Romania's premier sports media platform demonstrates exceptional implementation of the Either/Or feature as part of their comprehensive gamification strategy. With a century-long legacy in sports journalism dating back to 1924, this platform has successfully transformed from a traditional print publication into a digital leader while maintaining their renowned investigative reporting approach. Their implementation stands out for its strategic integration of the Either/Or Feature within their dedicated Game Center, innovative user authentication approach, and seamless embedding within relevant editorial content.
Fans United Implementation Background
This platform's journey with Fans United features began in early 2023 with the implementation of Top X, followed by Match Quiz in early 2024, and subsequently Classic Quiz in late 2024. The Either/Or feature was also introduced toward the end of 2024, representing the latest addition to their growing gamification ecosystem.
The platform's gradual approach to implementing these features has allowed them to build a comprehensive gaming environment that complements their core journalistic content while significantly enhancing user engagement across their digital properties.
Platform Integration
The platform has implemented Either/Or through two primary integration channels that maximize visibility and user participation:
- Dedicated Game Center: A specialized section within their platform serves as a central hub for all gamification features, including Either/Or games. This dedicated space makes it easy for users to discover and participate in various interactive content.
Game Center comparison: Logged-in user view (left) vs. non-authenticated user view (right). Both interfaces maintain access to games while the authenticated experience includes personalized elements and account features.
- In-Article Integration: Beyond the dedicated Game Center, they've strategically embedded Either/Or games within relevant sports articles and match coverage. This contextual placement has been particularly successful, as it allows users to engage with games directly related to the content they're already reading, creating a natural extension of their content consumption experience. This dual approach ensures maximum visibility for the Either/Or feature while maintaining natural content flow throughout the platform's ecosystem.
Strategic in-article Either/Or integration examples: Left: A Real Madrid post-match interview article featuring an embedded Either/Or game; Right: A Champions League dedicated article with a contextually relevant football-themed Either/Or challenge.
Navigation & Access
The Game Center provides intuitive access to Either/Or games through a well-organized structure:
- Active Games Section: Currently running games are prominently displayed at the top of the Game Center, making it immediately clear which interactive experiences are available for participation.
- Historical Games Section: Below the active games, users can find previously completed games, allowing them to browse past content and see game history.
This organization helps maintain a clean interface while providing easy access to both current participation opportunities and historical content. The platform's approach to user authentication is particularly noteworthy - some games can be played without logging in or creating an account, while others implement lead generation by requiring basic user information (name, email, phone) to participate fully or receive potential rewards. This tiered approach minimizes friction in the user journey while still collecting valuable user data.
Game Interface
The Either/Or game interface features a clean, user-friendly design with several key components:
- Tabbed Navigation: Games typically include tabbed interfaces that vary based on game type:
- Standard games include "Game" and "Ranking" tabs
- Games offering rewards feature additional "Awards" and "Regulations" tabs, with a "Winners" tab appearing after completion
Prize-offering Either/Or game with tabbed navigation. The 'GAME' tab opens by default, with additional tabs for 'AWARDS' and 'REGULATIONS', creating a comprehensive user experience for games that feature prizes
- Game Mechanics Explanation: After selecting a game and clicking on 'Start the Game', users see a clear explanation of how to play, including scoring system, lives, and other game mechanics
- Visual Feedback: The interface provides immediate visual indicators of correct/incorrect answers:
- Correct answers receive a green checkmark
- Incorrect answers display a red "X"
- Lives are visually represented as hearts that disappear when lost
Clear visual feedback that enhances the game experience: Left: Incorrect answer indicated by a red 'X' with one life lost (highlighted); Right: Correct answer shown with a green checkmark and player's selection highlighted in green for immediate visual confirmation.
- Results Screen: Upon game completion, users see:
- Their final score
- Performance comparison (e.g., "You're better than X% of participants")
- For reward-offering games, clear information about prize eligibility
The clean design, clear visual indicators, and intuitive navigation create an engaging user experience that encourages continued participation.
Comprehensive results screen with competitive elements. The end-game display shows the player's final score (100/160), performance comparison with other participants (better than 26.2%), and a clear incentive to compete for prizes, accompanied by a prominent 'TRY AGAIN' button to encourage replay.
User Engagement Metrics
The platform's Either/Or implementation has achieved impressive engagement levels. Their strategy of embedding Either/Or games within relevant sports articles has been particularly successful, with some games achieving participation rates exceeding 2,500 users. Several other games have surpassed the 1,000 participant threshold, validating their integrated approach to gamification.
These metrics demonstrate how effectively the platform has transformed passive content consumption into active participation through strategic implementation of the Either/Or feature within their broader digital ecosystem.
Some Expired either/or games showing actual user participation metrics (2597 and 1289 users respectively), providing valuable insight on real-life engagement rates
Further Reading