Disney Solitaire Adds Collectible Characters
Disney Solitaire has finally FINALLY added collectible Disney characters in their most recent update. But, far better, than being purely aesthetic like Disney Solitaire’s current card album feature, these characters will join players in-round and come with their own unique background and chest. I love that they are incorporating these familiar characters into the actual game play and giving players more agency in their gameplay experience- allowing them to switch up the look and feel of the board with their favorite IPs.
Unlocking New Characters
Unlocking new characters involves collecting a crystal wand currency through the player’s participation in events and or through the purchase of different shop bundles, and filling the character meter 10 times to unlock them and keep them in your game forever.
In a similar fashion to Disney Solitaire’s core gameplay loop, players add an item a scene with their character every time they fill the meter. Having players to build this scene as they progress through a mobile game can be extremely valuable as a design because it combines progression, collection, and long-term engagement into a single system.
Additionally, having this evolving scene makes long term progress more visible where it might have been distract because players need to fill 10 meters to reach the longterm goal and unlock their characters. 10 physical items filling in the platform creates a visual representation of progress. And players can immediately see what they've already completed and what remains unfinished, making progression feel more tangible and rewarding.
From a product and monetization standpoint, scene-building is a powerful tool because it converts short-term rewards (in this case the contents of the chests at the end of each meter) into long-term achievements: collecting pieces of scenery, that help to build their scene. This shift creates a stronger progression loop, improves retention, increases event participation and player delight.
To Be Continued?
When (possibly if, given the insane tuning) Shelley actually manages to unlock a character