Alternative to Whova's Gamification App
What does Whova's gamification app actually do?
Whova is a full event management platform, and its gamification app is one feature inside it — a set of contests and leaderboards layered on top of the broader event app.
You might be using it because you already run registration, check-in, or your agenda through Whova, and gamification is the add-on meant to boost engagement and help attendees connect.
But you're not necessarily looking for photo contests or a points leaderboard — you want attendees to actually walk up to people they don't know and start a real conversation.
What Whova's Gamification App Does Well
Whova bundles several different contest types into one app: photo and caption contests, trivia (including AI-generated questions), leaderboard points for general app engagement, a passport-style stamp contest for visiting exhibitor booths, session-attendance stamps, and poster competitions.
It also includes a simple icebreaker contest, where attendees answer a casual question for a chance to win something.
This breadth is the appeal — if you're already running a conference on Whova and want a quick engagement layer covering booths, sessions, and social sharing all at once, it's already built in.
Where It's a Different Tool Than What You Might Need
Engagement with the app, not necessarily with each other
Most of Whova's gamification features — photo contests, trivia, leaderboard points, passport stamps — reward attendees for interacting with the app or visiting a booth. They're built to drive app usage and exhibitor traffic, not specifically to push two strangers into a conversation.
The icebreaker contest is one feature among many
The closest thing to a conversation-starting tool is a single icebreaker contest, where people answer a casual question for a prize. It's not the centerpiece — it's one option in a bundle of seven or so different contest types, so it isn't built out as a dedicated mingling experience.
Tied to the full Whova platform
Gamification here isn't a standalone tool — it comes as part of adopting the broader Whova event app, registration, and management suite. That's efficient if you need the whole platform, but it's a heavier lift if all you want is something to get people talking during a networking break.
Jam Bingo: Built Specifically to Get People Talking
One focused experience, not a bundle of contests
Jam Bingo doesn't try to be a full event platform. Instead, it's a simple way to get people interacting with others they wouldn't normally talk to.
TL;DR: Jam Bingo is designed to put two people face-to-face in conversation, not to drive clicks inside an app.
No registration platform required
You don't need to be running your event through a broader management suite to use it. Show the game QR code in a slide, sign, or program, and attendees are able to join by scanning it.
Used for the moments that need mingling, not the whole conference
JamSocial is built for the specific stretch of an event where the goal is breaking people out of their existing circles — team kickoffs, orientations, leadership summits, alumni events, and networking mixers — rather than as a feature layered across an entire multi-day conference app.
Which One Should You Use?
If you're already running registration, agendas, and exhibitor management through Whova and want a broad engagement layer with contests, leaderboards, and booth traffic built in, Whova's gamification app fits naturally into that setup. If your goal is specifically getting a room of people to mingle and talk to strangers — without needing a full event platform behind it — Jam Bingo is built for exactly that.
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