Retention Side-entertainment Value for a forum

[CTS]

I have often wondered this and never really came to a conclusion in my past experiences.

All forums have some type of entertainment value. From lounge and chat forums for members, active thread games and events, to outright extremely elaborate designed games or events. And quite honestly I like participating in some of them in forums I am at.

The big question is, what seems to work the best. But really I just want to know do they prove worthwhile? Do certain things work poorly to the community? Outside of the obvious above, has anyone tried anything unique?

I don't want to game-ify my website, but I am looking at it and thinking I see opportunity for something. Just haven't clicked on it yet.

 

[Cedric]

There isn’t a one size answer fits all, or however it’s spelled correctly. What works for one community doesn’t necessarily work for the other.

I always liked doing events and giveaways, and do it very often on Administrata. But some things get more engagement compared to others. It’s something you need to try out and not immediately give up if one thing doesn’t work. What works now, doesn’t mean it will work later.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I think it also depends on the niche of the forum. For example, say you have a gaming related forum. You could have contests or tournaments even where members can earn gift cards or even possibly steam codes to certain games. It's best to test the waters with a few different things to see what sticks.