TIL: Users don't like being required to throw away boxes in store sims

I thought I had built a solid tutorial for my store simulator game. It walked players through all the basics: buying shelves, placing products, stocking items, and yes; even carrying empty boxes to the dumpster. It felt thorough, and I figured teaching every mechanic early would set players up for success.

The data told a different story.

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Why players quit tutorials early

The Drop-off

Within the first 48 hours, the game had 1,100 downloads. But when I looked at the tutorial funnel, conversion was only 31.9%. That meant two out of three players were leaving before finishing the tutorial.

Two steps stood out: Discard Box and Reach level 2.
Around 12% of players quit at "Discard Box", and another 20% quit at "Reach level 2"; a pointless grind requirement in the first 10 minutes.

This is exactly the kind of moment LoopKit is built to surface; if you want to see your own tutorial drop-offs, Start Watching Free.

Tutorial Funnel – Total Conversion & Drop-off Rate

Apr 1 - Apr 3 | Total Conversion: 31.9%

Why These Steps Killed Engagement

On paper, throwing away a box should've been trivial. In practice, players were spending nearly a full minute trying to find the dumpster. Most never did. They just quit.

The "Reach level 2" requirement was even worse; forcing players to grind through repetitive actions just to unlock basic features. In the first 10 minutes of gameplay, this felt like punishment, not progression.

The lesson: even the simplest mechanic can feel like a wall if it's not fun, intuitive, or rewarding. And players won't tell you in reviews that your dumpster is confusing or your progression is grindy. They'll just disappear.

The Fix

So I made two changes:

• Removed the "discard box" step from the tutorial.
• Removed the "reach level 2" requirement; players could now access all content immediately.

Nothing fancy. Just less friction.

The Results

After the change:

• Average playtime increased from 5 minutes to 45 minutes.
• Tutorial conversion improved by 75%.

By cutting steps I thought were essential, the game became instantly more playable. Players stuck around because they got to the fun faster.

Improved Tutorial Funnel – After Removing Friction

Apr 4 - Apr 6 | Total Conversion: 55.8% (75% improvement)

Data like this is why we rely on LoopKit in our own games. See how it works.

How I Knew

I wouldn't have found this through gut instinct alone. Players didn't complain about the box mechanic. The only reason I caught it was because I was tracking player sessions and could see exactly where they quit.

At the time I hacked together my own event ingestion and replay system; what eventually became LoopKit. Unity Analytics and GameAnalytics were too complex for what I needed, and didn't show me raw sessions in a way I could act on.

Takeaway for Other Devs

Don't assume your clever tutorial step is helping. If it's even slightly annoying, it could be the thing that makes players bounce.

Watch what players actually do, not just what you think they should do.

LoopKit Today

If you're struggling with players quitting early, LoopKit gives you the same visibility we used to fix our own game; session replays, simple funnels, and timelines that show exactly where people leave. No SQL, no dashboard setup, just the evidence you need to make your game more fun.