Sling Rewards: Spin & Win

Snapshot

Spin & Win was designed to give dormant users a reason to come back to Sling through a simple, repeatable rewards loop. The experience needed to feel fun and rewarding without becoming manipulative or overly complicated.

Problem

Dormant users represented a meaningful opportunity. They already knew the product, but needed a fresh reason to reopen it. Traditional loyalty mechanics risked feeling too transactional, while heavy gamification could feel off-brand.

My Role

I designed the core interaction model, reward reveal flow, progressive disclosure, and motion behavior. I worked with product and engineering partners to make the experience understandable, fast, and satisfying across platforms.

Key Decisions

Make the loop instantly legible

The spin mechanic was chosen because the interaction is immediately understood. Users do not need to learn a points economy before feeling rewarded.

Use motion to create perceived value

The timing of the spin, the anticipation, and the reward reveal mattered as much as the prize itself. Motion made the moment feel premium without adding cognitive load.

Avoid overwhelming the first visit

The design used progressive disclosure so users could understand the primary action first, then discover reward tiers and deeper mechanics over time.

Outcome

The experience awarded more than 1 million games daily, with more than 800,000 played. It created a repeatable engagement path and helped reintroduce dormant users to the product in a lightweight, enjoyable way.

Reflection

The key was restraint. A rewards system can easily become noisy. The strongest version was the one that kept the game loop clear, made feedback feel satisfying, and respected the user’s time.