Scaling a Sort Puzzle Game to Sustainable Profitability Across Diverse Markets

Key Performance Highlights

• 320%
  increase in d30 ROAS
  
  
• 200%+
  growth in retention-driven revenue
  
  
• 500k+
  installs across 3 continents

The Challenge:

Sort puzzle games often see early success due to their visually satisfying mechanics and low cognitive load. However, the genre is notoriously difficult to scale profitably due to high churn rates and players who rarely convert beyond ad views. In this case, a sort puzzle game had seen moderate traction with organic installs but struggled to break past breakeven in paid UA.

The goal was clear: transform a break-even casual puzzle game into a scalable, profitable title by optimizing monetization, retention, and creative performance.

The Strategy / Solution:

To unlock profitability and broaden reach, a three-phase strategy was adopted:

1. Creative Concept Engineering:
   • A new suite of playable and static creatives was built showcasing anxiety-relief themes, quick “before/after” transformations, and color-matching satisfaction loops.
   • Each asset was tailored to specific emotional triggers — like organization satisfaction, brain training, or stress relief — to match different audience segments.
   • 10–15 creatives were tested monthly, with real-time performance tracked by cohort.
2. Retention-Backed Monetization:
   • Introduced soft progression rewards (daily streaks, sorting badges) to extend d1 to d7 retention.
   • Balanced interstitials and rewarded videos based on session depth and difficulty level completion, lifting ARPU while minimizing dropoff.
   • Mid-funnel events like “Level 10 reached” were tied to ad frequency caps and optimization goals.
3. Geo-Specific Spend Allocation:
   • The UA spend was reallocated based on LTV projections, not just CPI.
   • Eastern European, LATAM, and MENA markets showed higher-than-average engagement with lower CPIs, which unlocked significant scale.
   • Lookalike audiences were segmented by top cohort behavior: completed levels, session time, and rewarded video usage.

Monetization Strategy:

• Ad-Focused Model: Primary monetization was through AdMob and Unity Ads with frequency pacing based on user sentiment data.
• Lightweight IAP Layer: Offered ad-free experience, hint packs, and undo moves. While IAP conversion was low (~1.8%), its presence enhanced perceived value and improved rewarded ad opt-ins.
• In-Game Economy Loop: Introduced optional coins for completing levels quickly or with fewer moves, which subtly gamified the experience and nudged ad views.

Results:

Conclusion:

By focusing on emotion-driven creatives, fine-tuned retention loops, and ad monetization strategies aligned with actual user behavior, the sort puzzle game broke out of its “time-killer” limitations. It became a globally scaled title with sustained profitability, even without relying heavily on in-app purchases.