Badges built around learning, not gaming
Gamification in education has a reputation problem. Badges that reward time-on-app rather than actual learning. Points that pile up for passive scrolling. Streaks that punish you for taking a day off. We have all seen tools that dress up shallow engagement as achievement.
We built SolversBoard's badge system differently. Every badge maps to a behaviour that is actually good for learning - consistency, accuracy, volume, depth, and breadth across subjects. If you earned a badge on SolversBoard, you did something real to get it.
The badge categories
Streak badges
Consistency is the single biggest predictor of learning outcomes. Doing something every day - even briefly - beats cramming. Our streak badges recognise exactly that.
- 3-Day Streak - three consecutive days with at least one session
- 7-Day Streak - a full week of showing up
- 30-Day Streak - a month of daily practice
Streaks are measured per calendar day in your local timezone. They reset at midnight if you miss a day, which keeps them honest.
Volume badges
These track how many questions you have worked through with Meg. Raw volume matters because the only way to get good at problem-solving is to solve a lot of problems.
- 10 Questions Solved
- 50 Questions Solved
- 100 Questions Solved - a significant milestone for most students
- 500 Questions Solved - at this point you have put in serious work
Volume badges are cumulative across your entire account history - they never expire and they never reset.
Accuracy badges
It is not just about answering questions, it is about answering them correctly. Accuracy badges reward sustained quality, not just quantity.
Accuracy is measured across rolling windows of recent sessions. We do not penalise you for early stumbles - the badge checks whether you have built genuine accuracy over time, not whether you had a perfect first session.
XP and level badges
Every correct answer earns XP. Every session adds to your total. As your XP grows, you level up:
- Beginner - just getting started
- Solver - building your skills
- Scholar - consistent and capable
- Expert - a serious level of work
- Legend - 3,000+ XP. At this point you have put in the kind of effort that shows.
Level badges unlock at each tier. They are displayed prominently on your profile and on your shareable badge card.
Subject mastery badges
These are the ones we are most proud of. When you have answered a significant volume of questions correctly in a specific subject area - Algebra, Organic Chemistry, Essay Writing, Constitutional Law, and so on - you earn a Subject Mastery badge for that subject.
There is also the Polymath badge, awarded to students who have earned mastery badges across multiple different subjects. If you are preparing for an exam with a wide syllabus, or if you are just curious across disciplines, this one is for you.
Star Solver badges
These combine accuracy and volume. A 3-Star Solver has demonstrated sustained accuracy at moderate volume. A 5-Star Solver has hit high accuracy at high volume. These are the hardest badges to earn, and they show up first on your profile.
Shareable badge cards
Every badge you earn can be shared as a card - a clean image showing your badge, your name, and the achievement. Students share these with parents to show progress, on university applications as evidence of sustained self-study, or just to compare with friends.
The card is auto-generated from your live badge data and always reflects your current state. You can share it via link - the URL updates dynamically as you earn more.
Why we designed it this way
We had two rules when designing the badge system:
Rule 1: If the badge incentivises bad behaviour, cut it.
Badges for time-on-app, for clicking through content passively, for anything that a student could game without actually learning - we cut them. Every badge in SolversBoard requires genuine engagement with problem-solving.
Rule 2: Badges should feel earned, not handed out.
If you get a badge for logging in twice, it means nothing. We set thresholds that require real effort. The 100-questions badge takes most students several weeks of consistent use. The 30-day streak takes a month. The 5-Star Solver badge takes sustained high performance across many sessions.
The result is a system where badges actually feel like something when you earn them. That is the point.
Check your current badges in your profile. See which ones are within reach - you might be closer than you think.