What changed across three CrazyGames submissions

Cyber Gomoku was submitted to CrazyGames to reach players in more countries. The first two submissions were unsuccessful; the third advanced to the Basic Launch testing stage.

This report documents the changes made between submissions. Because the platform did not identify a decisive reason for every result, the observations below do not claim an unsupported causal link.

First submission: removing prohibited external links

The first build still contained a link from the game to an external site. Because the destination platform restricted external links, that control was removed from the submission build.

A link that feels natural on an official website can create a policy or safety problem on an external portal. Submission checks therefore need to cover links, sign-in, advertising, and navigation as well as game mechanics.

The first correction was made manually. That experience led to separate web and platform builds controlled by Vite settings and feature flags. External links, sign-in controls, and advertising tags are now included or excluded automatically, reducing the risk of another manual omission.

Second submission: improving the first minute

The second result did not include enough detail to identify one specific fault. To find likely friction points, other games on the same portal were played and compared from a new player's perspective.

Many successful games introduce their controls and objective immediately. Cyber Gomoku's flow from explanation to first move was longer, while the purpose of each special ability remained difficult to understand during the first match.

Changes to the onboarding flow

• State the initial objective soon after the game opens
• Move naturally from control instructions into the first match
• Avoid explaining every ability at once; keep details available when needed
• Hide features and external navigation unavailable in the portal build

After these changes, the third submission advanced to Basic Launch. The platform did not disclose which change affected the result, so this sequence should not be read as proof of causation.

Submission was not the finish line

Basic Launch is a limited test, not a full release. It begins another stage of improvement based on actual responses such as click-through rate, play time, and retention.

The experience showed that a finished game includes more than rules and presentation. It must also meet destination-specific requirements, explain itself quickly, and manage unavailable features correctly. Separate build settings now handle those differences for each platform.

A pre-submission checklist based on three attempts

This checklist summarizes the project's experience for other independent developers. Platform requirements differ, so it supplements rather than replaces the destination's current rules.

• Does the game still contain a button that opens an external site?
• Are unavailable features, such as sign-in or online play, still visible?
• Does the player understand the objective and controls within 30 seconds?
• Can a new player finish the first match without reading a long manual? Compare the experience with established games on the same platform.
• Has the exact submission build been tested in the destination's test environment or a representative local iframe?

The fourth check was especially useful. Familiarity makes a developer blind to first-time confusion. Comparing onboarding with other games already published on the same platform provided the clearest practical reference.

This article records an application experience from May 2026 and is not a statement of current CrazyGames requirements. Always check the destination's latest rules before submitting.