Airman Challenge
Read the story- Brand
- US Air Force
- Year
- 2012
- Objective
- Lead Gen & Recruiting
- Industry
- Other
- Mechanic
- Quiz & Trivia
- Platform
- Social
- Agency
- GSD&M
Objective
The Air Force needed to get and hold the attention of 16–24-year-olds and reframe itself in their eyes as a technology leader rather than "an army with guns." It also had to teach that audience that the service holds more than 60 career paths beyond combat — cyber defense, humanitarian work, engineering, medicine — and give people who'd already shown interest but never applied a reason to come back and pass their details on to a recruiter.
Solution
Players open the game to a futuristic, holographic command deck and pick a mission — combat or humanitarian — off a briefing list. After reading the mission intel, they staff their own squad by choosing from real Air Force job specialties, then run a short skill-based mini-game built around that lineup. Get the team composition wrong and the mission falls apart, which pushes players to actually learn what each specialty does before trying again. Clearing missions banks experience points, ranks, badges and achievements, and every specialty card doubles as a way to request more career details, with an "apply now" button on screen the whole time.
Results
The game drew more than 600,000 visitors and racked up over 225,000 completed missions. 62% of players fell within the target 16–24 age bracket against a 40–60% goal, and 81% of that target audience played 10+ minutes or completed 2+ missions, versus a 60% target. Average playtime hit 34 minutes 11 seconds, well above the planned 20–30 minutes, and 22% of registrations came through Facebook Connect — more than double the 10% benchmark.
- 1
The player opens the game directly in a browser, no install required, and lands in a full-screen futuristic holographic environment with a dark backdrop, glowing blue UI, and ambient sound. A start screen challenges the player with "Do you have what it takes?", framing the game as a fitness test rather than plain entertainment.
- 2
The player picks one mission from a roster spanning different operation types, from combat engagements to humanitarian aid drops to cyberattack defense.
- 3
Each mission opens with a two-part briefing: a "Situation" outlining what's unfolding and an "Assignment" stating what the player must accomplish.
- 4
The player builds a team for the mission by choosing from real Air Force career specialties, drawn from a roster of more than 60, and has to read what each one actually does to pick correctly. The chosen specialists are mission-critical, not decorative — an incorrect lineup can sink the mission.
- 5
Once the team is set, the player receives mission-specific instructions and then plays a point-and-click action segment built around that mission's own rules, such as escorting a convoy or striking marked targets from the air. Every mission is a distinct minigame rather than a repeat of the last.
- 6
Each mission ends with a score based on the accuracy of the player's actions, and the player moves on to the next assignment. Accumulated points raise the player's level through real Air Force ranks, complete with authentic badges and achievements.
- 7
Recruiting content is woven throughout: between missions the game surfaces career and service information, a persistent "apply now" button stays visible over the gameplay screen, and players can request details on a specific specialty or on enlistment itself, which routes to a regional Air Force recruiting contact.
- 8
The player can connect via Facebook to share mission progress and directly challenge friends to compete on the same missions.
- 9
Reaching mission and experience milestones unlocks exclusive downloadable content available only to players who progress far enough.
