Gamification Mechanic Monday: Fill in the blanks
Filling in the blanks I was first exposed to probably in school whilst learning languages, so as a game element I would say this one most people would be familiar with. It is where a …. space is left, so you can fill in the correct answer. In grammar we used to call it the dreaded gap test.
In puzzles like sudoku some of the fields may have been filled in but the rest is up to you to complete. The cryptic crossword may have blanks to fill in the instructions, before you can even guess the word they are looking for, which increases the difficulty factor.
In e-learning this technique comes up quite a bit to keep people engaged and interacting as opposed to passively clicking forward. Duolingo the language learning app extensively uses this technique to test and enhance your vocabulary. At some training seminars, I have also seen it used with a live audience where the whole group is asked to fill in the blank on the flip chart at the front.
As a technique this could also work in advertising where you ask people to fill in the blank, which can be part of your slogan, it can be used to add an element of suspense or curiosity. You can ask people to finish the sentence and the best slogan wins.
Where else have you seen this game element in action?
