Case Study – Playform Labs x Chessmate

Case Study – Playform Labs x Chessmate

Driving engagement through a tactical swipe playable


Objective

Chessmate wanted to energize users during a promotional burst without relying solely on static creatives. They aimed to:

  • boost engagement on their website

  • reinforce the brand’s strategic value proposition

  • increase campaign ROAS and reduce CAC

Chessmate needed a fast-to-deploy, performance-focused solution that felt authentic to the brand.


Solution – Strategy Meets Play

Playform Labs built a chess-themed micro-game that invokes real gameplay instincts—quick thinking, tactical movement, and anticipation in chess. This enabled Chessmate to maximize ROI on warm audiences while lowering acquisition costs.


Playable Experience – “King’s Defense Swipe”

The playable recreated the tension and satisfaction of protecting one’s king:

  1. threats (chess pieces or attacks) move toward the King

  2. players swipe to block or deflect them

  3. timing + accuracy determine final score

  4. A download nudge appears when user wins

Designed for 20–30 second completion time, the interaction delivered fast dopamine while reinforcing strategy, core to Chessmate’s positioning.

Key qualities:

  • intuitive one-finger mobile control

  • progressive difficulty

  • replay motivation for higher reward value


Results

After launching the playable campaign, Chessmate saw:

  • 4X increase in CTR

  • CAC (Cost per first game) reduced from ₹11 to ₹7.2

  • 2.3X ROAS improvement

Driving engagement through a tactical swipe playable


Objective

Chessmate wanted to energize users during a promotional burst without relying solely on static creatives. They aimed to:

  • boost engagement on their website

  • reinforce the brand’s strategic value proposition

  • increase campaign ROAS and reduce CAC

Chessmate needed a fast-to-deploy, performance-focused solution that felt authentic to the brand.


Solution – Strategy Meets Play

Playform Labs built a chess-themed micro-game that invokes real gameplay instincts—quick thinking, tactical movement, and anticipation in chess. This enabled Chessmate to maximize ROI on warm audiences while lowering acquisition costs.


Playable Experience – “King’s Defense Swipe”

The playable recreated the tension and satisfaction of protecting one’s king:

  1. threats (chess pieces or attacks) move toward the King

  2. players swipe to block or deflect them

  3. timing + accuracy determine final score

  4. A download nudge appears when user wins

Designed for 20–30 second completion time, the interaction delivered fast dopamine while reinforcing strategy, core to Chessmate’s positioning.

Key qualities:

  • intuitive one-finger mobile control

  • progressive difficulty

  • replay motivation for higher reward value


Results

After launching the playable campaign, Chessmate saw:

  • 4X increase in CTR

  • CAC (Cost per first game) reduced from ₹11 to ₹7.2

  • 2.3X ROAS improvement

Driving engagement through a tactical swipe playable


Objective

Chessmate wanted to energize users during a promotional burst without relying solely on static creatives. They aimed to:

  • boost engagement on their website

  • reinforce the brand’s strategic value proposition

  • increase campaign ROAS and reduce CAC

Chessmate needed a fast-to-deploy, performance-focused solution that felt authentic to the brand.


Solution – Strategy Meets Play

Playform Labs built a chess-themed micro-game that invokes real gameplay instincts—quick thinking, tactical movement, and anticipation in chess. This enabled Chessmate to maximize ROI on warm audiences while lowering acquisition costs.


Playable Experience – “King’s Defense Swipe”

The playable recreated the tension and satisfaction of protecting one’s king:

  1. threats (chess pieces or attacks) move toward the King

  2. players swipe to block or deflect them

  3. timing + accuracy determine final score

  4. A download nudge appears when user wins

Designed for 20–30 second completion time, the interaction delivered fast dopamine while reinforcing strategy, core to Chessmate’s positioning.

Key qualities:

  • intuitive one-finger mobile control

  • progressive difficulty

  • replay motivation for higher reward value


Results

After launching the playable campaign, Chessmate saw:

  • 4X increase in CTR

  • CAC (Cost per first game) reduced from ₹11 to ₹7.2

  • 2.3X ROAS improvement