Dream11 · Casual real-money gaming
DreamPlay
A 0 to 1 build. In October 2024, Dream11 moved into casual real-money gaming: a cheaper way to bring people into Dream Sports, and something to play between cricket seasons.
- 2
- Product Designers
- 1
- Illustrator
- Me
- Head of Design
- 11
- Months · Oct '24 to Sep '25
What shipped
- 2
- Games shipped, Carrom and Ludo
- 6
- Formats
- ₹1.25 Cr+
- Daily CEA, held for weeks with no marketing
- ~20%
- Better Week-4 retention than industry norm
Chapter 01
Why build it
What made a casual games app worth building?
01 · Why Build It
Engagement fell away between cricket seasons, and every new user cost too much to acquire
DreamPlay was a set of casual games people could play all year, using the Dream11 account and wallet they already had.
The ask
- One app carrying our own games and other studios' games.
- One shared wallet, the same one they used on Dream11.
- Room to add more games, from small studios to AI-made ones.
- Short sessions, with quick payouts.
- One account. No second sign-up, with KYC and wallet carried across.
Chapter 02
What got in the way
What had to be solved first?
02 · What Got in the Way
The problems we had to solve
Core challenges
Real-money casual gaming was hard to get right, and most platforms struggled with the same install, trust and fairness problems.
App size vs. many games
Large downloads lost Indian users mid-install.
Acquisition and KYC drop-off
Sign-up and KYC cost the most and lost the most people.
- Adding games. More games, including other studios', could not be allowed to make the app bigger.
- Cheating and fraud. Real money gave people a reason to fake results.
- Matchmaking took time. Real opponents took a moment to find, and empty waits lost players.
- Patchy networks. A dropped connection while joining could leave a player stuck with money in play.
- Trust when things break. One stall or one payout a player doubted broke trust in seconds.
- Two platforms in one app. The shell ran in React Native and the games in Unity, so every handoff between them risked a stutter or an error.
Chapter 03
Getting people in
How did someone get from sign-up to a first game?
03 · Getting People In
One flow, from sign-up to first game
- Built on Dream11: KYC, wallet and profile carried across
- One step at a time: low balance, consent and download, each in place
- Straight into a game: the home led with the biggest contests
Chapter 04
Room to grow
How could we add games without growing the app?
04 · Room to Grow
Games downloaded on demand
Assets downloaded only when needed, so the install stayed small.
- We designed the failures too. In progress, taking longer, retry: every state.
- Modular assets. Each game's art was its own set, small enough to download in seconds.
- Consistent, and quick to ship. The same pieces built every game, so designs matched and partner studios shipped faster.
04 · Room to Grow
Every download state, end to end
Chapter 05
Finding a game
How did a player find the right contest, and an opponent?
05 · Finding a Game
Keeping a ready player from dropping off
05 · Finding a Game
Designing the path to play
Getting players into a game
- A live player count on every contest, so players could see others were there
- No opponent found recommended other contests rather than ending
- Pairing ran on an ELO rating, so opponents were matched on skill
- When no opponent matched the skill score, we asked the player to try again
Mega contests first
The contest lobby
Finding an opponent
Chapter 06
Keeping it fair
How did we keep results honest and money safe?
06 · Keeping It Fair
The phone reported the result. What stopped a player faking it?
The server decided every result
A dice roll or a token move played while the server checked. The animation that made a turn feel good bought the time that check needed.
When things went wrong
- Say what went wrong. Weak signal, no network, server issue: each message named the cause and the next step.
- Give the money back cleanly. When a game could not start with all opponents, we refunded immediately if the fault was not the player's.
- Fair, time-capped turns. Every turn was time-capped. A missed move passed, so no one paid for someone else's lag.
06 · Keeping It Fair
Contextual details and error states
06 · Keeping It Fair
Async scoring
Play-anytime contests
- Players finished at different times
- The leaderboard showed which games were still running
Scores still updating
Waiting on results
06 · Keeping It Fair
Error states and messaging
06 · Keeping It Fair
Handling timeouts, errors and exits
A missed turn
Leaving mid-game
Game over due to inactivity
Chapter 07
What we built
What did players actually use?
07 · What We Built
A home that changed without an app update
Home & profile
- One way into every game mode
- Mega Contests and trust markers came first, so more players joined
- Widgets pushed from the backend, no app update needed
The widget home
Profile and avatar
07 · What We Built
The happy flow
07 · What We Built
Contest lobby
- Big contests up top, then filters and sorting
- The leaderboard only opened after joining
The lobby
Before you join
07 · What We Built
Ludo, up close
- Real formats: two, three and four player
- Haptics and sound marked the moments that mattered
- Timed moves kept games moving and reduced drop-offs
- Animation kept the screen alive between turns
Head to head
Three players
Scoring and states
07 · What We Built
Win, loss and contest history
The win
The loss
Mega Contest History
Chapter 08
How it looked
What gave it its own character?
08 · How It Looked
Fresh and energetic visual identity
The brand in motion
08 · How It Looked
Typography and colour
- A bold display face, used only for titles
- A plain, highly readable face for everything players had to read
- Palette and type scale built from scratch, AA readable
Tomorrow
Titles and headlines
Inter
Body and interface
08 · How It Looked
Illustration
- Game imagery mixed with everyday objects
- Custom artwork for the key moments
- They gave the app its character.
08 · How It Looked
Game identity
- One identity, with its own art for each game.
- Assets updated from the backend
- A player downloaded only the games they played
- Scaled to every new game added
08 · How It Looked
Communication design
- The low-cost channels that brought players in
- The same identity ran through all of it
- Players arrived from home, gameplay and match states, not only the Dream Sports hub
08 · How It Looked
DreamPlay touchpoints on Dream11
Banner and bottom nav on Home
Games tab on bottom nav
Mid match upsell
Chapter 09
Where it landed
What did eleven months add up to?
09 · Where It Landed
Eleven months, kickoff to pause
