- Microgaming (MPN) adds “Achievements” to its offering.
- Achievements reward players with a badge that can be displayed at the table for completing a series of challenges.
- Most of the 27 real-money achievements are targeted at recreational players.
- A Pips rating system gives MPN the opportunity to introduce financial rewards at some time in the future.
The spread of social gaming features to real-money gaming continues as Microgaming (MPN) adds “Achievements” to its offering.
Achievements reward players with a badge that can be displayed at the table for completing a series of challenges.
Head of Network Games at Microgaming, Lydia Melton, explained: “Poker isn’t just about winning money…It’s also about challenging yourself and your friends and having fun doing it. Our new Achievements feature is about enhancing this aspect of poker.”
There is no requirement to opt in to start achieving. A new “My Achievements” page in the poker client lists the 27 real-money achievements together with what players have to do to get them. Successful achievements qualify the player for a badge, only one of which is shown at the table—players can choose which one to display or MPN will automatically use the most recent achievement completed.
The initial list gives an idea of what MPN aims to achieve itself from the new feature:
- Pimp My Client encourages new players to configure the MPN poker client to best suit them.
- Chatterbox is awarded to players who socialize with their opponents at the table.
- Cliché Collector goes to players who collect a series of iconic Hold’em hands.
- All Rounder is awarded to players for trying all poker variants.
- Early Bird is achieved by those players who start new tables and tournaments.
- Live Wire is awarded to players who qualify for live events via the MPN.
There is also a Bing Blang Blaow achievement.
Each achievement comes with a “Pips” rating. The more difficult the achievement, the more Pips players earn for completing it. Pips add up to a score and MPN suggests that players can challenge their friends to beat their score.
The system also operates on the play-money tables, but no Pips are awarded. This should give MPN scope to introduce benefits related to Pips scores at some time in the future—currently, the only value to the achievements is the sense of satisfaction and status that comes with working through them.
Winamax.FR has a similar system in its “Guns and Glory” promotion although it is targeting higher volumes more than recreational players in the tasks it sets. PartyPoker launched achievements with its new software client and has a hybrid system that targets recreational players, but provides rewards including entry packages for WPT tournaments.
