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6 weeks
Senior UX Designer
PM, Data Scientist, UI Artist, Engineering
More Moves Flow
Farm Heroes Saga is a legacy match-3 puzzle game with over 5 million DAUs. I was tasked with improving the More Moves Flow, the game’s highest-grossing monetisation point, where players can buy extra moves to finish a level.
Daily Active Players
Daily Revenue
Game Rounds
After analysing analytics data, sieving through the research library and collaborating with the team, we identified several critical issues:
of players do not purchase the More Moves offer.
of impressions result in a More Moves Click.
of players who enter the store, leave without purchasing.
Net result: Just 0.8% of all impressions lead to a successful More Moves checkout.
I conducted a multi-faceted research approach to understand user behaviour and pain points:
We conducted 10 user interviews to understand the underlying reasons behind player behaviour in the More Moves flow.
We sent an in-game survey to quantify insights gathered from the in-depth user interviews.
Decision happens late: The choice to purchase More Moves is typically made in the final few moves of a level.
Win assurance drives purchases: Players are more likely to buy when they believe the extra moves will guarantee a win.
Moves offered influence action: Players assess how many moves are offered and only proceed if they believe it’s enough to win.
Lack of gold is a blocker: Many players don’t buy because they simply don’t have enough gold bars.
Mid-to-low spender mindset: Some players treat small purchases (e.g., $1.99) as guilt-free daily indulgences, similar to buying a coffee or snack.
High spender mindset: These players buy most offers, knowing they’ll need the items eventually and don’t want to miss out.
I know if I’m going to purchase more moves when I have 1 move left, I usually take a pause and calculate if I can win or not.
Interview Participant #7
I analysed 6 competing free-to-play games to identify best practices and opportunities:
Competitive More Moves research
Farm Heroes Saga
Toon Blast
Royal Match
Cookie-Cutter
Match Villas
Central focus: The middle of the screen highlights how many moves the player will receive
Side-by-side options: Ad-enabled players are shown paid and ad-based options on one level.
Efficient use of space: Top and bottom areas display supporting information (e.g., timers, offers, or game context).
The redesign of the More Moves Flow was A/B tested and fully rolled out February 2025 with impressive results
of players buying more moves offer
of impressions result in a More Moves Click.
gross bookings
Game rounds increased by 6%
Daily paying active users increased by 3%
Conversions increase by 15%
Based on our research, I developed a comprehensive redesign strategy focusing on four key areas:
Work with level designers to make sure players often run out of moves just a few steps from winning. This increases the chance they’ll see value in buying More Moves and feel motivated to make a purchase.
Use the player's spend data to surface relevant offers on the More Moves screen. If a player is low on gold bars, they can purchase more directly without visiting the store. This shortens the funnel and decreases drop-off opportunities.
We redesigned the screen to match industry standards and support player decision-making by highlighting the number of extra moves, displaying ad and gold options side by side for eligible players, and aligning the visual style with the rest of the game.
I created wireframes to explore a variety of different options, focusing on the UI modernisation so that we can leverage contextual offers.
Before: Multiple inconsistent rewards screen, After: One rewards screen template
After several iterations based on internal feedback, I developed interactive prototypes for user testing.
I conducted two rounds of usability testing with the prototypes:
Clearer layout with central move count improved user understanding and engagement
4/5 assumed the offer was the same regardless of context, reducing urgency to engage
Animations were slow, and cumbersome, as players waited to take an action
3/5 players didn’t notice their gold bar count until scanning the page more thoroughly
5/5 responded positively to contextual offers tied to near-wins and treat
5/5 player notice the gold bar count quickly
Animations were received positively described as ‘quick’ and ‘snappy’
Collaborated with Level Designers and Data Scientists to adjust difficulty and increase the likelihood of “almost won” scenarios, tapping into players’ motivation to finish what they started.
Balanced levels to create close-win moments, boosting win likelihood perception
Increased frequency of near-wins from 5% to 30%
Reduced retries on hard levels by rebalancing move distributions
Simplified and modernised the UI to streamline purchasing and reduce friction for both ad watchers and spenders.
Before: Multiple inconsistent widget design
After: Modular widget system
Introduced side-by-side options for ads and gold (for eligible players)
Designed a modular system for future A/B testing and customisation
Introduced visual consistency with the rest of the game’s art direction
Centralised the number of moves for immediate clarity
Condensed purchase flow from 7 steps to 5 for gold purchases
Condensed ad flow from 4 steps to 3
Implemented a rule-based logic system that triggers the most relevant offer based on player context, such as streak status, retry count, or event engagement.
Dynamic offer targeting during the final moves of a level
Highlighted win assurance through visual cues and copy
Boosted visibility of high-performing streak events
This project reinforced several important UX principles and provided valuable insights.
Players decide whether to buy extra moves much sooner than we expected. This insight shifted our entire design strategy to focus on level and the first more moves screen.
Players are used to familiar UI conventions from other games. Aligning with these standards reduces friction and keeps our experience competitive.
Offers were more effective when shown only as players were running low on gold bars.
For players with enough gold bars, the next opportunity is to explore how we can make them spend their gold bars more quickly, leading to more frequent purchases. Potential approaches include:
Instead of showing real-money offers when the player isn’t ready to buy, prompt them to spend their gold bars more quickly. This increases the chances they’ll be ready to make a real-money purchase the next time they see one.
Design System Case Study