Top event teams are constantly searching for methods to improve the event experience. In order to boost participation and make the experiences more interactive, an increasing number of organisers are gamifying their events. Event gamification is one of the best ways to boost engagement, generate excitement, and produce lifelong memories, whether you’re organising a business conference, trade show, festival, or online get-together.
If you want to learn more about gamifying events, you’ve come to the correct place. Everything you need to know about event gamification is covered in this guide, including its advantages, difficulties, technology, and step-by-step instructions for your next event.
What is Event Gamification?
Adding game-like elements to events in order to increase engagement and interaction is known as gamification for events. This technique, whether used in-person or virtually, transforms participants from passive listeners into active participants, increasing the event’s interest and lasting impact for all.
Team challenges or interactive workshops that encourage networking and collaboration are examples of gamification in physical settings. Gamification is even more crucial for virtual events to overcome the absence of in-person interaction. Event gamification aims to produce an engaging environment that promotes involvement.
Benefits of Gamification in Events
1.Β Increases attendee engagement
Gamification and related activities increase event engagement by adding an exciting element to your event. You can make the event more interactive and keep attendees interested by introducing game-like challenges, prizes, and competitions.
2.Β Encourages networking & collaboration
Gamification promotes interpersonal connections and teamwork by introducing interactive games and team-based tasks. This helps visitors form connections and broaden their professional networks, as well as providing beneficial networking opportunities.
3.Β Boosts learning and knowledge retention
Quizzes and interactive sessions are examples of gamified elements that make learning more fun and aid in attendees’ retention of important information. Participants who actively engage in gamified activities are more likely to retain and use the knowledge they have gained.
4. Generates more data & insights for organisers
Events teams can gain important insights into the behaviour and preferences of attendees by using gamification tools, which frequently incorporate features for real-time data collection and feedback. This instant feedback makes it possible to make last-minute changes and enhancements, which improves the overall event experience.
5.Β Enhances event ROI and ticket sales
Your event’s return on investment (ROI) can be significantly increased by gamifying it to increase participant engagement, satisfaction, and participation. Attendees who are actively involved in the activities and stay longer at the event are more likely to be engaged. In the end, this raises the return on investment for sponsors and organisers alike.
6.Β Build a stronger brand relationship.
Gamification is an effective way to improve the relationship between attendees and your brand. You can produce memorable interactions that make an impression by implementing gamified experiences that complement your brand’s values and messaging. This encourages advocacy and loyalty long after the event is over.
How Do You Gamify Events?
Gamification for events needs some careful steps for you to follow. Those are-
a.Β Set an Event Goal
It’s essential to identify your goals before brainstorming gamification ideas for events. Is increasing attendees’ enjoyment your aim? Or maybe you want to increase traffic to exhibitors or sponsor engagement? Determining your main goal will help you steer your gamification approach in the proper direction.
b.Β Choose A Gamification App
The choice of tool you make for the gamified event can have a significant impact. For example, EventBookings provides extensive event-specific gamification features. It is easy to use, adaptable, and loaded with features that will increase participation and optimise the success of your event.
c.Β Set Up the Rules of The Game
Even though it can be tempting to create a game with complicated rules, simplicity usually wins out. The game’s mechanics should be easy for attendees to understand so they can enjoy your event to the fullest. A simple, unambiguous setup guarantees greater involvement and fewer bumps in the road.
d.Β Promote Your Game to Attendees
Having a gamification strategy is not enough; you also need to make sure that everyone is aware of it! Use push notifications and emails to advertise it prior to your event. To encourage competition, have speakers bring it up during sessions and display leaderboards.
e.Β Celebrate Your Winners & Offer Great Rewards
Even after your event is over, recognising and rewarding winners is a fun way to keep the buzz going! The impact is increased, particularly for associations, when their accomplishments are shared on social media. Highlight the success of the game, share statistics, and celebrate your winners. Additionally, to encourage players to play and participate even more at your next event, don’t forget to display the grand prize!
f. Express the Wins to Your Stakeholders
Your guests aren’t the only ones who find your game’s outcome intriguing. Tell your board members, sponsors, and other interested parties about your accomplishments. To help solidify gamification’s significance for upcoming events, highlight its observable advantages.
g.Β Get Feedback on Your Post-event Survey
Get feedback from attendees to improve your gamification approach. Your post-event survey should include specific questions about the gaming components. To create more successful plans for your upcoming event, find out what worked and what didn’t.
h.Β Apply Lessons to Your Next Event
Since attendees’ expectations for events are constantly changing, so should your gamification strategy. Equipped with feedback, insights, and the experience gained from the previous event, make necessary adjustments to ensure that your gamification remains engaging, relevant, and novel for participants.
Top Event Gamification Ideas for 2025
Let’s look at the most effective and popular event gamification ideas for this year-
- Leaderboards & Points Systems: Establish a points system for different event-related tasks. By attending meetings, networking, or taking part in challenges, attendees can accrue points.
- Interactive Quizzes & Polls: Ask attendees about the event’s content using polls. Present the results in real time and give prizes to the most accurate responders.
- Scavenger Hunts (Virtual & On-site): Make a list of objects or hints that guests can look for throughout the event space. Reward those who successfully finish the hunt with prizes.
- Spin-the-Wheel or Prize Draws: Provide a prize wheel for participants to spin after completing tasks or attending meetings.
- Social Media Challenges: Encourage participants to snap pictures during the event and post them instantly to social media using a special hashtag. Give away prizes for the most inventive, best, or most shared images, and this can be a great addition as a virtual event gamification option as well.
- Networking Bingo / Icebreakers: In order to fill bingo cards, encourage guests to scan AR-enabled badges. This will start discussions, spread your brand message, and build lasting relationships.
- Virtual Badges & Achievements: Give participants digital badges when they complete specific tasks or hit event milestones. These serve as an excellent conversation starter and provide a visual depiction of their accomplishments.
- Early Check-in: Give participants who get to the event location early rewards for early check-in. Encourage punctuality and improve the event experience by giving early birds special discounts, bonus prizes, or exclusive access to VIP areas.
- Team-Based Challenges: Give your guests specific tasks to complete. A team could be formed, all exhibitor booths could be visited for trade show gamification, or a predetermined number of sessions could be attended.
Technology & Tools for Event Gamification
Let’s explore some of the top tech and tools making event gamification seamless and impactful.
Apps for Events with Integrated Gamification Features
With the help of integrated gamification tools, modern event management platforms like EventBookings, Cvent, and Whova enable organisers to monitor participant engagement and provide real-time rewards. Usually, these applications consist of:
- Point systems for accomplishing tasks (such as networking, attending sessions, and stopping by exhibitor booths).
- Real-time leaderboards to encourage healthy rivalry.
- Level advancement or a badge can encourage regular participation.
Integration of NFC and QR Codes
Gamification is made simple and measurable for hybrid and in-person events using NFC (Near Field Communication) and QR code-based systems.
Participants can:
- At booths, scan QR codes to earn badges or points.
- NFC-enabled wristbands can be tapped to receive rewards or check-ins.
Integration Tools for Social Media
You can link social media interaction to your gamification system directly with tools like Tagboard and Twine. For instance:
- Give points for using the event hashtag when posting content related to the event.
- Showcase the most active social media users in a live feed.
- Promote in-the-moment sharing to increase event online visibility.
Real-Life Examples of Event Gamification Success
Now we will explore some event gamification examples to make you understand its impact on real-life-
The New York Auto Show (Nissan)
Nissan devised a novel method of gamifying an online gathering. The company used an augmented reality scavenger hunt at the New York Auto Show to capitalise on gamification. Throughout the Nissan show floor, guests were urged to look for QR codes concealed in various locations. Players were directed to AR “Thrill Face” filters through QR codes, each of which was associated with a distinct vehicle and its attributes.
Cisco Live
A highly engaging gamification experience was introduced by Cisco Live, where participants could compete in mini-games to win daily prizes and work together with peers. Through activities and exploration of the event, audience members accumulated points to move up the event leader board. A complimentary ticket to Cisco Live 2026 in Las Vegas was the grand prize.
Step-by-Step Guide on How to Get Started with Gamification on EventBookings
It doesn’t have to be challenging to incorporate gamification into your event. You can effortlessly integrate engagement strategies with your ticketing, communication, and analytics tools with EventBookings’ all-in-one ticketing platform. To begin, follow these steps:
Step 1: Define goals.
Determine your goals before incorporating any game elements. Are you attempting to increase booth visits, networking opportunities, or session attendance? Establishing specific goals enables you to create challenges that support the goals of your event, whether those goals are to boost participation, advertise sponsors, or get feedback from attendees.
Step 2: Choose the right gamification idea.
Simple, goal-oriented concepts are more effective and manageable in the EventBookings setting. Select a concept that is appropriate for the audience and type of event. For instance:
- A leaderboard with points awarded for finishing surveys or attending sessions.
- A treasure hunt using QR codes across exhibitor booths.
- A social media contest that invites participants to share content using the hashtag for your event.
Step 3: Set up through EventBookings’ event tools.
Use the built-in tools in EventBookings to make your idea a reality. You could create unique registration forms to gather information for participant monitoring. Share updates and provide an explanation of the rules via email and announcement tools. Incorporate booth interactions or session check-ins to initiate point collection. To make activities interactive, you can also incorporate external engagement tools or link analytics.
Step 4: Promote gamified segments before and during the event.
Build excitement in advance. Inform participants about forthcoming challenges and rewards by using EventBookings’ email campaigns and social media sharing tools. Make regular announcements throughout the event, display live leaderboards on screens, and use push notifications or event updates to encourage attendees to participate. The momentum is maintained through regular communication.
Step 5: Track engagement and results.
Use EventBookings’ real-time analytics to track the effectiveness of your gamified activities after they go live. Keep track of the number of participants, the most engaging activities, and the impact on social reach or session attendance. You can use these insights for the betterment of future events and show a definite return on investment from your gamification efforts.
Conclusion
Your audience’s experience at your events can be changed entirely by gamification. In addition to giving attendees networking opportunities and raising engagement, it also adds enjoyment and memorability to event experiences. Try experimenting with the ideas of gamification we discussed in this blog and utilise the one that goes with your event. To make your event gamification journey smoother and hassle-free, create your next event with EventBookings or contact our highly responsive team for any of your queries.
