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The latest State of Mobile 2025 report by Sensor Tower reveals that global user spending on mobile games hit $81 billion in 2024, reflecting a 4% year-over-year growth. Popular genres like Puzzle, Strategy, and Action games largely fueled this surge. In 2024, Simulation and Puzzle led global mobile game downloads, each capturing 20% of the total.
While mobile games continue to be highly profitable and widely popular, competition is fiercer than ever. Marketers are facing challenges in scaling cost-effectively as user acquisition costs keep rising.
Since puzzle games are one of the most competitive segments in casual mobile gaming, we have created this step-by-step guide based on a real developer's experience to help you implement proven UA strategies, increase installs, optimize ad campaign results, and maximize ROI.
🏆 Real Success Story
A well-known game company with over 100 million users gained a 48X increase in installs and a 2X boost in D7 ROAS after promoting its puzzle game apps in the European and North American markets. These results were achieved by implementing the same optimization strategies we'll dive into next.
🎯 Start with a Cost-Per-Install (CPI) Model for Early Testing
Before scaling a large UA campaign, start with a CPI (Cost-Per-Install) model to gather valuable performance data.
Best Practices:
→ Allocate a daily test budget(like 500 USD) for at least 1–2 weeks.
→ Run A/B tests on ad creatives, messaging, and targeting.
→ Use different ad formats (e.g., video ads, playable ads, rewarded ads) to test engagement results.
This approach helps:
✅ Identify high-performing ad creatives.
✅ Analyze audience response and engagement trends.
✅ Determine the best-performing ad placements and geographies.
✅ Train ad algorithms—Machine learning needs time to identify the right audience and the most effective content.
🎯 Switch to ROAS Model for Profitable Growth
After gathering enough data from the CPI phase, shift to a ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) model. This lets ad algorithms target revenue-generating users, not just installs.
Key Steps:
→ Set D7 ROAS benchmarks (e.g., aim for 30%+ return within 7 days).
→ Focus on audiences with high retention and in-app purchases.
→ Use lookalike audiences based on your best-performing users.
🎯 Optimize Creatives for Higher Engagement and Retention
High-quality ad creatives play a crucial role in user acquisition success. Based on thousands of puzzle and casual game ad tests, the best-performing creatives usually:
→ Highlight instant gameplay within the first 3 seconds.
→ Use interactive elements, such as playable ads.
→ Feature clear CTA buttons (e.g., “Play Now” instead of generic phrases like “Download”).
Pro Tip:
→ Use localization to optimize creatives for different markets, as user preferences vary across regions.
📈 Start Scaling Your Casual Game Now
BIGO Ads is a leading mobile advertising platform that helps clients scale efficiently with data-driven targeting, high-impact creatives, and ROAS-optimized campaigns. As a one-stop platform, BIGO Ads offers real-time in-app bidding and waterfall to help developers maximize their app revenue as well. Developers could use the revenue to reinvest in user growth. This leads to sustainable growth in the long term.
Ready to take your casual game to the next level? Contact BIGO Ads today to explore customized user acquisition strategies and unlock new growth opportunities!
