TL;DR: A two-phase web game that drives people to explore your website, tests their memory, and rewards winners with a prize. Ready to embed now - just needs backend for the reward system.
A simple, engaging game that lives on your website. Two phases:
Phase 1: Trivia - 5 questions about Santa's Wonderland Nights. Players need 4/5 correct to continue. The questions reference specific details from the website (number of rooms, activity names, etc.), so people actually have to look around your site to answer them.
Phase 2: Santa Says - Classic Simon Says memory game. Watch the pattern, repeat it. Each round adds one more button. It gets surprisingly hard around round 15-20.
If someone reaches Round 10, they can enter their email to claim a reward. The reward gets emailed to them - we don't show it on screen (prevents screenshot sharing).
What Does It Look Like?
Click "Play the Game" above to try it yourself. The dev version has cheat buttons so you can skip around and test different states without actually playing through.
The game has no header - it's designed to embed into your page where you can add your own title/context above it via your theme.
What's Needed to Launch?
Task
Who
Effort
Embed the game on a page
Web team
5 min
Add backend for discount codes
Web team
1-2 hours
Connect codes to your ticket system
Web team + you
Varies
The backend validates that people actually played (timing checks, anti-cheat), generates unique codes, and emails them. Example PHP code is included.
If you give me WordPress access, I can implement the backend myself - should take about an hour. Just let me know.
What Could Be Added Later?
Leaderboard 3-4 hours
Show top scores so people compete. Would need to decide: anonymous or names? Reset daily/weekly? How to prevent spam entries?
Question for you: Do you want a leaderboard? It adds competition but also complexity. My recommendation is skip it for launch - the email capture already tells you engagement levels.
Social Sharing 8-16 hours
Right now, players can download a certificate image and share it manually. "Proper" social sharing (click to share on Facebook/Twitter with pre-filled text) requires API integrations and meta tags.
Question for you: How important is social virality? The manual download/share works fine. If this takes off organically, we can add proper sharing later. There's also a balance - do you want random internet people playing, or is this more for local engagement?
Mini Arcade Many hours
We could create simplified web versions of other games from the event - a whole preview arcade. But there's a tradeoff: we don't want to give away all the magic before people come. The physical experience should feel new and special.
Question for you: Is one preview game enough? Or would a few more drive ticket sales? We could do 2-3 simpler ones without revealing too much.
Anti-Cheat
Since we're giving away real money ($5 codes), the game has protections:
Timing validation - can't reach round 10 in under 12 seconds (physically impossible)
One code per email address
Play token with encrypted timing data
Codes are emailed, not shown on screen
Determined cheaters can always find a way, but this stops casual exploitation.
For Your Web Team
The technical integration guide with code examples is here:
Free drink - Could be a free hot cocoa or mocktail at the event
Prize wheel - They spin a wheel on-screen for one of several prizes (5% off, free drink, small souvenir, etc.) - adds excitement but more complex
Question for you: What kind of reward makes sense? The discount code is easiest to implement, but a free drink might feel more special without actually costing much.
Questions / Feedback
Let me know what you think:
Is the difficulty right? (Round 10 is achievable - maybe 30-50% of players)