How do you keep users engaged without relying on constant notifications or gimmicks? How do you design experiences that feel fresh and satisfying, even after dozens of interactions? These are questions that every growth team faces—and the same challenges game designers grapple with daily. In this episode of The Irrational Mind, Kristen Berman talks with Joel Burgess and Dan Vader, the creators of Grindstone, about the principles behind their hit game’s success.
Grindstone isn’t built on flashy graphics or cheap dopamine hits. Instead, Joel Burgess and Dan Vadar focused on crafting an experience that keeps players hooked through smart design choices. The result is one of the most satisfying puzzle games in recent memory.
Here’s what growth teams can learn from Grindstone’s playbook.
1. Add “good friction”
Grindstone doesn’t hand out easy wins. The game introduces small challenges that require players to strategize, making each victory feel earned. We’re talking about that little bit of tension to push against. This kind of “good friction” adds depth to the experience, making it more rewarding when users overcome obstacles. For product teams, the lesson is clear: eliminating all friction can backfire. When users have to put in effort, they feel a stronger sense of accomplishment and connection to the product.
Takeaway: Don’t aim to remove every barrier. Introduce challenges that make users feel they’ve earned their progress.
2. Create “comeback” moments to increase retention
Grindstone’s daily leaderboard resets every 24 hours, giving players a fresh chance to compete. This creates ongoing engagement by maintaining hope – anyone could potentially top the leaderboard on any given day. They also reward participation at any level, not just winning, keeping more users engaged with the competitive element. It’s part of what Joel and Dan call “comeback mechanics”—the idea that even if you’re having a tough time, you’re never far from a win. That little glimmer of hope keeps people saying, “I’ll give it one more try.”
Takeaway: Comeback mechanics give people a reason to return to your app. Remember McDonald’s Monopoly? This gave people a reason to come back to McDonald’s. Think like a game designer: what fun, motivating, and rewarding experience could drive return usage? Imagine a sales tracking app like Pipedrive or Salesforce made you guess which client would convert the fastest, then revealed your co-workers answers daily. How fun! This could drive a sales leader to come back daily to engage with their book of business in new ways.
3. Onboard users through experience, not long explanations (kill the tool tips!)
Grindstone doesn’t overwhelm players with tutorials. Instead, it teaches new mechanics gradually through play. This “stealth onboarding” approach lets users learn by doing, reducing the friction that comes from heavy-handed instruction screens. For growth teams, using experiential learning can make the onboarding process feel seamless and keep users engaged from the start.
Takeaway: Make onboarding part of the experience—an integral part of the “game” vs. just a learning activity. Strive to push your customers to engage with your features, and make the features easy enough to learn by doing.
4. Enhance engagement with scarcity
The game originally gave players abundant “hearts” (lives), but found this reduced tension and engagement. By limiting hearts to just three, each decision became more meaningful. This made success more satisfying. The scarcity heightened players’ emotional investment in the experience.
Takeaway: Constraints can drive usage and prioritization. Users are more likely to stay engaged when their choices have real consequences. In grocery stores, when food is scarce (e.g., limited to two items per person), people take two. For products, if you limit some features (Hinge says only 8 matches at a time) people then use up their matches.
5. Social coordination can drive engagement
Grindstone’s “Daily Grind” mode created social coordination by having everyone play the same levels each day. This shared experience, combined with silly rewards like hats, created community engagement beyond pure competition.
Takeaway: Look for opportunities to create shared experiences among users, even if they’re not directly interacting. Trivia games that happen daily require you to submit by a certain time. This drives usage up. Imagine if Slack required you to send all internal messages by 8pm. Would this deadline increase your usage? Or what if Trader Joe’s limited sales of their famous peanut butter pretzels to one month per year. Would this cause more people to shop during that month?
Up your growth… um, game
The Grindstone team built an experience that players want to revisit again and again—not just a game. By balancing challenge, thoughtful constraints, and visible progress, they’ve created a product that resonates deeply with its audience. These strategies aren’t limited to games; they’re relevant for any growth team looking to create engaging, satisfying user experiences.
Check out the full episode for more insights on designing products that keep users coming back. Whether you’re developing an app, a feature, or a new product, these lessons offer a proven playbook for building deep user engagement. Be sure to subscribe to The Irrational Mind so that you don’t miss future episodes. Have a question for Kristen? Hit her up: [email protected]
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