Gamification in serious products – yay or nay?

Hey Indie Hackers! I'm Kate, working on migroot.io – a tool that simplifies collecting documents for visa applications.

We help users prep for digital nomad visas with clear to-do lists – imagine a Notion doc someone already built for you, but outside Notion and way more user-friendly.

👉 Here's a sneak peek

One feature we thought would add fun and delight: gamified side quests like
🎧 "Play an Indonesian Spotify playlist"
🍳 "Cook Spanish paella at home"

It sounded great. People on Product Hunt loved it – lots of likes, heart emojis, and comments saying "this is so cool."

But in the real world? Over 80% of paying users didn’t complete or even check off these tasks.
Lesson learned: fun shouldn’t get in the way of function. At least not when someone's trying to get through a high-stress process like visa paperwork.

We're now exploring gamification that supports the core mission – helping people relocate fast and confidently – instead of adding fluff.

Have you tried gamifying “serious” workflows? What actually worked for you?