Please read How I Developed Christmas Crazy Eights for the first part of this epic tale.

I was getting a decent number of sales the first week or two; not great, but I thought it would pick up even more as it got closer to Christmas.

The opposite happened, though. As it got closer to Christmas, the number of downloads dropped off considerably, averaging about 1-2 per day on iTunes, and I don’t even want to talk about the Android Market or the Amazon App Store for Android. Let’s just say that two hands were sufficient to count the total Android sales.

Somewhere around this time I got two 1-star reviews from people who didn’t understand that Christmas Crazy Eights is not a game by itself, but an add-on to a real life game, and that you need real cards and at least one other person in order to play the game. You can’t reply to comments either, so, as the developer, all you can do is stay calm and ignore it. (Okay, let’s be honest, that’s what everyone tells you to do, but it really pisses you off considerably.)

I tried getting the app reviewed, but all the review sites kept sending me back canned emails saying they’d love to review my app, as long as I was willing to pay for the review ($25-$500). I was a bit disheartened that it worked that way. I wondered if I paid more if I’d get a higher score! I didn’t pay for any reviews.

On December 13, I made the game completely free. No ads, no gimmicks. Just free. On Wednesday, I’d gone from 1-2 downloads per day on iTunes to 83. Yesterday alone I had 129. Even the Android Market is catching up now that it’s free, going from averaging ~0 downloads per day to about 35 per day.

So, I know what you’re thinking — those numbers are all well and good, but you’re not making any money! Alas, that is very true. I’m hoping that by making it free, it will generate some buzz about my company and what I’m trying to do, so that a future game will have more downloads and potentially better sales.

Here are some of the mistakes I made, and how I intend to fix them for the next game.

1. I’ll have a better quality picture as the first screenshot, showing the game running on an iPad/iPhone surrounding by people playing (probably only showing their hands and cards).
2. I’ll have the How To Play section show up when you click Start the first time, so you’re forced to go through it at least once. That should avoid some of the 1 star reviews from people saying, “The game never starts!”
3. I need to add Facebook/Twitter integration, and some easier way to rate the game, so people will be able to “spread the word” a little easier. I didn’t even have the Christmas Crazy Eights facebook page ready at launch because I was so excited to just get the game out there.
4. Another app developer recommended I follow his approach and add something like “For Two” or “Party” to the end of the game title. Probably not a bad idea.
5. I probably should have had my company’s website redesigned before I launched, but I only just did that last week.
6. Next time I’ll factor in the costs of artwork a little better. Art is very expensive, especially when your product only costs 99 cents. You need a lot of sales to make that back.
7. I should have tried a sponsorship. “Hallmark Presents Christmas Crazy Eights!”

Although I’ve been a professional software developer for close to 15 years, mobile apps are new to me, but I’m learning a little more with each one. Maybe one day I’ll have it mastered.

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