New Player retention rates

[Melichor]

I was curious if anyone had a statistic as to how often a new player will actually stick to games they joined. I am sure many (if not all) of you have had games that have been taken up by "?s" who join games then forget that this site ever existed. I would go so much as to say 75% of them will deadbeat. So is there a way that new players can be retained?

[TheFissk]

So is there a way that new players can be retained?

not without serious changes to the website.
people want a game they can come play for 20mins then leave for a week or forever...
but they also don't want a game that they have to constantly mind which is what it is now but without the first option they aren't willing to stick around.

and of course their are the masses that come thinking they will be playing a bunch of AI's and are disgusted that this causes them to have a "social life"

[Dukasaur]

No matter how you design a game, most people will try it and decide it's not for them. I can't think of any game that a majority of first-time users stick with in the long run. Everybody likes different things, and that's just something you have to live with.

[SirSebstar]

I was curious if anyone had a statistic as to how often a new player will actually stick to games they joined. I am sure many (if not all) of you have had games that have been taken up by "?s" who join games then forget that this site ever existed. I would go so much as to say 75% of them will deadbeat. So is there a way that new players can be retained?

there are several proposals in the suggestions forums.Some rejected, some in the works, some in limbo.
No matter what you do, some will be put off by it.
if you have a suggestion, good or bad, you can always post it in suggestions

[natty dread]

You can just play games with 6 or more players, as new recruits won't be able to see those. Some maps are also restricted so that new recruits won't see them, there should be a list somewhere.

[TheFissk]

there are several proposals in the suggestions forums.Some rejected, some in the works, some in limbo.

i do believe the proper way to word this would be:
Lots rejected, some in the works, Most in limbo.

[SirSebstar]

that does not add up, but try to keep a slightly less depressing outlook will you, there are plenty of new updates comming out. Its not like every single suggestion is cast aside, but those that are ready to implement with code and all have already been implemented.

[greenoaks]

You can just play games with 6 or more players, as new recruits won't be able to see those. Some maps are also restricted so that new recruits won't see them, there should be a list somewhere.

as of October 19, 2010 the list of maps that new recruits can play were

Spoiler

2010 World Cup (Limited Edition)
Africa
American Civil War
Ancient Greece
Archipelago
Arctic
Asia
Australia
British Isles
Cairns Coral Coast
Canada
Caribbean Islands
Charleston
Classic
Eastern Hemisphere
Egypt: Upper
England
Europa
Europe
Europe 1914
France
Germany
Great Lakes
Greater China
Greenland
Halloween Hollows
High Seas
Holy Roman Empire
Hong Kong
Iberia
Iceland
Indochina
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malta
Middle East
Midgard
Midkemdil
Mongol Empire
Montreal
Netherlands
North America
NYC
Peloponnesian War
Philippines
Poison Rome
Portugal
Puget Sound
Saint Patricks Day (Limited Edition)
San Francisco
Scotland
South America
Sydney Metro
Texan Wars
U.S. Senate
USA
USA Rockies
USA Southwest
USA West
Vancouver
World 2.1
WWII Eastern Front
WWII Iwo Jima
WWII Western Front

everything else they are not able to play.

[Augustus Maximus]

As a relative new comer to the site, I'll pipe in on this topic. The number of maps you can play is fine, and the basics are easy enough to grasp. The explanations of the options are decent as are the rest of the instructions of game play. There are always questions when one first starts playing a game, but most are answered by the time you are no longer a Rookie. Most of these questions I had, concerned some of the special rules on certain maps, but I eventually figured those out on my own. However that is area perhaps that the instructions could be expanded on.

The three biggest things that almost had me never coming back are:
1) The insulting rudeness of some of the mid-ranking players, especially when it is your first time playing a map. Fortunately I have a thick skin.
2) Getting absolutely pummelled by mid-ranking players when you first start. I didn't see it as unfair, but many would.
3) The absolutely insane results of some battles. Fortunately the first time it happened, one of my opponents suffered from it. He lost massive amounts of troops, in-spite of my ineptness.

None of these can necessarily be fixed, but perhaps ameliorated for new players.

[SirSebstar]

1) There is a the option to foe people. Rudeness is not something that can be helped, we do moderate for bigotry though.
2) it happens, some maps require more thought then others
3) randomness does not equal insane. Although for many it does. Sometimes you will just loose that 200-2. With billions upon billions of dicerollls, this is an inevitiably.

[Agent 86]

Sometimes you will just loose that 200-2. With billions upon billions of dicerollls, this is an inevitiably.

Oh dear, how right you are.. the problem is STREAKY, yes STREAKY...no where close to real dice. Something is completely wrong with the dice algorithms. Random dot org is about as random as rolling a die with 6 1's on it against a die with 6 6's on it and coming up with the stats this site does..

[ljex]

No matter how you design a game, most people will try it and decide it's not for them. I can't think of any game that a majority of first-time users stick with in the long run. Everybody likes different things, and that's just something you have to live with.

i would say that is only true for online gaming sites and less so for most other games...but still no matter what cc does they are going to have low retention rates. I know when i first signed up it was to see if i could play fast games but that failed and i didnt come back till a friend introduced me.

[zimmah]

No matter how you design a game, most people will try it and decide it's not for them. I can't think of any game that a majority of first-time users stick with in the long run. Everybody likes different things, and that's just something you have to live with.

i would say that is only true for online gaming sites and less so for most other games...but still no matter what cc does they are going to have low retention rates. I know when i first signed up it was to see if i could play fast games but that failed and i didnt come back till a friend introduced me.

it's even somewhat true for board games, how many board games can you name that really everyone you know likes to play, and likes to keep playing year after year?

there's not that many.

[drunkmunky]

Monopoly...erm...yeah...Chess? Draughts?

[Dibbun]

The three biggest things that almost had me never coming back are:
1) The insulting rudeness of some of the mid-ranking players, especially when it is your first time playing a map. Fortunately I have a thick skin.

Did you screw up an assassin game? That's really the only thing that has made me bite a noob on their wall, because there are a lot of points at stake in an assassin game and one inept player out of 8 can completely throw the game.

[Augustus Maximus]

The three biggest things that almost had me never coming back are:
1) The insulting rudeness of some of the mid-ranking players, especially when it is your first time playing a map. Fortunately I have a thick skin.

Did you screw up an assassin game? That's really the only thing that has made me bite a noob on their wall, because there are a lot of points at stake in an assassin game and one inept player out of 8 can completely throw the game.

Nope, they were Standard, one was flat rate, the other was also my first escalating game.