All it took was one game play.
In 2014, when interviewing for job at a mobile gaming startup I later accepted, I was shown a prototype of a mobile arcade puzzle game that was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I knew instantly that this game, a programmer’s pet project, could put the startup and its nascent publishing division, which I would soon lead, on the map.
Four months later, Fast Finger launched worldwide with support from Apple, Google and Amazon – along with media and influencer buzz – generating 1.6M downloads in its first week and creating a global hit that helped establish BluBox Games’ reputation as a publisher for indie developers, leading to the signing of two new partner games during my tenure as Head of Publishing – a role that encompassed product development and management, app analytics, UX design, and more.
“It came already built. I just had to bring it to market.” — Me
Well, sort of.
Here’s my account of those four months from an appearance on the Connected Marketing Show in 2018.
Catalyzing a concept
In the hyper-competitive mobile gaming market, breakout moments are rare.
But, every now and then, a concept arrives with such audacious originality it upends the market. Fast Finger was just that.
The game’s core mechanic was brilliantly simple yet maddeningly complex. Players deftly darted through treacherous mazes packed with lethal gauntlets of lasers and saws in a pulse-pounding race to dominate leaderboards and claim "trails" that celebrated their nimble-fingered prowess.
In that irresistible loop of tension and triumph, I saw more than a game. I saw a catalyst for transforming a “Silicon Beach” studio from an unknown quantity into an industry disruptor. So, I carefully crafted a strategy to position the game as the headlining act in meetings I booked in Silicon Valley with gatekeepers of the world’s two biggest mobile app stores.
Here’s the studio’s pitch deck the CEO and I took with us to Cupertino and Mountain View. We also hit the Seattle metro area for good measure.
Time ticked, I delivered
As Head of Publishing, I immediately hatched a launch strategy that was multi-pronged and surgical.
Through collaboration with the game’s creator and the studio’s developers, I expedited the development process to ensure Fast Finger could soft launch as quickly as possible. Telemetry data from early adopters helped us refine the game’s core loop, level progression, monetization model, and in-app/out-of-app communications.
While a top-tier UX designer I recruited enhanced game visuals and translated them into standout creative assets, the developers and I harnessed game engine technology to bake virality into the gameplay mechanics. With Unity’s Everyplay video overlays at their fingertips, players weren't just playing — they were de facto ambassadors of the Fast Finger experience organically amplifying the game’s reach and generating buzz in gaming circles.
Innovation unleashed
Fast Finger quickly evolved into a more polished final product that representatives from Apple, Google and Amazon were signaling a desire to feature widely.
Enter a comprehensive go-to-market campaign.
My team had grown to encompass associate- to management-level chameleons responsible for product management, app analytics, customer support, community management, copywriting, product marketing, and user acquisition.
I augmented the studio’s marketing capabilities through partnerships with a boutique PR firm and burgeoning influencer talent agencies. Both quickly seized on Fast Finger’s visceral gameplay.
The game’s standout submission package assets were put to good use in paid user acquisition campaigns in soft launch territories, where community and media outreach occurred in parallel.
Stratospheric launch
With impressive featuring from the app stores and additional paid user acquisition and PR, Fast Finger was off to the races.
It eclipsed freemium casual games that are still atop the games charts to this day.
The numbers…
… blew the studio’s CEO, the game’s creator and I away.
Even my daughter, then a toddler, noticed the ranking of the I’d been play testing at home for months.
Installs
1.6 million installs in week one
Ranking
#1 puzzle game in ~60 countries
Stickiness
20% (DAU/MAU)
“If you want some quick puzzling fun, that only requires a single fingertip and some patience, give Fast Finger a try. It is a game that can be played in quick bursts, and it definitely is a game you can play with friends.”
Droid Gamers
“Fast Finger is a great time killer with loads of depth and replay value. It’s tough as nails, and it could use a few tweaks here and there, but overall it’s a solid puzzler that anyone can enjoy.”
Pocket Gamer
Lessons learned
Despite months of pre-launch optimization by the publishing team I led, KPIs showed that players were progressing faster than anticipated and not engaging with the app as deeply as hoped, thereby driving down retention.
Day Two (D2) retention was a healthy 33% on iOS and Google Play
But, by D7, retention plummeted to 5%
While rapidly iterating on the game's first-time user experience and rebalancing its levels and economy, my team made server-side tweaks to enable the immediate roll out of “Level Challenges” with custom leader boards and unique prizes awarded twice weekly, plus new “Dark Levels” (existing chapters inverted and made more difficult).
This addition re-engaged 8-10K players a day and fueled the game's 8.7% social conversion rate, the highest of any game I have managed.
Still, success was fleeting.
Insufficient post-launch content, rapid player churn and limited resources for continuous updates impacted the game’s momentum. It underscored the importance of proactive planning, especially for retention and growth strategies.
In hindsight, the experience underscored a critical lesson in mobile game publishing: achieving success is possible with precise timing and planning, but sustaining growth requires continuous adaptation and firm commitments.
Key takeaways
• Don’t leave soft launch until you’ve established a humming economy or optimal price point
• Don’t be afraid to experiment with different business models simultaneously
• Have 6-mos of content baked at worldwide launch (and gear it toward cross-promotion)
• Develop a user acquisition model based on insights and application of the 70:20:10 rule
Technologies
• Unity • Unreal • Apple and Google developer consoles • App Annie • Google Analytics • Facebook Ads • Flurry • Kontagent/UpSight • SWRVE • HasOffers/Tune • Twitter + MoPub • Kochava • Tableau • Adobe • Atlassian • Gantt