B2B game production / FLIP Games
Crash or Instant Games: A B2B Format Guide
Choose a format by the decisions your game needs to support and the systems your partner can operate. A visual theme alone does not define the production scope.
Start with the round, not the artwork
For this guide, a crash game is a multiplier-based round with a cash-out decision before an end condition. An instant game is a broader short-session format: a reveal, a sequence of checkpoints, a climb or another compact decision loop. These categories can overlap. Put the exact states and decisions in the specification rather than relying on a genre label.
Write down what the player can do, when an action becomes final, what resolves the outcome, and what is shown after an interruption. That description gives a designer and an integration engineer the same starting point.
Compare the production requirements
| Decision | Crash format | Instant format |
|---|---|---|
| Round timing | Specify the active window and cash-out deadline. Decide whether rounds are shared or individual. | Specify when each reveal, step or checkpoint is resolved and whether a session can resume. |
| Controls | Make the current state, action availability and confirmed cash-out clear. | Explain the next action, progression and when the player can stop. |
| Interruption | Define the result if a connection drops around the cash-out boundary. | Define recovery after each committed step and prevent a repeated action from settling twice. |
| Platform scope | A shared real-time design needs an agreed clock and authoritative event ordering. | An individual sequence still needs agreed authoritative outcomes and transaction handling. |
Neither label makes integration automatically simple. A complex instant progression can require more states than a minimal crash round. Conversely, a shared crash design can create timing and synchronization work that is barely visible in a visual prototype.
Test understanding before adding features
Use a prototype review to ask whether someone can identify the next action, explain the stopping condition and distinguish a pending action from a confirmed result. Check this on a small phone, after a refresh, and with sound off. Record the confusing state rather than asking only whether the game feels exciting.
A prototype can support a design decision; it cannot establish commercial retention, revenue or suitability for a regulated launch. Those questions need their own evidence. Define how a later partner evaluation will measure them instead of treating them as benefits inherent in the genre.
Keep game rules and market requirements together
List intended markets at the briefing stage and assign a person to review the relevant requirements. As one jurisdiction-specific example, the UK Gambling Commission publishes remote gambling and software technical standards. A format decision does not establish compliance, and this example is not a substitute for the requirements in other markets.
Visual choices should express a defined mechanic. Avoid promising that a feature will be permissible everywhere before the intended market and commercial implementation have been reviewed.
How to use FLIP’s demos
RIDGE DROP illustrates a cash-out interaction around a falling character. PULSE RUN illustrates a platform sequence with Jump, Boost and collection decisions. MOSS RISE illustrates a climb with stopping decisions after landings. They are public browser demos using virtual credits, with 18+ labeling and no real-money stakes or prizes. They are examples for discussion, not evidence of a certified release.
Use the crash and instant catalogue to compare the presentation, then describe the rules and platform responsibilities you would need in your version. Slot concepts are available in the separate catalogue tab.
Bring five decisions to the first call
- The player action that makes your concept distinct.
- Whether the round is individual or shared.
- The platform or integration partner you plan to use.
- The intended markets, devices and languages.
- The prototype and commercial delivery stages you want estimated separately.
With those decisions, custom game development can be scoped around an original concept or a defined co-development assignment. Continue with our production brief guide and demo-to-release integration checklist.