Launch Day: free game to launch your first product

What is Launch Day?

One launch day in four chapters with Zip, Skip and Thumby: fix your side project's landing page, choose how it charges and why, sort the pre-launch checklist, then answer your first angry customer. Fifteen calls, each one explained.

Launch Day is a free story game about putting a side project online. The run gives you one of three made-up projects: a plant-watering app, a pack of icons or a team task board. The day has four chapters with the gang as hosts, and every decision is explained right after you make it.

Morning: fix the landing page with a clear headline, one call to action, a signup form you actually tested and proof that isn't made up. Then choose how to charge (free trial, one-off price or tiers) and say why. Before noon, sort the to-do list into what must be done before launch and what can wait. In the afternoon, your first angry customer writes in: apologise, fix it, follow up.

At a glance

Category

Adventure

Difficulty

Hard

Play time

5–8 min

Price

Free, in your browser, sign-up optional

How to play

Fix the page

Pick the headline, the one call to action, a tested signup and honest proof.

Price it

Free trial, one-off price or tiers? Choose the model that fits the product, then the reason.

Check, then launch

Sort the to-do list: what must be done before launch, and what can wait.

Own the mistake

Your first angry customer: apologise, fix it, follow up. +100 per right call, +50 per flawless chapter, 3 lives.

Scoring

+100 for each right call and +50 for each chapter with no mistake: 15 calls over four chapters, 1,700 points max.

A weak call costs one of 3 lives. Lose all three and the launch stalls.

What it trains

Clear landing pages

A plain headline, one call to action, a tested signup and honest proof.

Pricing models

Matching a free trial, a one-off price or tiers to how the product delivers value.

Owning a mistake

Apologise, fix the cause, follow up: turning an angry first customer around.

Strategy and tips

One page, one job

A headline that says what it does, and a single button that says what happens next.

Test the signup

Sign up yourself with a real address before launch. If it fails, every visitor is lost.

Match the price to the product

Ongoing service: trial then monthly. Delivered once: one price. Different-sized customers: tiers.

Polish can wait

Logos, dark mode and extra features come after launch. Payments, links and support come before.

Apologise, fix, follow up

Own the specific problem, fix the cause for everyone, then check back a day or two later.

Why play Launch Day?

Most first launches stumble on the basics: a vague page, a price that doesn't fit, a broken form or a defensive reply. Making those calls in a safe, made-up launch builds a checklist you can reuse on your own project.

Frequently asked questions