Merge Games Market History & Full Overview: Travel Town no.1 Merge game & Gossip Harbor case studies

This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session #105. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.
Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠
Special Guest: Laura Taranto
Podcast: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...
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Merge Games Market History & Full Overview: Travel Town no.1 Merge game & Gossip Harbor case studies
Agenda
09:28 The History of Merge Games
53:48 Balancing the Economy and Resource Management
01:02:46 Implementing a Collectible Album System
01:15:11 Optimizing Ad Placements and End Cards
01:30:46 UA & Creative Showdown The Use of Big Boards and UGC
01:39:09 The Impact of Story-Driven Narratives
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Matej Lancaric
User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant
⁠lancaric.me
Felix Braberg
Ad monetization consultant
⁠www.felixbraberg.com
Jakub Remiar
Game design consultant
⁠ / jakubremiar
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Takeaways
Merge games have gained popularity in the puzzle genre.
Travel Town and Merge Dragons are successful examples of merge games.
Grid merge and camp merge are two different types of merge games.
Merge games offer revenue potential and innovative gameplay.
The hosts are excited about the future of merge games. Merge games can be categorized into camp merge and grid merge, each with its own frustrations and player motivations.
Travel Town and Microfun's portfolio are the top performers in the merge game market.
Balancing the economy and gameplay mechanics is crucial for a successful merge game.
Merge games require strategic thinking and organization, making them engaging for players.
The revenue potential of merge games is significant, with some games generating millions of dollars. Balancing the economy and resource management is crucial in grid merge games.
Limited board space can lead to frustration and difficult decisions for players.
Relief orders can help alleviate frustration by clearing items from the board.
Energy management and generator cooldowns play a significant role in gameplay.
Events can drive player engagement and provide additional rewards.
Thoughtful design and balancing are essential for creating an enjoyable player experience. Balancing the economy and avoiding over-reliance on storage space monetization is crucial for successful monetization in games.
Clear and intuitive visual design and user experience are important for player engagement and retention.
Implementing a collectible album system can enhance player engagement and provide opportunities for social interactions.
Ad placements when completing levels can be a valuable opportunity for increasing ad revenue.
Optimizing ad placements and end cards can improve user experience and retention. Merge Mansion and Gossip Harbor use a variety of creative strategies, including big boards, UGC, and story-driven narratives.
The presence of sexist content in some of the creatives is noted.
Travel Town receives high praise for its dedication and iteration, while Gossip Harbor is commended for its strong live ops pipeline.
Further development is needed in the event pipeline and progression balancing for both games.
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[@adizhavo270]

Great video, actually in-between Merge Dragons and Merge Magic, Gram Games created Merge Town, the real first ever merge 2 game but more on the hyper-casual side inspired by games like Cow Evoluton (gridless merge) - then from Merge Town games like Merge Mansion were born.

[@2.5gamers]

Thats a great info! Thanks

[@futoranime]

Missing out on a few games that killed as well. Designville and Top War. Top War I think is a fascinating look from coming from the WeChat mini-games to a mobile game and then a Web game.

[@2.5gamers]

Top war is not a merge game though. Will check the designville example. Thanks a lot

[@bogdannesvit4086]

Guys, thank you for the conversation, please share your presentation in comments or description, can’t see anything ( 😢

[@2.5gamers]

Join our slack!

[@saraalfageeh2937]

Was really anticipating this video, thank you!

[@2.5gamers]

great to hear

[@yashaswiification]

that's a brilliant video. please do more of this videos!!

[@2.5gamers]

Thanks. We are definitely planning to!

[@nikolai6950]

Please share the slides with us!

[@2.5gamers]

Check our slack!

[@cemdemir1814]

Matej, can you please just shut up for a second. I'm really having hard time with focusing while you talk. You guys have nice guests, share valuable information, but you interrupt almost every talk and it drives me crazy! Just stop talking and listen people while they talk. You don't have to comment every little thing. Jesus christ!