> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.lobyco.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Create a game > Build a game inside a campaign, one tab of the form at a time, from an empty form to published. A game gives customers a reason to open the app, with a chance to win a reward. This page takes you from an empty game form to a published game. > [!NOTE] > > Before you start, publish the gameplay in **Gameplay design** and copy its **Live URL**. The gameplay is what customers play. [Design a game](/business-documentation/activities/games/design-a-game) explains how. ## Add a game to your campaign 1. Go to **Campaigns** and open the campaign, or [create a new one](/business-documentation/campaigns/create-a-campaign). 2. Select **Add activity**. 3. Select the **Game** tile, then **From scratch**. To start from a saved game, select **From template** instead. See [Reuse with templates](/business-documentation/campaigns/reuse-with-templates). If you see **Games** under **Toolbox** in the left menu, it only lists older games. You can't create or change games there. The game opens on its **Details** tab. The form there has four tabs. In order, they're **Activity details**, **Reward settings**, **Activity behaviour** and **Segmentation**. If Lobyco has switched it on for your portal, a **Game layout** tab also shows, between **Activity behaviour** and **Segmentation**. The steps below go through the tabs in that order. A tab's number turns red while something on it still needs filling in, and turns into a tick once the tab is complete. ![The Create Game form as it opens from a campaign, on its Details tab, on a portal where Game layout is switched on. A form without Game layout has four tabs, and Segmentation is number 4. Here five numbered tabs run across the top in this order: 1 Activity details, which is open and has a red number, then 2 Reward settings, 3 Activity behaviour, 4 Game layout and 5 Segmentation. The Add activity details panel shows Name empty, Start date 2026/10/14 00:00 and End date 2026/12/31 23:00 filled in from the campaign's dates, Game priority empty, and Assign a tag showing Choose tag(s). The Change activity mode panel starts below it. At the bottom are Cancel, and Save and Publish, which are both greyed out.](https://mintcdn.com/lobyco-4c9fb3ad/rG971_5ZfS49bcjM/images/games-01-game-form-as-it-opens.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=rG971_5ZfS49bcjM\&q=85\&s=9f9f3f51474277b9c82a9f0317cf2417) *The game form as it opens, on Activity details, with the Game layout tab switched on* ## Fill in Activity details | Field | What it does | | - | - | | **Name** | Names the game in Lobyco Nexus, in up to 64 characters. It doesn't have to be unique. | | **Start date** | When customers can start to play. It starts out as the campaign's start date, which also shows under the field. It can't be in the past, and you can't change it once the game is live. | | **End date** | When customers can no longer play. It starts out as the campaign's end date, which also shows under the field. Both dates have to fit inside the campaign's dates, and inside the gameplay's period in **Gameplay design**. | | **Game priority** | Decides which game the app shows first when several are live. **1** is the highest. On a tie, the game that starts first comes first. | | **Assign a tag** | Optional. Groups the game with other content in the app. You can pick more than one tag. Your app decides what each tag does. This row only shows where Lobyco has set up tags. | **Silent Stop**, under **Change activity mode**, lets customers keep playing while nobody wins. Use it for a short while to fix a problem with the rewards, such as a prize that has run out. Starting the game from a block on the canvas? See [Games started by a block](#games-started-by-a-block). ## Choose the rewards Open **Reward settings**. **None** is selected to start with, so the game gives out nothing through Lobyco. Keep it only when your own system hands out the prizes. The game still decides who wins. Otherwise, select **Add reward** and tick one or more reward types. | Reward type | What the winner gets | | - | - | | **Coupon reward** | A coupon in the app, from a **Game** offer. See [Offer types](/business-documentation/activities/offers/offer-types). | | **Bonus reward** | Bonus added to their balance. | | **Custom reward** | A prize you deliver yourself, such as by post. Look up each winner's name and address in **[Find a customer](/business-documentation/self-service/find-a-customer#check-their-details-on-overview)**. You find the winners on the **[Statistics](/business-documentation/measure/activity-statistics#game-statistics)** tab, or the **[Lottery](/business-documentation/activities/games/draw-lottery-winners)** tab for a lottery game. | You can mix them. Each win gets a reward picked at random, and a reward with more items left is more likely to be picked. A game with several rewards needs a winning screen for each one in its gameplay. [Show each winner the right reward](/business-documentation/activities/games/design-a-game#show-each-winner-the-right-reward) explains how. ### Fill in the reward tables **Coupon reward** lists the published **Game** offers whose dates cover the whole game. Each row shows the offer's name, its ID and the chains where the coupon can be used. Tick each coupon you want, and set its **Max. rewards**, how many the game can give out. **Usage** shows how many have been given out and how many are left. * **Match the offer to the game.** The offer has to run for the game's dates plus the days winners get to redeem. A game from 1 to 7 February with 3 redemption days needs an offer that runs to at least 10 February. See [Set how long winners have to use the reward](#set-how-long-winners-have-to-use-the-reward). * **Use each offer in one game only.** If two games use the same offer, they share its coupons and its **Usage** count. * **Plan for a surplus.** **Max. rewards** counts coupons given out, not coupons redeemed. Not every winner redeems, so set **Max. rewards** higher than the number of coupons you expect to be redeemed. **Bonus reward** and **Custom reward** each add a table where a row is one prize. Give each row a **Name** and a **Max. rewards**. A bonus row also needs a **Bonus value**, the amount of bonus the winner gets. Select **Add reward** under the table to add a row, or the bin icon to remove one. The **Id** fills in when you save the game. The gameplay uses it to tell the rewards apart. **Sponsor**, under the bonus table, is optional. It records who pays for the bonus, for your accounting. It doesn't change what the winner gets. ![The Reward settings tab of the Create Game form, with Add reward selected and Coupon reward, Bonus reward and Custom reward all ticked. None is not selected. The Coupon reward table lists published Game offers under the columns Name, Id, Chain, Max. rewards, Usage, Period and Boost chances, each row with a tick box. It has four rows: AQA for free (Id 1, chain 55), non activated game offer (Id 338), GameRewardPreactivated (Id 318) and GameRewardNotPreactivatedMMT (Id 319). The last three can be used in chains such as SuperTasty and BreadPitt. Only GameRewardPreactivated is ticked and highlighted, with Max. rewards 10000, Usage 87 / 9913 left, Period 2026/04/17 11:20 to 2027/12/29 23:00 and an active pencil icon. On the three unticked rows, Max. rewards, the pencil icon and the Boost chances switch are greyed out. The Bonus reward table has one row: Name 50 bonus points, Id empty, Bonus value 50, Max. rewards 100, Usage 0 / 100 left, and Period 2026/10/14 00:00 to 2026/12/31 23:00 with a pencil icon, then a Boost chances switch that is off and a bin icon. Add reward sits under the table, and an empty Sponsor dropdown under that. The Custom reward table has one row: Name Cinema tickets, Id empty, Max. rewards 10, Usage 0 / 10 left, the same period, a Boost chances switch that is off and a bin icon, then Add reward. At the bottom, the Redemption panel has Redemption expire date and Validity period of redemption, both empty, with OR between them.](https://mintcdn.com/lobyco-4c9fb3ad/rG971_5ZfS49bcjM/images/games-02-reward-settings-three-reward-types.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=rG971_5ZfS49bcjM\&q=85\&s=bbd659259861c3e758aafffd0e2c357f) *Reward settings with all three reward types ticked* ### Set when each reward can be won Every reward has a **Period**, the time when it can be won. A coupon's period starts out as its offer's dates. A bonus or custom reward's period starts out as the game's dates. To shorten it, select the pencil icon in **Period** and pick dates inside the game's dates. **Reset** puts the original period back. Once every reward has reached its **Max. rewards**, customers can still play, but every play loses. You can raise **Max. rewards** while the game is running, for example to add prizes a supplier has funded. To spread the prizes over the game, give each reward its own **Period**. At every moment of the game, at least one reward has to be available. If there's a gap, a red bar under the tabs shows the dates with no reward. You can save, but you can't publish until you close the gap. ### Boost a reward This step is optional. Every row in the three reward tables has a **Boost chances** switch. On a coupon row, the switch only works once you've ticked the coupon. Turn it on for a reward you don't want left over, such as a few big prizes. A boosted reward gets more likely to be picked as its period goes on. In its last hour, or the last 5% of its period if that's longer, it's picked before any other reward. If several rewards are boosted, they share that final stretch, and the one with more items left is more likely to go first. A boosted reward isn't guaranteed to be given out. That depends on the game's length, how many customers play, the win rate and the other boosted rewards, so a big prize can still be left over. Boosting changes which reward a winner gets, not how often customers win. It only makes a difference when some rewards are boosted and others aren't. If you boost them all, they're picked as if none were boosted. ### Set how long winners have to use the reward For coupon and bonus rewards, the **Redemption** panel sets when the reward expires. You can fill in only one of its two fields. * **Redemption expire date** is the date the reward expires. It has to be on or after the game's end date. * **Validity period of redemption** is how many days the customer has to use the reward after they win it. For a coupon, neither can go past the end of its offer. ## Set how the game plays Open **Activity behaviour** and fill in the **Gameplay** panel. | Field | What it does | | - | - | | **Daily game** | Marks the game as a Daily Game, which the app shows differently from other games. Its extra settings are in a separate portal, outside Nexus. Leave it unticked for any other game. This checkbox only shows where Lobyco has set up Daily Games. | | **Game URL** | Links the game to its gameplay. Paste the gameplay's **Live URL**, which you copy in **Gameplay design**. It has to start with `https://`. | | **Attempts per day** | Sets how many times a customer can play in one day, up to **Total attempts**. For example, a 5-day game where customers can play 15 times, spread evenly, needs **3**. | | **Total attempts** | Sets how many times a customer can play over the whole game. For example, a 5-day game with 2 plays a day needs **10**. | Under it, **Winner draw** decides how winners are picked. To start with, customers find out straight away whether they've won, and you set two fields. | Field | What it does | | - | - | | **Allowed wins** | Sets how many times one customer can win over the whole game. Once a customer has used them up, the game no longer shows for them in the app, even when they have attempts left. For a game customers can be given again, such as a repeat buy-and-win, see the warning under [Games started by a block](#games-started-by-a-block). | | **Win rate** | Sets how many plays there are for each win, on average. With **6**, about one play in six wins. It's not an exact count, so wins won't land on exactly every sixth play. With **1**, every play wins until the rewards run out. You can change it while the game is running, and the new rate applies as soon as you save. If too many rewards go out, raise it. | Wins can come in a row, or a long gap can pass between them. Tell customers in the gameplay that winning is down to chance. A win only counts once the customer finishes the play in the gameplay. If they win a reward and leave before finishing, they can pick the same play up again that day. From the next day the win is gone, and the unfinished play doesn't use up one of their attempts. Make the gameplay show a clear finish, so customers don't leave before it. To draw the winners after the game ends instead, tick **Enable lottery draw (not recommended for luck-based games)**. **Allowed wins** and **Win rate** then go away. You can't switch the lottery on or off once the game has started. In a lottery game, every finished play is an entry in the draw. [Who can win](/business-documentation/activities/games/draw-lottery-winners#who-can-win) explains how that works for [luck games](/business-documentation/activities/games/types-of-games#luck-games), which is why the lottery isn't recommended for them. Tell customers in the gameplay that the winners are drawn later. You draw them on the game's **Lottery** tab once the game ends, as [Draw lottery winners](/business-documentation/activities/games/draw-lottery-winners) explains. ## Add the game's image This step only applies if your form has a **Game layout** tab. Open it. **Image** is optional. It's the picture on the game's card in the app. A game made from a template keeps the template's image. Choose **Image** to upload a .png or .jpg file of up to 2 MB, or **URL** to paste a link to one. The app may crop the image, so keep the important part in the middle and text away from the edges. Use the highest resolution you have. ## Choose who can play Open **Segmentation**. **All members** lets every customer play, and is selected to start with. To limit the game, choose **Target only selected segments**, then one of these: * **Select Audience** picks saved audiences. Use **Select from list** to pick one, or **Create new audience** to make one. The list only shows audiences whose **Destination(s)** include games. You build audiences in [Audiences & Data](/business-documentation/audiences-and-data). * **Select Snapshots** picks a snapshot instead. A snapshot is a copy of an audience at one moment, so its customers don't change. Pick one when the players have to stay the same for the whole game. A triggered game shows a third option, **Triggered**, and it's locked. The block that connects into the game decides who gets it. You can change who can play while the game is live, to widen or narrow its audience. A triggered game stays triggered. ## Games started by a block A **Game** block on the campaign's [Orchestration canvas](/business-documentation/campaigns/orchestration-canvas) opens the same form. A game is *triggered* when another block, such as a segment or a **Delay**, connects into its **Game** block. Each customer that block passes on gets a play. [Block reference](/business-documentation/campaigns/orchestration-canvas/block-reference) shows which blocks can connect. To make one, start on the canvas instead of with **Add activity**. Connect the block before you first save. After that, connecting or removing a block doesn't change whether the game is triggered. To start the game from outside Lobyco, such as from your CRM, add an [Inbound API block](/business-documentation/campaigns/orchestration-canvas/block-reference#inbound-api) to the canvas. A triggered game has an **Add triggered details** panel on this tab: * **Validity period of game** is how many days a customer has to use a play. Leave it empty to give them until the game ends. * **Time between games issued** and **Specify timeframe** set how long before the same customer can get another play. Enter a number, then pick **Day(s)**, **Week(s)**, **Month(s)** or **Year(s)**. For example, a segment that runs every night picks the same customer every night. To give them the game at most once a month, set **Time between games issued** to **1** and **Specify timeframe** to **Month(s)**. > [!WARNING] > > If a customer can be given the game more than once, set **Total attempts** and **Allowed wins** on **Activity behaviour** above **1**. Otherwise a customer who qualifies again gets nothing. ## Save or publish the game * **Save** keeps the game as a draft. It needs a name and its dates. * **Publish** needs a tick on every tab and no gap in the reward periods. Select **Publish** again to confirm. The game goes live straight away, or on its start date if that's later. You'll know it worked when it shows in the campaign's activity list as **Active**, or **Scheduled** until it starts. Once the game is saved, a **Statistics** tab shows beside **Details**. [Game statistics](/business-documentation/measure/activity-statistics#game-statistics) explains it. A lottery game also gets a **Lottery** tab once it ends. ## Test before customers play Test a new game before you open it to everyone, and check what happens when a customer wins and when they lose. 1. On **Segmentation**, limit the game to an audience of test customers. [Choose who can play](#choose-who-can-play) explains how. 2. On **Activity behaviour**, set **Win rate** to **2**, so about every second play wins. Set **Allowed wins** above **1**, so a test customer who wins still sees the game and can lose next. 3. Select **Publish**. The game goes live for the test audience straight away. 4. In the app, signed in as a test customer, play the game several times. The first few plays can all lose before wins even out, so keep playing before you decide something is wrong. 5. Test wins use up **Max. rewards**, and the coupons behind them. Raise **Max. rewards** again, set the real **Win rate**, put **Allowed wins** back, and widen who can play. ## Troubleshooting > **Why is a coupon missing from the coupon list?** > > Check that the offer is a published **Game** offer, and that its dates cover the game's from start to end. The list stays empty until the game has both dates. > **Why is there no Game layout tab?** > > Lobyco switches **Game layout** on per portal. It lets you add a picture to the game's card in the app. Contact Lobyco support and ask them to switch it on for your portal. > **Why is Publish greyed out?** > > Look for a tab whose number is red. If every tab has a tick, look for a red bar under the tabs about a gap in the reward periods. [Set when each reward can be won](#set-when-each-reward-can-be-won) explains how to close it. > **Why does the game show a red bar about its URL?** > > The **Game URL** on **Activity behaviour** doesn't match a gameplay in **Gameplay design**. In Gameplay design, copy the gameplay's **Live URL** again. Paste it into **Game URL**, and save the game. > **Why does the game show a red bar about its dates?** > > The gameplay's period in **Gameplay design** is shorter than the game's dates. [Set the game period](/business-documentation/activities/games/design-a-game#set-the-game-period) explains how to change it. The bar doesn't stop you publishing, so fix it before the game starts. ## Related * [Design a game](/business-documentation/activities/games/design-a-game) — design the gameplay, and get the link this form needs. * [Draw lottery winners](/business-documentation/activities/games/draw-lottery-winners) — pick the winners of a game with the lottery draw on. * [Game statistics](/business-documentation/measure/activity-statistics#game-statistics) — what the Statistics tab shows for a game. * [Offer types](/business-documentation/activities/offers/offer-types) — what a **Game** offer is, and how its coupons reach customers. * [Reuse with templates](/business-documentation/campaigns/reuse-with-templates) — start a new game from a saved one. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.