A lot - if not most - gamification in marketing is one-dimensional. One player, one screen, one session.

Quizzes, puzzles, tap games, memory games, escape rooms, advent calendars - all designed for a single person to play through, finish, and move on.

And there is nothing wrong with that, dont get us wrong ... Single-player games work like a charm. Our data across 125+ campaigns shows that single-player branded games consistently engage 45–65% of visitors and convert up to 40% into leads.

But there is another dimension of game-play that unlocks one important element: SOCALISING! And of course, competing and claiming eternal glory on your friend, as well.

Joking aside, there is one interesting thing that happens when we add another person into the play. You compete with a real person in real time. Each move determines what will happen next. Suddenly its not just about your decisions, but also your opponents.

So we're happy to announce that we built our first Multi-player game.

But what might seem as a trivial and boring game-play mechanics - "Pfff, it's just Tic-Tac-Toe" - we dare you to try it. Because we made one very sexy enhancement to it, and we're quite positive you'll like it.

Its called the Ultimate Tic Tac Toe, and while its brainylab's first multiplayer game, it has a fun twist on the classic tic tac toe game you all know and are bored with it.

Well, not this one.

How does it work?

Instead of one 3x3 grid, you play on nine of them. Each small grid is a game within a game. And here's the twist - your move determines which grid your opponent has to play in next. So you're not just thinking about your own strategy, but also about where you're sending the other person.

Every move is an attack and a setup at the same time. Simple to understand. Surprisingly tricky to master.

Try it here: https://tictactoe.brainylab.io/multiplayer

Can this format matter for marketing campaigns?

Fair question. It's (just) a tic-tac-toe game. How does that connect to brand engagement and lead generation?

Well, here's what we noticed when we started testing it internally. And then with people outside our team. Every session needs two people. And that's not minor thing. You literally cannot play alone. So every single game starts with someone sending a link to someone else. A friend. A colleague. A competitor they want to destroy (we've all got one).

This means, the player (friend, coworker, wife, grandma ...) becomes the distribution channel. Before anyone even reaches an opt-in moment, they've already pulled someone new into the experience.

Multi-player game mechanic itself does the work.

People don't quit when a real person is on the other side.

In single-player, there's zero social cost to closing the tab. You lose interest, you scroll away. Nobody knows. Nobody cares.

But when your colleague is waiting for your next move? You stay. And then you hear the most beautiful sentence in gamification:

"One more time?"

That replay loop is something single-player games have to engineer with points, badges and leaderboards. In multiplayer, it happens naturally. Because losing to a real person is personal. And you want revenge.

When two people play a game together, they talk about it afterwards. They message each other about it. They joke about who got lucky and who actually had a strategy. That conversation is organic brand exposure you cannot buy. The brand lives inside a shared moment between two real people.

That's fundamentally different from someone playing a quiz alone and moving on with their day.

Where and how does multiplayer fit in the gamification mix?

If you've been reading our previous chapters — especially Chapter 7 where we broke down learnings from 100+ campaigns — you already know that different marketing goals need different mechanics.

🕹️ Games for reach and engagement.

✅ Quizzes for leads and segmentation.

❤️ Platforms for long-term retention.

Multiplayer doesn't replace any of those. It adds a new layer on top. Think about it through the funnel we shared in Chapter 7: Land → Engage → Finish → Subscribe → Click Through

Multiplayer supercharges that first step. Your engaged players become your acquisition channel. They bring new people into the funnel before they even reach the opt-in moment.

How to use this knowledge further?

This is our first multiplayer release. A proof of concept to test the mechanics, the tech, and how people actually behave when a real opponent is on the other side.

We're already exploring where this goes next. Real-time competitive quizzes where teams challenge each other. Timed multiplayer brand games for campaigns. Branded tournaments with live leaderboards.

The foundation is built. Now it's about finding the right branded contexts where multiplayer makes the most impact.

Your move!

Grab someone. A colleague, a friend, your boss, whoever you think you can beat. And give it a try:

https://tictactoe.brainylab.io/multiplayer

We'd love to hear what you think. Honestly. It would help us a lot. And if multiplayer branded games spark some ideas for your next campaign - well, lets talk.

But first ... invite & play.