Gamification, or ludification, is defined as the use of certain techniques from games to make everyday tasks seem a bit less daunting and a bit more fun. It’s used in all kinds of different fields, although encouraging learning and building motivation are two of the most common. There are lots of apps for mobile devices that use these techniques, so we’ve gone ahead and made a list of the best Android apps that use gamification.
Habitica
There are tons of productivity apps that use gamification to give you a little extra bit of motivation in your daily life. We’ve included several of them on this list, but Habitica is one of the most original. This app helps you overcome a list of daily tasks by turning them into a kind of RPG where you gain experience and points to level up and customize your character. It’s a great app that gives an element of role playing to your day to day life. [Download]
Forest: Stay Focused
Many people live with their phones glued in their hands, and it can be difficult to set them down. That’s where apps like Forest come into play, with the goal of getting you to make better use of your time than just checking your device over and over. And it does so in a profound way: you plant a seed each time you want to disconnect from your smartphone for a certain amount of time. If you manage to do it a tree grows, and you can continue the process to plant your own little forest. If you don’t make it, you have to watch the tree wither and die, which serves as a metaphor for your failure. [Download]
Fabulous
We love Fabulous, and we’ve made that clear on a number of occasions. It’s always good to get a bit of extra motivation, especially when it comes from such a well designed app. The gamification in this app incentivizes the completion of positive tasks by offering you small prizes. On top of that, you can use it to take a break and relax with some of its other features. [Download]
Classcraft
This app is great because it takes the gamification experience to the classroom. Classcraft is an app designed to facilitate learning in classes by incorporating common characters from modern video games. A teacher needs to start a ‘game’ where a student’s activities let them unlock new powers and abilities. Each student chooses a character class, which are taken from standard medieval fantasy games, with the ability to unlock more as they play. It’s an original way to engage students in learning. [Download]
Remente
Remente is one of the most complete apps for personal development. You can set your current physical or emotional status, and select which parts of your life you want to try to improve. The app gives you missions to progress in your improvements and when you finish them you can unlock new features within the app. All of that presented with a clean and attractive design. [Download]
Zombies, Run!
This one is a classic. It’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t heard of the game that makes you run to escape the zombie apocalypse. This special pedometer adds an interesting new twist to your daily exercise routine. Although you can listen to music, the game adds audio tracks between songs that narrate misadventures in a world dominated by the undead. It’s a good way to get into the habit of exercising. [Download]
Duolingo
Duolingo is one of the best apps on Android to learn languages. That fact isn’t really up for debate, since by now it’s well known and loved by everyone around the world. We could have included several other apps of the same style, but Duolingo best represents the combination of gamification and learning. The app encourages you to overcome certain challenges each day in order to continue improving in whatever language you choose. [Download]
Lifes Game
Its name is a clear indication of what this app is all about, and Lifes Game: Make Everyday a Game will make you take pleasure in completing all of your daily chores. As you finish each of the tasks that you’ve chosen, you will gain experience that you can use to level up. When you do, you will get rewards that you can use to treat yourself to a bit of well deserved relaxation. [Download]
Fitocracy
Exercising isn’t something that appeals to many of us, but fortunately there are apps like Fitocracy that supply that extra bit of motivation. As you complete activities and exercise routines you will gain levels. Then you can start unlocking achievements and beating missions to make all that hard work a bit more bearable. [Download]
ThinkUp
Positive reinforcement is something that you can never have too much of. There is nothing better for this than your own voice to motivate you in your lowest moments. This app rewards and inspires you with positive thoughts. You can select certain life goals to complete every day in order to make your life more rich and relaxing. There can never be too many of these apps in this turbulent 21st century that we all live in. [Download]
