747 Games: Designing a viral skill-based betting game

A 0–1 success story of growth and profitability

This project holds a special place in my heart!

We launched 747 during a critical time when the company was struggling to survive. The stakes were high — we needed to create a revenue-generating product and bring it to market quickly. With limited resources, our small team of four, with me as the sole designer, rose to the challenge.

My role was comprehensive and hands-on:

• I was involved in every aspect of the project, from concept development and business model design to UX/UI design and market launch.
• I also managed social media campaigns, digital marketing, website development, customer support, and strategic planning for future features.
• By day, I designed the UX; by night, I supported our lean customer care team, ensuring our players received the best experience possible.
• I juggled this project alongside two client projects, as Idyllic, originally an agency, transitioned into a product company with the launch of 747.

We exceeded our expectations, turning a simple game concept into a thriving business. I am proud to have been part of this adventure, experiencing the transformation into a start-up firsthand.

A very simple game and business model

747 games are all two-player games, with the highest winning odds in the industry — 50/50. Here’s how it works:

• Skill-based gameplay: Both players answer the same question, and the player who responds correctly the fastest wins. If there’s a tie, a random winner is selected.
• Winning and earning: The winner earns an 80% profit on their bet, while 747 takes a 10% fee on the total amount of each game played.

This streamlined approach made 747 a simple yet effective product, driving both player engagement and company revenue.

Why a math game? Because it has a zero learning curve!

Unlike poker, chess and other skill based games, Both players get asked a single math question. Answer is always a single digit, from 0 to 9. Because the games are so simple, we easily converted users across all age groups, and our user base grew by thousands each day.

A very simple game and business model

First design proposal

UX flow

Feedback received:

• Brighten colors for better appeal to an Indian audience.
• Keep chip size variation but place smaller chips at the bottom and larger ones at the top.
• Use the rupee symbol (₹) to add local flavor.
• Simplify the UI to ease development.

The MVP

• We did rigorous user testing with a group of 25 internal players.
• In a few weeks, we did a limited public release among friends and family.

2 Buttons vs 10 Buttons

The biggest issue when we tested with 10 buttons- People who calculated fast ALWAYS WON.

The percentage of games they lost was so minuscule, it was almost like the slower players were just handing over their wallets. This would surely drive away players.

So we replaced 10 buttons with a 2 button game. One answer is correct, one is wrong. Either you calculate, or you take a chance.

But this in turn frustrated the people who calculated.

The math game dilemma

I took the 2 button, 10 button dilemma to the mall!

This was some experience for me. I am a big extrovert, and don’t shy away from speaking with people, but I was still feeling very anxious to approach strangers.

That was a good evening, got to see people’s reactions and thoughts first hand, and even market the game as I am testing, by introducing it to people.

Approached people of all ages at the mall and tested out the game and reactions.

Once the game launched, we kept learning more about our users through various avenues. We continued to maintain the whatsapp group for internal tests for all new features.

• From our customer support chats
• From our daily gaming dashboards, and observations of different cohorts of players
• From play store reviews
• From user tests and interviews

I started handling customer support for 747, and this was the most real way to understand user’s pain points

Building on the MVP — Adding more features to the game

Based on research and feedback, we kept building on the game.

1. Introduced a normal mode (10 buttons) and a hint mode (2 buttons) within the same game, to cater to both, slow and fast platers.
2. Added more games -747 Discard, a variation of a popular card game, Teen Patti, in India.
3. Introduced groups, so people can play exclusively with family and friends.
4. Conceptualized 747 tournaments.
5. Introduced monkey games, where players can multiply their winnings.
6. Introduced Fast Pair Mode, to match opponents quickly.
7. Launched 747 Big, for higher stakes betting for high rollers
8. Added a referral program.
9. Started deposit cashbacks.

Building on the MVP

Fresh look

I explored various color combinations, narrowed down a few, and we did a poll on which look everyone likes.

747 Math

Results screen animation version 2

Pending games — The biggest challenge we faced at 747

One of the biggest challenge we faced was when a player plays a game, and there is no opponent who has played the same bet amount. In such a case the game goes into a pending state.

People lost excitement when their games went in the pending state when players weren’t matched fast enough and stopped playing.

Goals

1. Increase number of players on the same chip so people get matched faster.
2. Match people faster even if they played on different chips.
3. Give players incentive to continue playing, even if games went in pending state.
4. Reduce anxiety people get when they see no results, but the game amount is reduced from their wallet

Mind map to solve for pending games

Features to solve pending games

1. Monkey games

Increase number of players on the same chip so people get matched faster

• A monkey game is an assured win of your answer is correct.
• A monkey game will pay the player 2 to 10 to ANY amount of times the original bet amount.
• A monkey on a chip indicates there are monkeys lurking around on those games. It does not mean all the games on that are monkey games.
• Monkeys appear randomly, and a player won’t know if a game is a monkey game, until they appear on your results screen!

How monkeys games help?

• Attracts focus and interest of players on chosen chips
• Helps in concentrating players on chosen chip so players match faster.
• Introduces an element of surprise.
• Brings personality to the game, as monkeys are all given characters and personas
• Rewards players who give the correct answer, discouraging people who make blank guesses in the two button mode.

Monkeys on chip make users want to play that chip.

Monkey games play 2 to ANY number of times the bet amount

Observed impact after we introduced monkey games

• Immediate spike in active players whenever we send notifications of monkeys lurking.
• Increase in total gaming by 20 to 30 percent whenever we have monkey games.
• 80% to 90% of players play chips with the monkey on them.
• Pending game time reduced on average from 10 min to 3 min.
• Huge amounts of monkey wins given to players cumulatively since launch. Giving back to players increases retention.
• Players are often so happy they share screenshots of their monkey win with support staff in chats.
• Increase in referrals

2. Fast Pair Mode

Match people faster even if they played on different chips

Concept

• Players can play all games from the same screen, Math 2 and 10 buttons and Discard. They can turn off games they don’t wish to play.
• Players are suggested games that are already waiting for an opponent. When player accepts these games, it’s an instant match.
• If there are no pending games by other players to be suggested, the player’s game will go in pending, but will be suggested to other players in Fast Pair mode and will get matched as soon as possible.

Observed Impact

• 10 to 15% of our players prefer to play in Fast Pair mode.
• In fast pair mode, the time in pending state reduces from 10 min to as low as 0 min to upto 5 min, depending on the time of the day.
• People who love to play all 3 games don’t have to switch to home screen to change the game.

3. First player advantage

Give players incentive to continue playing, even if games went in pending state

Concept

Even though we try to reduce pending games wait time with features such as monkeys and fast pair mode, we still don’t have the volume of games to eliminate it completely. Hence we started giving 10% of game amount as cashback to the first player of any game, when their game enters the pending state.

Even though the game is in pending, which a user doesn’t enjoy, they enjoy the fact that they got something out of it. Over time, the amount of cashback adds up to a significant amount, which users can see on their wallet screen.

Observed Impact

• Negative feedback from users about the wait times reduced by 20%.
• Players continued to play more games even while waiting to get matched. Players who would stop after 2–3 games in pending state, now had 7–8 games before they stopped.

I also worked on our website and creative ads

I used various humor themes that resonated with our Indian audience.

How we could develop the game in the future?

This is a conceptual exploration of how it would be if we had the game in 3D, built on Unity.

It is crude (done in may be a day or two), but interesting! The chips and numbers were not working well in perspective, The chips closer to the focal point become too small! So needs more thinking on the UX/UI.

The founder and I were brainstorming over new ideas to generate revenue.

Tip the dealer (our real customer support)

After a win, there will be a small CTA to tip a customer support person. The player will learn a bit about what the CS does, and about their dreams. The tips will actually be pooled and given to customer support team.

Buying virtual drinks, lucky charms and other trinkets

A player can buy virtual drinks for the dealer or his or her opponent. The dealer can also gift free drinks to the player on the house.

I got so interested in Unity, I learnt it over 3–4 days. So I was prepared to be well informed when we decided to interview artists and developers for Unity.

Outcome — The game became a viral hit!

• Viral growth achieved with rapid user acquisition: In just two months, the game attracted over 100,000 registered users, reached the top 5 in the app store’s puzzle games category, and surpassed USD 1M in games played. Today, it has grown to half a million registered users.
• YouTubers amplified trust and reach across India: To kickstart user growth, we initially offered ₹10 sign-up bonuses, drawing attention from YouTube influencers. These influencers created videos in multiple Indian languages, demonstrating gameplay, instant withdrawals, and bank deposits, which built trust and attracted users nationwide.
• Continued growth despite ending bonuses early: As a bootstrapped startup, we had to discontinue the sign-up bonuses within three days due to the overwhelming number of new users. Despite this sudden change and the wave of 1-star reviews that followed, the game’s growth and viral momentum continued unabated.

We went viral, and our team rejoiced

Key learnings

1. Simplicity drives adoption: Our straightforward concept resonated widely, proving that complex features aren’t always necessary for success.
2. Direct user testing is invaluable: Face-to-face mall intercepts provided insights that traditional analytics missed.
3. Rapid iteration is crucial: Our ability to quickly address issues like pending games was key to maintaining momentum.
4. Gamification significantly boosts engagement: The “Monkey Games” feature demonstrated the power of surprise and variable rewards.
5. Cross-functional roles yield unexpected insights: Wearing multiple hats (design, customer support, marketing) provided a holistic view of the user experience.

Conclusion

The success of 747 Games demonstrates the power of user-centered design in creating viral products. By focusing on core user needs, implementing innovative solutions to common pain points, and maintaining a rapid feedback loop, we transformed a simple math game into a million dollar success story.