Playbook · Scale
Scale × Stay
Give veterans reasons to stay that a copycat can't offer: status tiers that grant real abilities with visible criteria, reputation as stored value, and visible personalization.
- M3 Scale
- Can we scale acquisition, conversion and loops without leaking?
- Stay
- Why do veterans stay when a competitor copies the features?
M3 × Stay
The playbook
Goal. Veterans stay because of what they built and who they became, not because leaving is painful.
Moves. Status tiers that grant real power, with criteria users can see; reputation as stored value HK-INV16 (Hooked Ch.5); visible stored value HK-INV27 (Hooked Ch.5); visible personalization GT#83 (Actionable Gamification Ch.8, p.190); collections and chain combos GT#16 (Actionable Gamification Ch.8, p.182) GT#40 (Actionable Gamification Ch.17, p.473).
Motivation note (Chou's observation, grade D). Retention built on mastery and stored value lasts; retention built mainly on fear of loss tends to end in relieved exits. Keep Stay rewarding and let loss aversion emerge rather than engineering it.
Lead with these moves
- TechniqueEvidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.
Status tiers that grant real power
tiers with visible criteria and real perks
Ranks and tiers change behavior only when they bring powers or standing others recognize, and when the criteria for the next tier are visible. Chou's audit of a navigation app found its top rank barely changed behavior because it gave no real power, while earned seller tiers on a marketplace did.
- TechniqueEvidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.
Reputation that carries real value
earned reputation as stored value
Let users earn a reputation (ratings, badges, response scores) that changes what they get: better ranking, higher prices, more trust, new privileges. People stay where their reputation lives.
- TechniqueEvidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.
Make stored value visible, and exportable
show what users have built
Show users what they have built in the product (their library, history, notes, reputation, working setups) in summaries and anniversaries, and let them export it. Visible value raises the felt cost of leaving; export keeps it a gift rather than a hostage.
Also in season
- Evidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.Alfred Effect (GT#83)visible personalization
- Evidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.Collection Sets (GT#16)themed collections
- Evidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.Chain Combos (GT#40)compounding combinations
- Evidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.Get variety from people and creationvariety that renews itself
- Evidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.Mentorship as a veteran role (GT#61)veterans who guide newcomers
Not now
- Endgame-only work while activation leaksVeterans come from new users who activate; fix the earlier leak first.
- Annual identity artifact (yearly recap)A yearly recap needs a year of history and a large base.
- Extra scarcity on an engaged baseScarcity on a base that is already engaged adds pressure, not value, and wears off fast.
How to measure it
Questions to answer first
- What do your longest-standing users do in their second year? Is there anything new for them to do?
- Do your levels or tiers give people real abilities or recognized standing, with criteria they can see?
- Do users who have built up more (content, history, connections, reputation) churn less? Compare churn across ten equal groups.
- Why do veterans stay: because of what they create and who they're with, or mainly because leaving would cost them?
- If a competitor cloned your features tomorrow, what would users lose by switching that would keep them with you?
- When does a user first notice that the product has learned their preferences or adapted to them?
- Compared with six months ago, are your veterans' sessions shorter or less frequent?
Limits
What we don’t claim
- The Hook Model is a practical design tool, not a validated or complete theory of behavior.Hooked, Introduction
- Octalysis is a practitioner framework built from observing games, not a validated scientific model.Actionable Gamification Ch.15, pp.399-400
- Seasons are defaults for the cell. Evidence from your own product can move a technique in or out of season.
- A playbook names candidate moves; which one goes first depends on the binding constraint in your product.
Sources
Hooked · Nir Eyal
Ch.5
Actionable Gamification · Yu-kai Chou
Ch.8, p.190 · Ch.8, p.182 · Ch.17, p.473
Source IDs: HK-INV16HK-INV27GT#83GT#16GT#40
Book content is paraphrased, never quoted at length. Last verified October 24, 2026.
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