Airman Challenge
- Brand
- U.S. Air Force
- Year
- 2012
- Objective
- Lead Gen & Recruiting
- Industry
- Other
- Mechanic
- Simulation & Strategy
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Blockdot
- With
- GSD&M
- Added
- October 2026
- 1
Before playing, the player registers an account on airforce.com/airmanchallenge, either directly or via Facebook Connect.
- 2
Registration doubles as choosing a squadron: the player picks from eight squadron emblems, each explaining what that branch of the Air Force actually does.
- 3
From a holographic mission hub, the player selects one of 16 missions and reads an intel briefing that lays out a Situation and an Assignment, such as defending forward operating base Blackhorse from an insurgent assault.
- 4
Before launching, the player staffs the mission with a team of real Air Force career specialists — for example an MQ-9 Reaper Sensor Operator and Pilot — and the game explains why each role does or doesn't fit the assignment.
- 5
Each mission plays as a short skill-based mini-game distilled from that career's real duties, such as a timed reaction test of tagging red-dot targets with a drone sensor before the clock runs out.
- 6
Mission settings vary across overwatch and escort duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, humanitarian relief in Bolivia, and cyber defense within the United States.
- 7
Missions are scored on a star rating, pushing the player to replay a mission for a better result.
- 8
Completing a mission earns experience points and a rank-up, awarding a real Air Force rank title and badge along with an explanation of what that rank means in the service.
- 9
Progress feeds competition and social sharing among players.
- 10
Throughout play, a persistent recruiting call to action lets the player request information about a specific career or about serving, routed to the regional Air Force recruitment database, with an apply-now button available during gameplay.
Objective
The Air Force needed to reach 16–24-year-old prospects on the ground they already occupied — gaming — and get them exploring career options instead of skimming a brochure page. The brief, per Dan Ferguson's case page, was to engage "the best and the brightest" and reinforce the Air Force's image as a high-tech leader; a second goal was to show off the sheer range of roles on offer (60+ careers) and push people who'd already shown interest back toward a recruiter.
Solution
Players sign up — optionally through Facebook Connect — pick one of eight squadron emblems, and land on a map of 16 missions. Each mission opens with a briefing, and before it can launch, the player has to staff it by choosing real Air Force career specialists; get the roster wrong and the mission fails, so learning what each job actually does is the only way to move forward. The mission itself plays out as a short skill-based mini-game built around that career — reaction-time targeting as a Reaper drone sensor operator, for instance. Clearing missions earns experience points, star ratings and promotion through genuine Air Force ranks and badges, each explained in plain terms, with a standing option to request career information or apply.
Results
Over 600,000 visitors played, completing more than 225,000 missions across the 16 on offer. 62% of users fell within the 16–24 target age group, against a 40–60% goal; 81% of that group played for over 10 minutes or finished 2+ missions, against a 60% goal; average playtime reached 34 minutes 11 seconds, against a 20–30 minute goal; and 22% registered via Facebook Connect, against a 10% goal.
Can you still play it?
A build of the 2017 WebGL version of Airman Challenge still exists on developer Active Theory's own site. The U.S. Air Force's original campaign address no longer serves the game, now redirecting to a newer games hub that does not carry it. The original campaign page is preserved in an archived snapshot from January 2013 on the Wayback Machine.
