SUMMARY

Caesars Entertainment Corporation collaborated with our team to create a mobile game to teach people how to play blackjack. The game lives within the Caesars Rewards mobile app.

The TEam

• UI/UX Designer (me)

• UX Designer

• Software Engineer

• Project Manager

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Caesars has been seeing a steady decline of younger players at their gambling tables. How might we teach millennials how to play so they become confident enough to approach a real table in Caesars Palace?

Goal

Create an engaging experience to increase the number of millennials going to Caesars Palace.

Research

The first step was to read the rules of the game and understand how statistic cards work. Then the real test - play at a real table! I gathered my millennial colleagues and we headed to the casino. As a non-gambler I learned a lot from this real-life experience. I was very nervous coming up to the table, but after playing for some time, I suddenly came to the realization that everyone wants you to win. (I lost all my money, but gained valuable research.)

Afterwards, we spent several lunches playing the game. I created a quick prototype with post-it notes to communicate with only taps.

Market Research

User Flow

The UX Designer on my team created map of all possible hands to make sure we cover all bases. (There was a lot more than we thought!).

Visual Language

Once everyone agreed on the flow and structure, I created the visual language using the Caesars Entertainment brand color and typeface. One interesting thing to note is that since red is their brand color, I did not want to make it feel negative.

Visual Design

I chose to go with a skeuomorphic style to simulate sitting at a real casino table. This way the user would feel more familiar and less intimidated when approaching a table.

Being ADA compliant was very important to us and the client. Since the Caesars Rewards app has over a million users, statistically some of them have some sort of disability and we wanted to be inclusive.

It was important to keep everything positive. Even when you lose, the banner graphic does not feel negative. In addition, the “Hit” button feels exciting because you are taking a risk, even if you bust.

Animations

I added animations throughout the game to make the experience more exciting mimicking the energy of a casino.

Summary

Caesars Blackjack received excellent reviews on its first round of user testing. 90% of participants said they enjoyed and would play the app. Caesars Entertainment launched the game in their Caesar’s Rewards app on February 2020 available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for phones and tablets. It ran through the end of July 2020 and had 87,000+ unique users and 290,000+ sessions in multiple countries.

What’s next?

Since the game is meant to be played on the go, I would love to create a light watch version, so you can play anywhere!