01
Game speed leaves no time to think.
Players could not observe opponents or make their decision in time.
“It goes very, very, very fast, that’s true.”Cash game player, 50
CASEBetclic · B2C gaming · Online poker · Desktop
Keeping high-value players against the competition
Four design priorities locked before opening the new desktop app to a wider audience.
- Role
- Prototype testing and design priorities for v2
- Team
- Poker squad: PM, designers, developers
- Scope
- New poker desktop app, first external test
- Duration
- Sept 2024
- What I did
- Test protocol, Figma prototype review, moderated sessions on Lookback, design recommendations and prioritisation with the PM.
- found decision time too short
- 5/5
- priorities before v2
- 4
The new poker desktop app was about to open to a wider audience. Its first external users were exactly the high-stakes regulars Betclic could not afford to lose to competitors.
How I went to the field.
- 01
Protocol and recruiting
Recruited 5 high-stakes regulars (cash game, Twister, MTT), Betclic customers or not, aged 21 to 50.
- 02
Moderated sessions
Moderated 1:1 sessions on Lookback, screen and camera, on the desktop app 1.0.4: navigation, expectations, confusion, engagement.
- 03
Synthesis
Verbatims grouped by theme, then prioritised by frequency and impact.
What the field told us.
02
Multi-tabling is unmanageable without a mosaic view.
The “+” button to add a table stayed hidden without active exploration.
03
Tournament info is unreachable mid-game.
Players left, blind levels, payout structure: the same gap came up 4 times.
From evidence to screens.
- 04
Prototype review
Reviewed the Figma prototype against what experts did in the sessions: speed, multi-tabling, tournament info.
- 05
Design recommendations
Turned each friction into a design change: longer default timer, mosaic view, always-visible add-table button, tournament info at the table.
- 06
Prioritised v2
Locked 4 priorities with the PM before opening the app to a wider audience, and kept the “video game” identity players loved.
What I chose, and what it cost.
01
Longer default decision time
- Options
- Keep the fast pace · or slow the default and let experts speed up
- Trade-off
- Slightly slower tables for casual players
- Choice
- A longer default decision timer.
02
A mosaic view for multi-tabling
- Options
- Tabs · or tiled tables
- Trade-off
- Smaller tables on small screens
- Choice
- A mosaic view and an always-visible “add table” button.
03
Keep the “video game” identity
- Options
- Align on competitors’ classic look · or keep the bold visual identity
- Trade-off
- Less familiar for players coming from other rooms
- Choice
- Keep it: players saw it as a real differentiator.
Outcome
v2 was prioritised on expert players’ expectations before launch, instead of discovering these frictions after it.