Why are people more excited about playing a game than doing a chore? The short answer is that games are fun. This feeling of fun can be broken down into several game mechanics. Gamification involves applying these mechanics to your product:

• Meaningful choices: Seeing that their actions determine the outcome makes people more engaged. Show users that their actions matter. For example, allow them to exchange points they earn by taking language lessons for extra lives.
• Progression: Gradual development gives users a sense of growth. Show users how far they've come and how many steps they need to take to reach their goal.
• Social interactions: Games often involve communication with others, and people are social creatures. Allow users to share and team up with other people.
• Habits: Games consist of repeatable actions, and repetition creates habits. Encourage users to repeat actions: check messages, post pictures, or take a language lesson every day.^[1]
• Urgent optimism: All games can be won, so failure is only temporary (unless it's the game of thrones). Aspire to evoke this feeling in your product's users.^[2]