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What should a level start screen decide?
The goal, the boosters, and whether the player spends a life. Play confirms that and begins the level.
Scroll for moreLevel Start Patterns in Mobile Games
A level start screen is the pause before play. Strong ones name the goal, show which boosters are available, and put Play where the thumb already is.
What repeats
- The level number and the goal in the same view.
- Boosters as slots, some locked, beside the Play button.
- Lives or energy visible, so the cost of starting is clear.
What varies
- Candy Crush Saga and Color Block Jam use a portrait modal over the map.
- Bloons TD 6 and Disney Solitaire use a wide chooser: difficulties, or a path of locked and open levels.
Questions
How is a difficulty picker different from a goal modal?
Bloons TD 6 asks which difficulty. Candy Crush Saga states the goal of one level and offers a booster.
How should a designer use these references?
List what the player must know before Play, and remove anything that can wait until the level.
Examples from shipping games
More Level Selection stills
Candy Crush Saga
Hard Level 10, a collect goal, a Color Bomb slot, and Play, with lives in the HUD.
Color Block Jam
Level 15, locked boosters, a green Play button, and hearts shown as full.
Bloons TD 6
Easy, Medium, and Hard as choices, with medal tiers and Monkey Money rewards.
Disney Solitaire
A path of levels: one completed, one active, one locked.
Toon Blast
Level 7 offers rocket, bomb, and disco boosters, then a green play button.
Duolingo
A path of locked nodes, one pink star that can be played, and a chest further up.
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The 6 screens above are the public sample of level selection screens. An account opens the rest of the library, including flows and mechanics.
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