Game On
Helping people confidently join casual sports games without long-term commitments.
Mobile
Strategy
Product Design
My Role
Product Designer
Brief
Design a mobile experience that helps people find and connect with others to play sports without long-term commitments.
Team
Nishchay Makkar - Product Designer
Rishabh Gupta - Product Designer
Platform
Mobile, Android
Overview
Game On explores how to make casual sports participation easier and more approachable. Through exploratory interviews, we found that the challenge wasn't only finding a game, people also hesitated when they didn't know who they would play with, where the game would happen, or what to expect.
The solution focuses on helping people discover and confidently join existing games rather than asking them to organize one. By surfacing relevant context before commitment, the experience reduces planning effort while giving players the information they need to make a more confident decision.
The Problem
People don't stop playing sports because they lose interest.
Changing schedules, relocation, and difficulty finding compatible players can make it hard to keep playing regularly.
Busy schedules
Work and changing routines make regular participation difficult.
Relocation
Moving can mean leaving behind the people and communities you used to play with.
Finding the right people
Even when someone wants to return, finding compatible players isn't always easy.
The opportunity
Make casual sports easier to return to, without asking people to commit long-term.
Research
3 conversations to understand why people hesitate to return to casual sports.
Participant 1
Recently relocated
Participant 2
College student
Participant 3
Working professional
We asked:
When did you last play?
Why did you stop?
Would you play with strangers?
What would make you trust them?
Goal:- Understand what prevents people from confidently joining a casual game.
Key Insights
People evaluate the players before they evaluate the game.
Who they're playing with can determine whether they're comfortable joining.
Returning to sports has to fit into people's routines.
Time, distance, and work-life balance influence whether a game feels practical.
People hesitate when they don't know what to expect.
Players want context around who, where, skill level, and behaviour before committing.
Confidence comes from knowing what you're joining before you join it.
How might we
How might we help people confidently join casual sports games by reducing uncertainty before they commit?
Who
Who they'll play with
What
What the game will be like
Trust
Whether the experience feels trustworthy
Exploring the Direction
Four ways to get people back into the game
Find nearby players
Direct player matching, but requires coordination.
Book a court
Solves the venue problem, but not finding players.
Create a game
Flexible and customizable, but adds decisions and planning.
Join an existing game
Lowest effort for the player, while keeping the focus on confidence before joining.
Chosen Direction:- Join an existing game
Existing games remove the planning effort, allowing the experience to focus on helping people confidently decide whether to join.
The Experience
The experience is built around one focused journey:
Discover → Evaluate → Request → Confirm
Discover
Find games happening nearby.
Evaluate
Find games happening nearby.
Request
Send a request to join.
Confirm
Get confirmation once the host approves.
Have a product to figure out?
Let's turn the next challenge into a clearer, more thoughtful digital experience.