Leaderboards are a feature included in most competitive games. When you go bowling, there is a leaderboard with your score. If you play Mario Kart, you will find a leaderboard at the end of the race telling you where you placed.
The intention of leaderboards is not only to see your score, but to see how you rank among other players. However, leaderboards are also there to increase player enjoyment and motivation.
Humans are naturally competitive creatures because we have had to fight to survive. Therefore, including leaderboards in games increases a player’s motivation to win, leading them to play more.
Beyond video games and recreational activities, slots are also available in online casinos. Online casinos sometimes display leaderboards that don’t always show a person’s position; instead, they show player rankings based on metrics from casino categories like live casino and sportsbooks. Also included in these displays will be stats like total wins, win amounts, and rewards earned.
Players can compare how they rank globally, but they can also see if the casino is a real money casino.
In slots, leaderboards are a bit different. In this blog, we will explore their role in slots, how they work, and why they’re important to the functionality of the game.
What Types Of Leaderboards Are There?
There are a few different types of leaderboards out there. Here are a few common ones:
- Global Leaderboards – Leaderboards that include worldwide rankings and positions.
- Tournament leaderboards – Tournament leaderboards are subject to the people who are playing in a competition. They are ranked among themselves.
Leaderboards Boost Game Engagement
The purpose of leaderboards in slots is to boost engagement. In slots, leaderboards use technology to track players in real-time. Every spin is tracked. Tournament leaderboards are the most common ones in online slots. Slot tournaments in online casinos involve players spinning the reels for points and getting ranked. These usually occur over a period of time, for a week or a day, and players try to accumulate the highest score possible to come high in the rankings.
In this case, leaderboards create a sense of friendly competition between players, even if they cannot see each other. Being able to see your ranks thanks to real-time data increases your desire to win and to keep playing. Many of these competitions have tiers, which also add dynamic gameplay elements where some advance to harder slot games with bigger prizes, and others will fall at the first hurdle.
Either way, leaderboards are dynamic and keep the competition hot!
Providing Social Interaction
Often, playing on the slots is a solo affair as each spin is completed by one person. However, leaderboards in online slots give players social interaction.
When leaderboards display the top players, they open up an opportunity for players to connect. Players can share knowledge and talk about their games. With friends, this can be fun because they can discuss strategy, previous spins, and enable friendly rivalry.
Many studies prove that players are more likely to return to games if social interaction is involved, because gaming is a hobby that fosters community, and slot providers do not want to miss out.
Leaderboards Have A Profound Psychological Impact
Leaderboards may increase dopamine through social interactions, but they also affect the brain psychologically. To start, leaderboards drive that competitive spirit that people have in games. Visually displaying rankings increases the desire to beat others, even if those people are your friends.
For some people, the appeal of playing slots with leaderboards is to receive recognition. Leaderboards reward people who come at the top of the rankings, so some players may be motivated to play the game to receive praise and notoriety for their spinning skills.
Lastly, leaderboards show clear milestones and statistics, and they help players to set goals for themselves. This may be to reach a certain number of rewards or a prize fund, with slot leaderboards, depending on what stats they display.
What Makes A Good Leaderboard?
The features and stats displayed on a leaderboard are important to players. If stats are not exciting, then gameplay will be boring.
There are a few things casinos can do to create a fun leaderboard for slot games:
- Update rankings frequently with accurate and clear-to-read stats.
- Offer multiple leaderboards if possible, and give them identifying features.
- Visually make sure players can understand the data, and make it accessible on the casino website.
- Give prizes to top performers and, if possible, include medals or badges to set players apart.
Slot Leaderboard Importance: The Takeaways
Leaderboards and their importance go beyond aesthetics. Leaderboards influence the way players behave and the strategies they apply to games. In relation to slot games, they influence every spin and bet players make, because they all have the same goal: to come top of the leaderboard.
They keep players engaged for long periods of time, and in tournaments, they let players identify themselves and give them a label. Beyond that, leaderboards foster slot communities and player interaction, as players turn what used to be a solo game into a social hub.
