Ludoran has game elements: points, badges, a companion character called Ludo, coins and surprise boxes of cosmetic items. Used carelessly, every one of those can turn into something we'd never want in a classroom: a slot machine, a pressure tactic, or a public ranking of who's behind.
So we wrote down the rules first. This post explains them, and why.
What the research warns about
Rewards are not automatically good for learning. A large meta-analysis by Deci, Koestner and Ryan (1999) found that tangible rewards given for doing a task can reduce people's own interest in it, particularly when the reward is expected and feels controlling (doi:10.1037/0033-2909.125.6.627). Rewards that carry information, such as feedback about how well someone did, tend to do less harm.
There's also a separate, well-publicised concern about "loot boxes" in commercial games: random rewards bought with money, designed to keep people paying. We don't think any of that belongs in education.
Our design takes both seriously. Here's what that means in practice.
1. Rewards are earned by effort, never by chance
Ludo's coins come only from things the server already records: coming to class, taking part (an answer, a tick or a vote), a capped share of the points earned in class, and a bonus for every three classes in a row. Coins are separate from class points and never affect points, scoreboards, MVPs or anything graded.
Students can spend coins on a surprise box of cosmetic items for Ludo (a hat, glasses, a colour). Chance decides which item comes out of the box. It never decides whether a student earns something.
2. When chance is involved, the odds are on the box
Every box shows its odds before it's opened. And there's a guarantee: a rare or better item turns up within six boxes, so nobody is stuck on a long run of bad luck.
3. No money, ever
There's no way to buy coins or boxes, and no trading or selling. Cosmetic items are just that: they change how Ludo looks and nothing else.
4. Nothing is taken away
Ludo never dies, never gets sad and never loses what it has. If a student stays away, its mood drifts down gently to a floor and it naps; it wakes up happy when they're back. Missing a class never takes away coins or items already earned, and students who finish a week's tasks earn a streak saver that protects their attendance streak for one missed class.
We don't send notifications built on loss ("your streak is about to break", "Ludo misses you"). Those messages work by creating anxiety, and that's not a trade we'll make.
5. Play happens between activities, not during them
Ludo's wardrobe and mini games don't open while an activity is running. They're there for the moments in between: after a student has finished a task and is waiting for others, in breaks, and outside class. A fast finisher has something calm to do inside the class instead of switching to another app, while everyone else finishes.
6. Improvement counts
Recognition shouldn't only go to the students who were already ahead. Our design gives credit for improvement measured against a student's own history, so anyone can earn it, and for helping classmates as well as for top scores. Some of these pieces are still being built; the principle guides what comes next.
7. No public shaming and no group punishment
Nobody's low rank is projected. Students see their own progress privately. In cooperative challenges, the whole class fills a shared bar, and an absent student never costs the class anything.
8. Everything can be switched off
Lecturers can turn off scoreboards and animations for their class. Students can set Ludo to sit still or hide it. Reduced-motion settings are respected.
Separate from the support signals
One last rule: the game layer and the support signals are kept apart. What Ludo wears or what came out of a box never feeds anything staff see. The early-support signal is built from teaching records (attendance and taking part), and works the same whether or not a student uses Ludo at all.
Games in class should make it easier to show up and join in, not harder to stop. If you'd like the detail, the features page covers the rest of Ludoran.