Designing Personalized Theme based Digital Games for Brands.

EquateMe is a platform that brings games like Digital Tambola, Keno, Puzzle, and Tic-Tac-Toe into the digital world, enabling fun-filled experiences for social clubs, bars & restaurants. My role was to enhance the product’s user experience and visual design, develop multiple dashboards for brands and event displays, and ensure that integrated brands and businesses gain value from these gaming events.

What we have done?

We created digital games designed to boost footfall in clubs, bars, and restaurants. These games keep guests entertained and engaged while they wait for their orders, while seamlessly integrating brand promotions throughout the experience.

User Research

Through several one-on-one interviews and observations in social clubs, we discovered a major pain point:

• Users struggled with onboarding and expressed a need for short-form games.

After engaging in multiple conversations with different brands, we also identified key pain points there:

• During events, users often didn’t feel truly connected to the brand. For larger brands, this lack of engagement and emotional connection was especially concerning.
• One major challenge was the lack of a quick and efficient way to operate the games. The brand needed a centralized dashboard to streamline control and reduce delays.

Unfortunately, the research was not formally documented at that time.

Flowchart Digital Keno & Digital Tambola

Design Decisions

Quick Onboardings

User research revealed that onboarding through the app was complicated and discouraged participation. We made key design decisions to enable quick and seamless onboarding:

• QR Codes
  We also placed tent cards and mobile stands with QR codes on event tables. Guests could simply scan the code to instantly join the games without downloading an app or going through lengthy onboarding.
• Boosted Participation
  More people joined in because the process felt natural and effortless.
• Brand Engagement
  QR cards doubled as a subtle branding space, keeping the brand visible without disrupting the gaming experience.

Login through OTP

Instead of asking for full user details during onboarding, we reduced it to just name and mobile number for keeping it quick while still capturing what’s essential for game participation.

Waiting Screen

To avoid dull idle time before games start, we added engaging waiting screens on both display dashboard and mobile. These kept players excited and offered space for brand integration without disrupting the flow.

QR Code on Display

A large, scannable QR code was placed on the main display dashboard, allowing players to instantly join the game by scanning from their phones. This made access seamless and avoided crowding around tables.

Brand Themes

One of the major challenges in digital engagement is making users feel connected to the brand while still enjoying the game. To address this, we introduced personalized digital games tailored to each brand’s identity.

Previously, we used the default EquateMe game theme across all brands..

Through the business dashboard, we can easily customize the themes according to the brand:

• Themes & Colors
• Logos & Assets
• Event-specific styles
• Promotional Banners

This solution empowers businesses to create unique experiences without disrupting the user journey. For users, it translates into a more immersive and enjoyable interaction, while brands benefit from stronger visibility, differentiation, and engagement.

Live Battles (Community-driven Games)

• Larger, interactive formats like Digital Keno and Digital Tambola.
• Hundreds of participants can join simultaneously.
• Creates excitement through competition and real-time prize opportunities.

Live game battles boost brand engagement throughout the event and extend player interaction time.

1. Tambola

Tambola is a social number game where players mark off called numbers on their tickets to complete winning patterns. It is a retro game traditionally played in social clubs.

The conventional way of playing:

• Get Your Ticket — Each player receives a ticket with random numbers.
• Listen to the Caller — Numbers are called out one by one (digitally or live).
• Mark Your Numbers — Cross off the numbers on your ticket as they are called.
• Claim Prizes — Prizes are awarded for patterns like
• Early 5 — First 5 numbers marked
• Rows — Top, middle, or bottom row completed
• Full House — All numbers on the ticket marked

How I transformed Tambola into a Digital Tambola

Mobile

• After logging in and choosing Tambola, each user automatically receives 4 tickets to start playing.
• We integrated brand banners seamlessly into the experience, ensuring visibility without disrupting gameplay.
• Once the game starts, number callouts appear on the display dashboard, and matching numbers automatically get marked off both on the main screen and on each player’s tickets.
• To make the experience more user-friendly, I designed four distinct cell styles so that players can clearly differentiate between called, uncalled, & Blinking number.

Uncalled: The numbers that have not been drawn by the host.

Called: The numbers that have been drawn by the drawee and matched on the tickets.

Calling/Blinking: : Highlighting number currently being drawn on the ticket.

During gameplay, we noticed that users often struggled to remember which prizes were still available or had already been claimed. This created unnecessary cognitive load and distracted from the fun of the game. To solve this, we introduced a dedicated ‘Prizes’ button.With a single tap, players can view all prizes in real time — clearly marked as available or claimed. This small but impactful feature reduced confusion, kept the experience seamless, and allowed users to stay focused on enjoying the game.

Display Dashboard

• On the display screen of Digital Tambola I integrate multiple promotional carousel on both side of the screen to ensure visibility without disrupting gameplay.
• To prevent users from missing out, the most recent numbers are displayed at the top of the screen, allowing players to quickly catch up without losing focus on the game.
• Users can also view the Claimed and not claimed prizes on this screen as well.

2.Keno

Keno is a lottery-style numbers game where players select numbers from a pool, hoping they match those randomly drawn.

The conventional way of playing:

• Pick numbers on a paper ticket.
• Numbers are drawn and announced live.
• Cross off the numbers on your ticket as they are called.
• Collect your winnings at the counter.

How I transformed Keno into a Digital Keno

Mobile

• After logging in and selecting Keno, players can pick 10 numbers directly on their mobile devices instead of using physical tickets.
• The game begins with the host randomly drawing numbers from the dashboard.
• Each drawn number is automatically announced and displayed on the main event screen as well as the player’s mobile.
• The player instantly sees if their chosen numbers match with the drawn ones.
• As the round progresses, system will calculate scores, players don’t have to track them manually.
• I integrate brand banners seamlessly here as well into the experience, ensuring visibility without disrupting gameplay.

Display Dashboard

• Just like in Digital Tambola, I integrate multiple brand carousels on both sides of the Keno screen as well to ensure visibility without disrupting gameplay.
• Players can track their own scores on the main screen and also see who’s leading the leaderboard in real time.
• The host can easily switch between the leaderboard and the points system on the display, ensuring players always see the most relevant screen at that moment. Explained in the next part.

Host/Brand Representative Dashboard

As discussed earlier, we found that the brand needed a faster dashboard experience, so we made key design decisions to address this.

• I keep the dashboard with one click One-click actions.
• Each stage should be triggered by one button, not multiple.
• Placed single clicks controls (Leaderboard, Points, Celebration) at the top for visibility and for faster switching during live play.
• In keno host can calculate the leaderboard through one single click.
• The host can also draw multiple numbers with a single click, without needing to perform multiple actions.
• I keep the End Game button with a smaller tap area and lower visual prominence to prevent unintended game termination.

What did we achieve?📈

In the end, the changes made a real difference. Players no longer struggled with long sign-ups or clunky interfaces — they could jump right in and enjoy the games. Hosts found it easier and faster to manage everything from the dashboard, which kept the energy of the event flowing. And the best part? More people showed up, stayed longer, and actually felt more connected with the brand while having fun.

✨ And this is just the beginning — we’ve also created short-form games designed for even faster engagement. I’ll reveal more about them in the next one.