's Fair — a core retention feature reaching 30 million of them — was losing players: churn was rising and engagement stayed lower than we wanted. As a senior Product and UX Designer, I rebuilt onboarding to keep players in the feature, not lose them in the first session.

Business needs

The problem

30 million players, losing interest

Strong mechanic. Weak engagement.

📉

Reduce churn

Keep new players past the first session — the moment most drop-off happens.

What I found

Testing

Two core problems

😕

The onboarding felt flat

Players never saw why the game was fun.

🤔

Why play in a team?

Playing together had no payoff.

3 tested concepts

Three onboarding approaches. Each solved the same problems differently. User testing decided.

4 in a Row
Play together
Show, don't tellShipped

Drop players into a guided first game, team already there. They learn the mechanic by playing.

How it works

Mechanics

From confusion to a daily habit

👋 New player arrives
🔁 Comes back tomorrow

Shipped design

New onboarding

Every step, in context — meet the team, learn by playing, win together.

Social Context
Introducing the team and social context
Personalization
Social hooks from the first session
Show, don't tell
Show, don't tell — mechanics through play
Win together
Winning together — the shared payoff
Introducing features
Introducing features in context
Introducing features
Introducing features in context

Retention through social mechanics

In-game messaging, team nudges, and shared goals — social mechanics that pull players back between sessions and turn isolated play into a daily habit.

Picking teammates to message mid-game
Sending instructions to guide a teammate
Sending instructions to guide a teammate
Sending encouragement to keep them playing
Sending encouragement to keep them playing

Results

Measurable impact

Shipped and A/B tested with millions of players. The new onboarding moved the metrics that mattered.

+27%

Onboarding completion

More new players finished the first session.

−19%

First-session churn

Fewer players dropped out early.

+12%

Conversion to spend

More players went on to make a purchase.

What I learned

Good onboarding doesn't explain the feature — it lets players feel its value, in context, from the very first session.

1

Show, don’t tell

Drop players into a real round — the mechanic teaches itself.

2

Show the value, in context

Let players feel the reward — don’t just describe it.

3

Onboard like a story

Make the first session a story players want to finish.