Five years later, in an era where apps grab our attention quickly and then fade just as fast, I find myself writing about the same app again. My daughter and I are still using it—so much so that we upgraded to the premium version. Over time, we reached the highest difficulty levels in most of the games. Eventually, our interest dipped slightly. My daughter wanted to keep her streak alive, so she began playing with minimal effort, just enough to maintain it.
About three months ago, Elevate introduced a new feature called Leagues. It was a simple leaderboard system where the top ten players advanced through tiers such as Bronze, Silver, Gold, Ruby, and Diamond. This immediately reignited our interest. We found ourselves eagerly playing games across Math, Reading, Memory, Writing, and Speaking categories. It was exciting to climb the ranks—only to discover the next morning that we had slipped down a few places. As we progressed, we eventually reached the final league, which then began repeating.
Once again, our enthusiasm dipped when it felt like there was nowhere left to go. Almost as if they anticipated this, Elevate rolled out another feature: Daily Quests. Each day brings three new, changing quests. My daughter now wakes up curious to see what the day’s challenges will be. Completing quests earns coins, which can be used for benefits like XP boosts and streak freezes.
I’m fairly certain that at some point we’ll accumulate coins without knowing what to do with them and feel bored again. But given how thoughtfully the team has layered gamification over time, I’m confident they’re already working on new ways to make those coins meaningful.
The core motivations remain the same—keeping our brains active and spending quality time together. What has changed is how engaging the journey feels. The user experience is top-notch, from the visuals and music (including those mildly annoying error sounds!) to the smooth, uncluttered game flow.
I’ve recommended Elevate to many friends—not just as a user, but also to product managers and UX designers looking for inspiration in thoughtful, engaging design.
The same team has also launched a new app called Spark, a knowledge-based game that covers a wide range of topics. It offers short, bite-sized nuggets of information that you can explore, test yourself on, and learn from—all wrapped in a beautifully engaging design. As an early adopter, I find it especially useful for expanding my understanding of topics I’m less familiar with. I hope we’re able to stay as consistent with Spark as we have been with the Elevate app.
Posts
