--- title: "LAB NOTES: Building a Gamified Learning Experience with Arcades" description: Stop chasing completions and start driving motivation. See how Arcades integrates with your LMS to deliver badges, XP, and interactive content that learners actually enjoy. image: https://blog.elblearning.com/hubfs/Recap%202-17-26%20LAB%20NOTES-Building%20a%20Gamified%20Learning%20Experience%20with%20Arcades_Blog%20Featured%20Image%20800x500.png --- [![ELB-Learning_Logo_ColorRGB-white-text-1](https://blog.elblearning.com/hubfs/ELB-Learning_Logo_ColorRGB-white-text-1.png) ](https://elblearning.com/) ![](https://blog.elblearning.com/hubfs/Recap%202-17-26%20LAB%20NOTES-Building%20a%20Gamified%20Learning%20Experience%20with%20Arcades_Blog%20Featured%20Image%20800x500.png) # LAB NOTES: Building a Gamified Learning Experience with Arcades by [Josh Bleggi](https://blog.elblearning.com/author/josh-bleggi) | Mar 11, 2026 If you've ever wondered how to make your training content feel less like an obligation and more like something people actually *want* to engage with, this month's [Learning Lab LIVE](https://hub.elblearning.com/learning-lab-live) session was for you. We dove into [**Arcades**](https://products.elblearning.com/create-learning/arcades)®—ELB Learning's gamification platform designed to enhance the [Training Arcade](https://products.elblearning.com/create-learning/the-training-arcade)®—and walked through how to build a fully gamified learning experience from scratch, live on screen. Here's a recap of everything we covered.   Listen to article 5:38 **Games vs. Gamification: What's the Difference?**** **** **Before jumping into the build, let’s build a common understanding around a couple of terms that are often used interchangeably, even though they mean different things. **Games** (such as those built with the Training Arcade) are individual *activities* in which learners engage with content, such as [trivia](https://products.elblearning.com/create-learning/the-training-arcade-games/trivia) or [recall](https://products.elblearning.com/create-learning/the-training-arcade-games/recall) challenges. They use [game mechanics](https://blog.elblearning.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-training-games-you-learned-in-kindergarten) like points and levels, but they're self-contained. **Gamification**, on the other hand, is broader. It's the application of game mechanics to [*non-game* experiences](https://blog.elblearning.com/what-is-gamification-and-5-ways-to-use-it). For example, reading a PDF, watching a video, or taking an eLearning course. The goal here is to make everyday learning tasks more engaging by adding rewards, recognition, and a sense of progress. This is where Arcades make things easy. **Is Arcades an LMS?**** **** **Another common misconception is that Arcades is meant to replace your corporate learning management system (LMS). Short answer: No, it is not. This is an important distinction to remember. A [traditional LMS](https://products.elblearning.com/lms/rockstar-learning-platform) is an enterprise system focused on tracking learner activity for compliance and accountability. It serves the organization's need to ensure training gets completed and documented. Arcades, by contrast, is a **gamification destination** that can live inside or outside your LMS. It's designed to serve the *learner*, giving them a space to engage with organization-selected content on their own terms, earn experience points and badges, and see how they stack up on a leaderboard. It's less about coverage, more about motivation. Common use cases where Arcades has been used include onboarding programs, multi-day workshops, sales training, and any [special learning initiative](https://collections.elblearning.com/case-studies/game-based-learning-for-remote-training-opportunities) where you want to drive engagement beyond the basics. **A Tour of the Learner Experience**** **** **Here's what learners see when they log into an Arcade: - **A personal dashboard** showing their progress, XP level, and avatar - **A global leaderboard** so learners can see where they stand against colleagues - **A daily spin-to-win** that incentivizes logging in each day with a chance at bonus XP or prizes - **Achievements/badges** that unlock as learners complete specific actions within the platform - **Activity tiles** for games, videos, PDFs, SCORM modules, and more - **A journey** (learning path) that sequences content across multiple stages, requiring completion of one stage to unlock the next - **A prize shop** where learners can redeem points for rewards you've configured The experience feels genuinely game-like—and that's the point. Check out this [product tour](https://producttour.elblearning.com/share/fnmpozdipp6i) to see it for yourself. **Building an Arcade: The Step-by-Step Process**** **** **During the session, we built an onboarding Arcade live. Here's the condensed version of the build process: **1. Create your Arcade.** Give it a name and configure other settings that affect the backend. **2. Add your activities.** This is where you pull in your content—Training Arcade games, videos, PDFs, SCORM files, and images. Each activity tile is customizable with its own background color, image, and settings. You can enable or disable individual activities to control what's visible on the learner dashboard. **3. Set up a journey.** Journeys are multi-stage learning paths. You add stages, populate each stage with activities, and learners must complete each stage to unlock the next. **4. Configure competitions.** Beyond solo play, Arcades adds two engagement layers: **head-to-head challenges** that allow you to challenge a colleague to beat your score, and **team vs. team competitions,** which have teams compete by averaging scores across members. **5. Add prizes and awards.** Prizes are an optional feature that you can turn on to be able to give out company-sanctioned incentives for reaching certain milestones. Awards are digital and more flexible, allowing you to reward learners for going above and beyond on a specific activity. **6. Brand your arcade.** Swap out the default color scheme for your organization's brand colors, upload a background image, and add your logo. It takes about 30 seconds and makes a significant difference in how polished the experience feels. **7. Invite your learners.** Send invitations directly from the platform, or upload a list. Learners receive an email, create or connect an account, and land right in their Arcade. **Tracking and Analytics** It wouldn't be a training tool without reporting. Arcades gives administrators a robust analytics dashboard where they can track: - Individual and aggregate player accuracy - Activity-level engagement and completion - Journey and mission stage progress - Leaderboard standings over time All of this data can be exported, giving you meaningful insight into how learners are engaging. **Wrapping it Up**** **** **Arcades make it very simple for anyone to [add gamification](https://blog.elblearning.com/adding-gamification-to-your-training-getting-started) to their training program. We didn’t quite get to build the full Arcade in under an hour during the webinar, but finishing it off should only take a few additional minutes. Give it a try for yourself and see the value gamification can add to your training program. Watch the full session below, and [START YOUR FREE TRIAL](https://products.elblearning.com/create-learning/arcades#popup-tta-trial) of Arcades today.   [gamification-](https://blog.elblearning.com/tag/gamification), [elearning games-](https://blog.elblearning.com/tag/elearning-games), [The Training Arcade-](https://blog.elblearning.com/tag/the-training-arcade), [training games-](https://blog.elblearning.com/tag/training-games) ### Related Posts [![Why “Addictive” Gameplay Should Never Be The Goal](https://blog.elblearning.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Why%20Addictive%20Gameplay%20Should%20Never%20Be%20The%20Goal_Blog%20Featured%20Image%20800x500.png?width=388&name=Why%20Addictive%20Gameplay%20Should%20Never%20Be%20The%20Goal_Blog%20Featured%20Image%20800x500.png) ](https://blog.elblearning.com/why-addictive-gameplay-should-never-be-the-goal) [Why “Addictive” Gameplay Should Never Be The Goal](https://blog.elblearning.com/why-addictive-gameplay-should-never-be-the-goal) [![Gamification Design Principles: Balancing Motivation with Psychological Safety](https://blog.elblearning.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Gamification%20Design%20Principles-Balancing%20Motivation%20with%20Psychological%20Safety_Blog%20Featured%20Image%20800x500.png?width=388&name=Gamification%20Design%20Principles-Balancing%20Motivation%20with%20Psychological%20Safety_Blog%20Featured%20Image%20800x500.png) ](https://blog.elblearning.com/gamification-design-principles-balancing-motivation-with-psychological-safety) [Gamification Design Principles: Balancing Motivation with Psychological Safety](https://blog.elblearning.com/gamification-design-principles-balancing-motivation-with-psychological-safety) [![LAB NOTES: 4 Tips for Creating Stellar Category Quest Games](https://blog.elblearning.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Recap%208-19-25_LearningLab_LAB%20NOTES_Blog%20Featured%20Image%20800x500.png?width=388&name=Recap%208-19-25_LearningLab_LAB%20NOTES_Blog%20Featured%20Image%20800x500.png) ](https://blog.elblearning.com/lab-notes-4-tips-for-creating-stellar-category-quest-games) [LAB NOTES: 4 Tips for Creating Stellar Category Quest Games](https://blog.elblearning.com/lab-notes-4-tips-for-creating-stellar-category-quest-games) [![Building Category Quest Games](https://blog.elblearning.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Recap%208-19-25_LearningLab-CategoryQuest_Blog%20Featured%20Image%20800x500.png?width=388&name=Recap%208-19-25_LearningLab-CategoryQuest_Blog%20Featured%20Image%20800x500.png) ](https://blog.elblearning.com/learning-lab-live-episode-1-building-category-quest-games) [Building Category Quest Games](https://blog.elblearning.com/learning-lab-live-episode-1-building-category-quest-games) [![Introducing Category Quest: ELB Learning’s Latest Game](https://blog.elblearning.com/hs-fs/hubfs/4-24-25-Introducing%20Category%20Quest_Blog%20Featured%20Image%20800x500.png?width=388&name=4-24-25-Introducing%20Category%20Quest_Blog%20Featured%20Image%20800x500.png) ](https://blog.elblearning.com/introducing-category-quest-elb-learnings-latest-game) [Introducing Category Quest: ELB Learning’s Latest Game](https://blog.elblearning.com/introducing-category-quest-elb-learnings-latest-game) [![Leveling-Up Learning: 7 Game Mechanics That Build Real-World Skills](https://blog.elblearning.com/hs-fs/hubfs/7GameTypes_eBookSocialArt_Blog%20Featured%20Image%20800x500.png?width=388&name=7GameTypes_eBookSocialArt_Blog%20Featured%20Image%20800x500.png) ](https://blog.elblearning.com/leveling-up-learning-7-game-mechanics-that-build-real-world-skills) [Leveling-Up Learning: 7 Game Mechanics That Build Real-World Skills](https://blog.elblearning.com/leveling-up-learning-7-game-mechanics-that-build-real-world-skills) - 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