# Have fun. Zettelkasten Gamification **URL:** \ **Category:** Knowledge management\ **Tags:** zettelkasten\ **Created:** [March 31, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/have-fun-zettelkasten-gamification/79585 "2024-03-31T18:32:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Edmund](https://forum.obsidian.md/user_avatar/forum.obsidian.md/edmund/32/28146_2.png) [@Edmund](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/Edmund)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/have-fun-zettelkasten-gamification/79585/1 "2024-03-31T18:32:36Z")
![zettelkasten_octalysis](https://forum.obsidian.md/uploads/default/original/3X/a/a/aa8f9dfbae446bcd7b7194d1bc2a177b681c6ae0.png) Today my Zettelkasten turns 2 years and 25 days old. He’s already a real toddler. You can probably still remember the first steps with your own Zettelkasten. It was really fun to get to know the many functions of Obsidian and especially the great plugins. A big thank you to the community here in the Obsidian Forum. She supported us excellently. And often without realizing it, we have used and appreciated many [gamification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification) functions of our Zettelkasten. The time has passed extremely quickly. Many of us have now left the “discovery” and “onboarding” phases of Zettelkasten behind us. Having fun at the beginning has become a habit. But will it be boring to work with the Zettelkasten now? What is your experience? The “8 core drivers of gamification” applied to Zettelkasten are shown in the so-called Octalysis diagram [1] above. > Which elements of gamification do you particularly like to use at the moment to keep your Zettelkasten fun and motivated? Thank you for sharing. **References:** [1] Chou, Yu-Kai. _Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards_ . Packt Publishing, 2019. **Terms:** Gamification is the craft of deriving all the fun and engaging elements found in games and applying them to real-world or productive activities. * * * More about the [12 Principles For Using Zettelkasten](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/12-principles-for-using-zettelkasten/) ---
**Author:** ![andy76](https://forum.obsidian.md/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@andy76](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/andy76)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/have-fun-zettelkasten-gamification/79585/2 "2024-04-02T16:33:42Z")
I don’t know the exact principles contained in the gamification theory, but I think too that the combination of Zettelkasten and Obsidian (or equivalent tool) develops many benefic gaming dynamics. A well done process can develop as a game and move away negative effects such boredom, sense of labor, and so on. I’ve only a single note about Zettelkasten and gamification, it is not yet developed, I’ve only drafted some ideas to develop in the future: - Zettelkasten seen like a dance - Zettelkasten seen like sculpture, the knowledge seen as a statue that I’ve to free from the exceeding marble time after time (like Michelangelo saw his work) - Knowledge development seen like a puzzle to compose, or Lego bricks to build - A Knowledge domain to face like an adventure game quest to accomplish - The progress effect, you easily notice that you become as better as you practice, is very engaging (what you’ve called sense of growth) - The challenging effect, the need to resolve tasks and problems pursuing a goal, is engaging - Zettelkasting develops in me a creative capability I thought I didn’t have, even this is very engaging - the community effect you already cited - the eureka moments and serendipity effects have a very important impact in motivating you - the process need not only the operative level of writing notes, but developing tactics and strategy too just like games ---
**Author:** ![Edmund](https://forum.obsidian.md/user_avatar/forum.obsidian.md/edmund/32/28146_2.png) [@Edmund](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/Edmund)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2024, 1:55pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/have-fun-zettelkasten-gamification/79585/3 "2024-04-10T13:55:18Z")
> [@andy76](#): > > a single note about Zettelkasten and gamification Thank you for your amazing insights 🙂 . Two of your metaphors I love most: - Lego bricks to build - adventure game quest to accomplish And here is some new stuff I just found about gamification and Obsidian: [GitHub - saertna/obsidian-gamified-pkm: Obsidian Gamified PKM: Supercharge your knowledge management experience through gamification with this Obsidian plugin.](https://github.com/saertna/obsidian-gamified-pkm) Do you already know the Obsidian Gamification Plugin designed by Andreas Trebing? It’s a tool designed to harness the motivating power of game techniques and apply it to our pursuit of knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Edmund](https://forum.obsidian.md/user_avatar/forum.obsidian.md/edmund/32/28146_2.png) [@Edmund](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/Edmund)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/have-fun-zettelkasten-gamification/79585/4 "2025-05-23T15:52:05Z")
![Post - Grow your own forest_01](https://forum.obsidian.md/uploads/default/original/3X/4/8/4822a61291d0d1d2fe23a5a0b0acfba416e7313a.jpeg) **Zettelkasten-friendly Timeboxing** Grow your own forest. Whenever you want to stay focused, plant a tree. Use the timer to begin, but let flow end the session. Create mental space for undistracted reading, thinking, or writing. Keep your brain active every day. Transform your Zettelkasten communication into a lush, green forest. **Reference** [1] [obsidian-pomodoro-timer | GitHub](https://github.com/eatgrass/obsidian-pomodoro-timer) [2] [Forest](https://www.forestapp.cc/) ---
**Author:** ![Edmund](https://forum.obsidian.md/user_avatar/forum.obsidian.md/edmund/32/28146_2.png) [@Edmund](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/Edmund)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2025, 4:47pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/have-fun-zettelkasten-gamification/79585/5 "2025-09-03T16:47:42Z")
**The Zettelkasten Game - An Infinite Sandbox Adventure** A Zettelkasten is an infinite sandbox adventure game: You design the world, play inside it, wander without pressure, but sometimes choose quests that give direction and meaning. Six ideas that had already been posted helped me to explore this unknown territory: 1 - [Principles to improve your Zettelkasten](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/inspect-and-adapt-process-but-how/36799/23) 2 - [Zettelkasten Adventure](https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2990/a-zettelkasten-adventure) 3 - [Zettelkasten Definitions](https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/23552/#Comment_23552) 4 - [CIFRZ Levels](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/12-principles-for-using-zettelkasten/51679/12) 5 - [Exploration Maps](https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/3289/zettelkasten-exploration-maps) 6 - [Personal Communication Mix](https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/23760/#Comment_23760) Here is the full story presented in an exploration map: ![Zettelkasten_Adventure_Game_2025-08-29](https://forum.obsidian.md/uploads/default/original/3X/f/9/f9e60890821e71e53a774e5768292ac8afe3fda6.png) Think of it like _Minecraft for ideas_ : You mine, craft, explore, and build. But instead of blocks, you use thoughts. We don’t need to treat Zettelkasten as a rigid system but as a game we get better at playing, one “level” at a time.