Tom Hammond
Tom: CEO and co-founder of TheoremReach (rewarded surveys)
Where to hear and read about Tom Hammond1 episode or test
Tom Hammond is CEO and co-founder of TheoremReach, a rewarded survey company, and he analyzes how mobile games earn money. The lesson most worth taking from him is to build monetization on player psychology and to treat a player's first ten minutes as the main retention lever.
you're going to lose typically 50% of your players within the first five minutes
5 Ways to Increase Mobile Game Revenue
Tom Hammond: the story and the lessons
1Who Tom Hammond is and how he reads mobile games
Hammond co-founded TheoremReach and studies how mobile games make money. He is CEO and co-founder of TheoremReach, which does rewarded surveys. He walks through five fundamentals of mobile game revenue using Slotomania, Subway Surfers, Clash of Clans, Merge Dragons and King of Thieves.
The five are psychological triggers, offer cadence, double-up rewards, monetizing impatience and a strong first-time user experience.
He designs monetization around how the mind actually works. He recommends Robert Cialdini's Influence and Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow. A game exists to entertain, and players are social beings who engage in predictable ways.
He says the same mechanisms can be used for good or for bad, and he recommends using them for good.
2Why Hammond says the first ten minutes decide everything
Hammond treats the first 10 minutes as the main retention lever. About 50% of players are lost in the first five minutes, and a Google analysis he cites says the first 10 minutes is the biggest predictor of long-term retention. He advises spending most design time there, because paid installs are wasted if players quit before grasping the core loop.
Merge Dragons is his example. Players just drag items together with almost no way to fail, and they see no ads or offers.
He would have uninstalled a game that shows ads before play. One game showed an ad on opening and another on pressing play, before any real play. Then it forced a 30 second ad after the back button, and he rage quit.
He says: "I would have uninstalled normally." He suggests games that struggle to retain should check whether early ads are the cause.
He looks for the magic moment all retained players share. Compare core loop features and ask what all retained players do. That action is likely the moment that clicks, such as reaching the core loop or joining a clan and fighting a clan war.
His outside example is Twitter, where following about 30 people keeps the feed full of fresh content. Once found, he says to shorten the path to it.
He credits King of Thieves with a rescue built on its magic moment. Early retention and revenue were atrocious, but a small cohort monetized and retained well. They had stumbled on multiplayer, which was not in the tutorial.
The team moved multiplayer into the first-time flow, and the numbers more than doubled. Players liked stealing, breaking into castles, getting past traps and facing a real opponent.
He lets players pick a reward when the tutorial ends. Players drop off when guidance stops and they must find their own way. Marvel Contest of Champions lets them choose a chapter one completion reward and then the hero they want.
The result is a sense of control: "I feel so in control", and having the hero they want makes them keep playing.
3How Hammond designs offers
Hammond shows an offer right after a free gift. Reciprocity means generous games get generous players. In Slotomania the player collects a daily treat and is immediately shown an offer screen, when they feel most inclined to give back.
He says to still test it. His line: "the more generous you are, the more likely people are to be generous back to you."
He anchors offers with a high reference price and a countdown. A 1.8 million coin pack is framed as worth $50 but costs $3, with a one-hour countdown. Shown alone, $3 is valued as $3, but shown as a markdown from $50 it feels like a bargain.
Urgency adds fear of missing out. Coin Master runs offers of only seven or eight minutes.
He builds a cadence of offers instead of one pitch. Players in the same cohort react differently, so the flow should branch. A buyer may get a bigger offer next, and a decliner needs something different.
In Slotomania a declined 1.8 million coin offer came back as 2.25 million coins with a two minute timer, after a free pass of cards, a prompt to brag to friends and a big win. He compares it to an email drip campaign that builds anticipation.
He times new-player offers for when they are having fun. A new player who ignores an offer at minute three may buy at minute eight, after about 20 missions, once they have decided to keep playing.
At minute three they are not yet sure they will stay. His point is to build reasons first rather than push for a buy right away.
He recommends a time-limited starter pack for new players. Subway Surfers shows a one-day countdown and 75% off. It lets someone enjoying the game spend a small amount first.
He compares it to a tripwire product in online marketing, where a small buyer is more likely to pay more later. A former client told him welcome or starter packs do phenomenally well.
He uses social reciprocation to build long-term retention. In Clash of Clans and Clash Royale, members donate cards or troops and join clan wars so everyone gets a reward. Players who do not pull their weight feel guilt toward clan mates.
He says that social responsibility adds long-term retention value.
4Hammond on doubling rewards and selling impatience
He wants a double-up on every reward a player earns. Players see earned coins as theirs, so doubling for little extra effort feels easy. Subway Surfers lets players double a 1,000 coin level reward by watching a video ad, and Crossy Road puts its double-up at the top of the home screen.
For valuable rewards he suggests charging gems. In Merge Dragons a rock dragon can be doubled for gems, which works only if gems are easy to stock up on, by buying or by surveys.
He shows an escalating daily reward ladder with a double option. Fun Run 3 shows 100 coins today, then 150 and 200 on coming days, which pulls players back. By day 5 or day 30 the value is so high that players would be crazy not to double.
He says to monitor the economy so the doubles stay balanced.
He sells shortcuts through waits that pace the game. In Clash of Clans, skipping a 3.5 day build costs 599 gems, about $10. Merge Dragons opens a chest now for 14 gems or after waiting.
Without waits, players eat through the content in a couple of days. The skip can cost a fee, gems or a video, wherever it fits.
He bundles time-saving magic items into cheap offers. In Clash of Clans, a rune of gold fills all gold storage at once and other items finish a building instantly. He suggests a pair for about $4.99.
Players know how much time they save, and the bundle gives little progression, so it won't break the economy. Giving some free triggers reciprocation and players then buy more.
He argues for several currencies, such as stamina. In a puzzle game, players who run out of stamina can wait, watch a video for one more round, or pay gems.
With only one currency it is hard to blend these options. He says: "it is super important to have multiple currencies."
5 Ways to Increase Mobile Game Revenue
Five monetization fundamentals for mobile games: psychological triggers, offer cadence, double-up rewards, monetizing impatience and a strong first-time user experience, illustrated with Slotomania, Subway Surfers, Clash of Clans, Merge Dragons and King of Thieves. The standout case is King of Thieves, which more than doubled its numbers by moving the multiplayer mode its best players had stumbled on into the first-time user flow.
Hammond co-founded TheoremReach and studies how mobile games make money. He is CEO and co-founder of TheoremReach, which does rewarded surveys. He walks through five fundamentals of mobile game revenue using Slotomania, Subway Surfers, Clash of Clans, Merge Dragons and King of Thieves.
The five are psychological triggers, offer cadence, double-up rewards, monetizing impatience and a strong first-time user experience.
He designs monetization around how the mind actually works. He recommends Robert Cialdini's Influence and Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow. A game exists to entertain, and players are social beings who engage in predictable ways.
He says the same mechanisms can be used for good or for bad, and he recommends using them for good.
Hammond treats the first 10 minutes as the main retention lever. About 50% of players are lost in the first five minutes, and a Google analysis he cites says the first 10 minutes is the biggest predictor of long-term retention. He advises spending most design time there, because paid installs are wasted if players quit before grasping the core loop.
Merge Dragons is his example. Players just drag items together with almost no way to fail, and they see no ads or offers.
He would have uninstalled a game that shows ads before play. One game showed an ad on opening and another on pressing play, before any real play. Then it forced a 30 second ad after the back button, and he rage quit.
He says: "I would have uninstalled normally." He suggests games that struggle to retain should check whether early ads are the cause.
He looks for the magic moment all retained players share. Compare core loop features and ask what all retained players do. That action is likely the moment that clicks, such as reaching the core loop or joining a clan and fighting a clan war.
His outside example is Twitter, where following about 30 people keeps the feed full of fresh content. Once found, he says to shorten the path to it.
He credits King of Thieves with a rescue built on its magic moment. Early retention and revenue were atrocious, but a small cohort monetized and retained well. They had stumbled on multiplayer, which was not in the tutorial.
The team moved multiplayer into the first-time flow, and the numbers more than doubled. Players liked stealing, breaking into castles, getting past traps and facing a real opponent.
He lets players pick a reward when the tutorial ends. Players drop off when guidance stops and they must find their own way. Marvel Contest of Champions lets them choose a chapter one completion reward and then the hero they want.
The result is a sense of control: "I feel so in control", and having the hero they want makes them keep playing.
Hammond shows an offer right after a free gift. Reciprocity means generous games get generous players. In Slotomania the player collects a daily treat and is immediately shown an offer screen, when they feel most inclined to give back.
He says to still test it. His line: "the more generous you are, the more likely people are to be generous back to you."
He anchors offers with a high reference price and a countdown. A 1.8 million coin pack is framed as worth $50 but costs $3, with a one-hour countdown. Shown alone, $3 is valued as $3, but shown as a markdown from $50 it feels like a bargain.
Urgency adds fear of missing out. Coin Master runs offers of only seven or eight minutes.
He builds a cadence of offers instead of one pitch. Players in the same cohort react differently, so the flow should branch. A buyer may get a bigger offer next, and a decliner needs something different.
In Slotomania a declined 1.8 million coin offer came back as 2.25 million coins with a two minute timer, after a free pass of cards, a prompt to brag to friends and a big win. He compares it to an email drip campaign that builds anticipation.
He times new-player offers for when they are having fun. A new player who ignores an offer at minute three may buy at minute eight, after about 20 missions, once they have decided to keep playing.
At minute three they are not yet sure they will stay. His point is to build reasons first rather than push for a buy right away.
He recommends a time-limited starter pack for new players. Subway Surfers shows a one-day countdown and 75% off. It lets someone enjoying the game spend a small amount first.
He compares it to a tripwire product in online marketing, where a small buyer is more likely to pay more later. A former client told him welcome or starter packs do phenomenally well.
He uses social reciprocation to build long-term retention. In Clash of Clans and Clash Royale, members donate cards or troops and join clan wars so everyone gets a reward. Players who do not pull their weight feel guilt toward clan mates.
He says that social responsibility adds long-term retention value.
He wants a double-up on every reward a player earns. Players see earned coins as theirs, so doubling for little extra effort feels easy. Subway Surfers lets players double a 1,000 coin level reward by watching a video ad, and Crossy Road puts its double-up at the top of the home screen.
For valuable rewards he suggests charging gems. In Merge Dragons a rock dragon can be doubled for gems, which works only if gems are easy to stock up on, by buying or by surveys.
He shows an escalating daily reward ladder with a double option. Fun Run 3 shows 100 coins today, then 150 and 200 on coming days, which pulls players back. By day 5 or day 30 the value is so high that players would be crazy not to double.
He says to monitor the economy so the doubles stay balanced.
He sells shortcuts through waits that pace the game. In Clash of Clans, skipping a 3.5 day build costs 599 gems, about $10. Merge Dragons opens a chest now for 14 gems or after waiting.
Without waits, players eat through the content in a couple of days. The skip can cost a fee, gems or a video, wherever it fits.
He bundles time-saving magic items into cheap offers. In Clash of Clans, a rune of gold fills all gold storage at once and other items finish a building instantly. He suggests a pair for about $4.99.
Players know how much time they save, and the bundle gives little progression, so it won't break the economy. Giving some free triggers reciprocation and players then buy more.
He argues for several currencies, such as stamina. In a puzzle game, players who run out of stamina can wait, watch a video for one more round, or pay gems.
With only one currency it is hard to blend these options. He says: "it is super important to have multiple currencies."