de-j
Back to work

Case study

Geekly Quiz

Geekly Quiz

Designing a competitive quiz platform focused on progression systems, gamification mechanics, UX fairness, and rapid AI-assisted product iteration.

Visit Geekly Quiz (opens in a new tab)

It's live now. Players register to take part in the weekly quiz.

Geekly Quiz homepage introducing the weekly trivia quiz for geeks and Season 2
Role
Product ownership, UX architecture, UI, frontend implementation
Client
Self-initiated
Platform
Live web app, built and run independently
Focus
Gamification, progression systems, competitive UX, accessibility

Overview

Geekly Quiz is a self-initiated competitive quiz platform designed to go beyond a simple question-and-answer experience. The product explores how progression systems, weekly competition, specialist subjects, leagues and reward mechanics can create a more engaging long-term quiz experience.

The challenge

The challenge was to design a quiz product that felt competitive, replayable, fair, and rewarding without overwhelming new users.

Challenge areas

  • 01Differentiate the experience from generic quiz apps
  • 02Create long-term engagement beyond a single quiz
  • 03Balance speed, accuracy, difficulty and fairness
  • 04Support specialist subjects and weekly content cycles
  • 05Design progression systems that feel rewarding without becoming confusing
  • 06Build integrity systems to reduce refresh, repeat-run, and leaderboard abuse

Product systems thinking

A major part of the work was designing the systems behind the product, not just the quiz screens.

Core product systems

Weekly quiz cycles

A recurring quiz structure with weekly releases, season logic, cycle states, release timing, result finalisation and leaderboard updates.

Specialist subjects

Players choose a specialist subject from Movies, Music, Books, TV Shows and Video Games, creating more personal quiz paths and dedicated ranking opportunities.

Progression systems

XP, levels, specialist titles, overall progression and long-term player identity were designed to make repeat play feel meaningful.

Rewards

Season 1 had gameplay, scoring and world-first achievements alongside cosmetic rewards. They generated little interest from players, so achievements were removed for Season 2 and avatars became the main reward.

Leagues and leaderboards

Competitive ranking systems were designed across global, specialist, private league and mode-specific contexts.

Feedback and telemetry

Question feedback and performance data were planned to improve question quality, difficulty balancing and future content decisions.

  1. 1Content

    • Weekly quiz cycle

      A new quiz each week, played in a fixed window, rolling up into seasons.

    • Specialist subjects

      Movies, Music, Books, TV Shows and Video Games.

    • Question formats

      Multiple choice, true/false, match and type the answer, plus image questions.

  2. 2Play

    • Standard run

      Answer every question, chasing speed and streak bonuses.

    • Hardcore run

      Sudden death, softened by a single resurrection.

    • Gauntlet

      Endurance runs through retired question banks, with mini-bosses and a final boss.

    • Fairness and integrity

      Pre-read phase, shuffled answers and run integrity checks.

  3. 3Scoring

    • Base points

      100 points for each correct answer.

    • Speed multiplier

      ×2 within a second, ×1.5 within five seconds.

    • Streak bonus

      +0.5 for every five correct in a row, reset by a wrong answer.

  4. 4Progression

    • Leaderboards

      Weekly, season, specialist and mode rankings, plus private leagues.

    • XP, levels and titles

      Overall and specialist progression that builds player identity.

    • Avatars

      Earned through Gauntlet depth, top scores and loyalty. Achievements were dropped for Season 2.

Feedback and telemetry feed back into content. Question ratings and performance data tune quality and difficulty, and progression gives players a reason to return for next week's quiz.

How the main product systems connect, from weekly content through play and scoring to long-term progression.

Gamification and engagement

The product uses gamification carefully, with mechanics designed around skill, consistency, speed and mastery rather than simple point collection.

Engagement mechanics

XP and level progression

Streak and speed-based scoring

Unlockable avatars and titles

Weekly competition and seasonal progression

Specialist-subject progression

Gauntlet Mode as a high-stakes challenge mode

Leaderboards

Each game week has its own leaderboard, filterable by week and by leaderboard type.

  1. Weekly quiz global leaderboard with game week and leaderboard filters above a top three podium

    The top three get a podium, with each player's specialist subject and score.

  2. Leaderboard table showing position, username, mode, subject, score, accuracy, average speed and best streak

    The full table shows how each score was earned: accuracy, average speed and best streak.

UX fairness, accessibility and integrity

A key part of the design was making the experience competitive without making it unfair, confusing or inaccessible.

Fairness and integrity decisions

Pre-read question phase

A fixed pre-read phase gives players time to read the question before answer options and timers begin, helping reduce pressure and improve fairness.

Keyboard answer selection

Keyboard support allows faster answer selection and improves accessibility for users who prefer not to rely on mouse or touch input.

Run integrity

Anti-cheat and run integrity systems were designed to discourage refreshing, tab switching, restarting and leaderboard manipulation.

No-answer-reveal modes

Modes such as Gauntlet were designed with no answer reveals to preserve challenge integrity and replay value.

Feedback eligibility

Question feedback was designed around completed eligible runs, so users can rate question quality and difficulty without compromising answer reveal rules.

  1. Practice question showing only the question text and a countdown before the answers appear

    01The question appears on its own first, before any answers or the timer.

  2. True or false question with numbered answer options and a timer bar

    02Answers then appear with the timer. Numbered options support keyboard answering.

  3. True or false question with the selected answer confirmed and a next question button

    03In Practice mode the answer is confirmed before moving on.

Rapid product iteration

Geekly Quiz was developed through rapid AI-assisted workflows, using prototypes, code iteration and product planning to move quickly from concept to working product.

The project involved moving between product strategy, UX flows, visual design, frontend implementation, Firebase architecture, content workflows and operational tooling. AI-assisted workflows helped accelerate prototyping and implementation, while product decisions were refined through testing, bugs, feature planning and launch preparation.

Question formats, modes and mobile

Multiple choice question with a photo and four numbered answers
Multiple choice, including image-based questions.
Type the answer question with letter tiles for each character
Type the answer, with letter tiles that show the answer length.
Match question asking which studio animates Demon Slayer, one pairing at a time
Match, broken into one pairing at a time so it works on a small screen.
Classic Gauntlet subject picker with an explanation of how the Gauntlet works
Classic Gauntlet explains its rules before the run starts: random order, boss rounds and no answer reveals.
Geekly Quiz homepage on a phone
The homepage on mobile.

Dark mode

The site also has a dark theme, using the same layouts and green accents.

  1. Geekly Quiz homepage in dark mode

    Homepage

  2. Multiple choice question with a photo in dark mode

    Multiple choice

  3. Match question in dark mode

    Match

  4. Classic Gauntlet subject picker in dark mode

    Classic Gauntlet

My role

As a self-initiated product, I owned the product direction, UX architecture, feature prioritisation, interface design, implementation workflow and ongoing iteration. The work required balancing user experience, game mechanics, content operations, technical feasibility and launch readiness.

Role responsibilities

  • Product ownership
  • UX architecture
  • Gamification design
  • Frontend implementation
  • Firebase/product architecture
  • AI-assisted workflows
  • Content systems
  • Accessibility considerations
  • QA and launch planning

Outcome and reflection

Geekly Quiz became a substantial product ecosystem rather than a simple quiz interface. The project demonstrates end-to-end product thinking, from user-facing experience design through to backend data models, progression systems, competitive rules, content workflows and launch operations.

Outcome

  • Developed a live, self-initiated product platform
  • Designed multiple quiz modes and competitive structures
  • Created progression and reward systems
  • Built systems for weekly cycles, leaderboards and player profiles
  • Explored accessibility, fairness and anti-cheat considerations
  • Used AI-assisted workflows to accelerate product development and iteration

Like what you see? Let's talk.

Email me at davidedwardsjones@googlemail.com, or get in touch through the contact page.

Get in touchNext project: Crown Gas & Power