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Status: Brainstorm Phase: Phase 8 | Tier: Free + Pro

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Overview

Badges reward lifetime milestones. IQ Points reward consistent engagement. Challenges and Leaderboards add the third dimension: time-bounded goals and social competition. Each month, High IQ presents a set of challenges — specific, achievable objectives with clear IQ Point rewards. Complete a challenge and you earn points, flairs, and progress toward your next badge. An opt-in referral leaderboard shows the top referrers of the month, adding a competitive layer for users who want to see how they stack up. Challenges transform passive app usage into active goal pursuit. Without challenges, a user who imports an order and reads a report has “used the app.” With challenges, that same user is also “2/3 of the way through the Explorer Challenge” and has a reason to come back tomorrow for one more strain. The psychological difference is enormous — challenges turn retention from something the app hopes for into something the user works toward. Leaderboards add social proof and aspiration. Seeing that the top referrer this month has 12 confirmed referrals makes 5 referrals feel achievable. Seeing your own name on the board — even at #47 — creates a stake. Leaderboards are opt-in because competition is not for everyone, but for the users who do opt in, they become the most engaged segment of the community. The challenge system is designed to be lightweight, repeatable, and integrated with every other growth feature. Challenges reference actions that the app already tracks (orders, scans, shares, referrals), so no new tracking infrastructure is needed. The reward structure (IQ Points + flairs) uses existing systems. The only new components are the challenge definitions, the challenge progress UI, and the monthly reset logic.

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Monthly Challenges

Each month features 4-5 challenges spanning different aspects of the app. Challenges reset on the 1st of each month. Incomplete challenges expire — there is no carry-over.

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Standard Monthly Challenges

These challenges rotate monthly but draw from a consistent pool:
PropertyValue
ObjectiveAdd 3 strains you have never tracked before to your collection
IQ Points200
Flair”Explorer” flair (displayed on profile for the month)
TrackingCount of new unique strains added during the calendar month
DifficultyMedium — requires 3 purchases or imports, achievable for active users
PropertyValue
ObjectiveScan 2 cannabis product labels using the Label Scanner
IQ Points100
Flair”Scientist” flair
TrackingCount of completed label scans during the calendar month
DifficultyEasy — requires having 2 cannabis products with readable labels
PropertyValue
ObjectiveImport at least one dispensary order in 3 consecutive weeks
IQ Points150
Flair”Consistent” flair
TrackingWeekly order import flags; 3 consecutive weeks required
DifficultyMedium-Hard — requires regular dispensary visits or pre-planned imports
PropertyValue
ObjectiveShare any content via Share Cards at least once during the week
IQ Points50 (per week, up to 4x per month = 200 total)
FlairNone (too frequent for a flair)
TrackingWeekly share count; resets each Monday
DifficultyEasy — a single share of any type completes it
PropertyValue
ObjectiveHave 1 new confirmed referral during the calendar month
IQ Points500
Flair”Recruiter” flair
TrackingCount of referrals confirmed (friend uploaded first order) during the month
DifficultyHard — requires convincing someone to download, sign up, AND import an order
The 500 IQ Points for the Referral Challenge are in addition to the standard referral rewards. This makes the monthly challenge period the most lucrative time to refer friends.

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Monthly Bonus Challenge

Each month features one rotating bonus challenge that keeps the experience fresh:
MonthBonus ChallengeReward
January”New Year, New Strains” — Try 5 strains from a High Family you have never explored300 IQ + “Adventurer” flair
February”Pairing Expert” — Scan a label AND read the full report for the same strain, 3 times250 IQ + “Thorough” flair
March”Spring Cleaning” — Archive 5 finished items from your stash150 IQ + “Organized” flair
April”420 Challenge” — See Annual Events belowLimited edition badge
May”Recommendation Round” — Share 3 different report sections with friends200 IQ + “Advisor” flair
June”Summer Sampler” — Try strains from 3 different dispensaries250 IQ + “Well-Traveled” flair
July”710 Challenge” — See Annual Events belowLimited edition badge
August”Terpene Hunter” — Scan 5 labels and identify 3+ unique dominant terpenes300 IQ + “Terpene Hunter” flair
September”Back to Basics” — Re-purchase and re-review 3 strains you rated 4+ stars200 IQ + “Loyal” flair
October”Strain Collector” — Add 10 unique strains to your collection400 IQ + “Collector” flair
November”Community Month” — Refer 2 friends AND share 5 pieces of content500 IQ + “Community Leader” flair
December”Year in Review” — View your annual summary and share your Cannabis Personality250 IQ + “Reflective” flair

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Annual Events

Two calendar events get special treatment with limited-edition badges that can never be earned again outside of their annual window.

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420 Challenge (April 1-30)

The most important date on the cannabis calendar gets a dedicated challenge:
  • Objective: Complete 4 out of 5 mini-challenges during April:
    1. Import at least 2 orders
    2. Scan at least 1 label
    3. Share at least 2 pieces of content
    4. Try at least 1 new strain
    5. Read at least 3 full research reports
  • Reward: Limited edition “420” badge (Epic rarity, unique design, year-stamped: “420 2026”)
  • IQ Points: 420 (naturally)
  • Exclusivity: Each year’s 420 badge has a unique design. Collecting multiple years creates a visible history

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710 Challenge (July 1-31)

For concentrate enthusiasts (710 upside down spells “OIL”):
  • Objective: Complete 3 out of 4 mini-challenges during July:
    1. Scan 2 concentrate/extract labels
    2. Try 2 new strains commonly used in concentrates
    3. Share a label scan result
    4. Read a report section on terpene profiles (relevant to concentrate quality)
  • Reward: Limited edition “710” badge (Epic rarity, year-stamped: “710 2026”)
  • IQ Points: 250
  • Exclusivity: Same year-stamped exclusivity as the 420 badge

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Referral Leaderboard

The referral leaderboard is a monthly ranking of users by confirmed referral count. It is entirely opt-in — users must explicitly choose to appear on the leaderboard.

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Leaderboard Display

ElementVisibility
UsernameShown (display name, not real name)
Referral countShown (confirmed referrals this month)
Badges earnedShown (Community badge icons next to username)
Profile frameShown (referral tier frame visible)
LocationNOT shown
Real nameNOT shown
Strain dataNOT shown

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Monthly Prizes

The top 3 referrers each month receive additional rewards:
RankPrize
#1High IQ branded merch (sticker pack + hat) + 1,000 bonus IQ + “Top Referrer” animated flair for the next month
#2750 bonus IQ + “Community Spotlight” feature (profile highlighted in Community section)
#3500 bonus IQ + “Rising Star” flair for the next month

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Leaderboard Rules

  • Opt-in required — Users must toggle “Show me on leaderboard” in settings. Default is off.
  • Monthly reset — Leaderboard resets on the 1st of each month. Previous months’ rankings are archived.
  • Minimum threshold — Users need at least 1 confirmed referral to appear on the leaderboard
  • Anti-gaming — Same anti-abuse protections as the Referral System (order upload requirement, Apple ID uniqueness, velocity detection)
  • Visible count — All leaderboard participants can see how many people are on the board and their own rank, even if they are not in the top 10

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User Value

Challenges turn “I should open that app” into “I’m one strain away from completing the Explorer Challenge” — the difference between passive usage and active engagement.

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How It Works

1

Monthly Challenges Appear

On the 1st of each month, the Challenges tab refreshes with new objectives. A push notification announces: “February’s challenges are live — 1,200 IQ Points up for grabs.”
2

Track Progress

Each challenge shows a progress bar and specific count (e.g., “1/3 new strains”). Progress updates in real time as the user takes qualifying actions.
3

Complete a Challenge

When a challenge objective is met, a celebration animation plays. IQ Points are credited immediately. If the challenge includes a flair, it is applied to the user’s profile.
4

Challenge Summary

At the end of the month, a summary card shows completed challenges, total IQ Points earned, and how the user compares to the community average. This summary is shareable.
5

Leaderboard Update

For opt-in users, the referral leaderboard updates in real time throughout the month. End-of-month rankings determine prize distribution.

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Technical Approach

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Architecture

ComponentTechnologyNotes
Challenge DefinitionsConvex challenges tableMonthly challenge configs with objectives, rewards, and tracking rules
Progress TrackingConvex mutationsEach qualifying action (order import, scan, share) triggers a progress update mutation
Monthly ResetTrigger.dev scheduled taskRuns on the 1st: archives previous month, activates new challenges, resets leaderboard
LeaderboardConvex query with indexSorted by confirmed referral count, filtered to opted-in users
FlairsConvex user_flairs tableActive flair displayed on profile; expires when the month ends
Push NotificationsExpo NotificationsMonthly challenge announcement, challenge completion, leaderboard rank changes
Prize DistributionManual + automatedIQ Points automated; merch fulfillment manual

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Data Model (Convex)

challenges
  - challengeId: string (unique per month, e.g., "2026-02-explorer")
  - month: string (e.g., "2026-02")
  - name: string
  - description: string
  - objective: string
  - targetCount: number
  - metric: string (e.g., "newStrains", "labelScans", "shares")
  - iqReward: number
  - flairId?: string
  - isBonus: boolean
  - isAnnualEvent: boolean

challenge_progress
  - userId: Id<"users">
  - challengeId: string
  - currentCount: number
  - completedAt?: number
  - rewardClaimed: boolean

user_flairs
  - userId: Id<"users">
  - flairId: string
  - name: string
  - earnedFrom: string (challenge ID)
  - activeUntil: number (end of month)

leaderboard_optins
  - userId: Id<"users">
  - optedIn: boolean
  - optedInAt: number

leaderboard_archive
  - month: string
  - rankings: Array<{ userId, rank, referralCount, prizes }>

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Challenge Progress Flow

When a user performs a qualifying action (e.g., imports an order with a new strain):
  1. The order import mutation completes successfully
  2. A post-action hook checks active challenges for the current month
  3. If the action matches a challenge metric, the challenge_progress document is updated
  4. If the updated count meets the target, the challenge is marked complete
  5. IQ Points are credited and flair is activated (if applicable)
  6. A completion notification is shown in the app
This flow piggybacks on existing mutations — no separate “challenge tracking” system is needed. The check happens as a side effect of actions the user is already taking.

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Tier Impact

TierAccess
FreeParticipate in all standard monthly challenges, earn IQ Points from completions, see leaderboard (view only)
ProAll Free benefits + bonus challenges (monthly rotating + annual events), leaderboard opt-in and participation, limited-edition event badges (420, 710), challenge completion share cards, 1.5x IQ Point multiplier on challenge rewards

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Dependencies

  • IQ Points system (Phase 4) — challenge rewards are denominated in IQ Points
  • Referral System (Phase 2) — referral challenge and leaderboard depend on referral tracking
  • Community Badges (Phase 3) — challenges reference badge progress and award community-adjacent achievements
  • Share Cards (Phase 1) — challenge completion cards and monthly summary cards
  • Order import tracking — built and live (tracks new strains, order frequency)
  • Label scanner usage tracking — built and live (tracks scan count)
  • Badge system — built and live (progress hooks reusable for challenge tracking)
  • Trigger.dev monthly cron for challenge rotation and leaderboard reset
  • Challenge progress UI (tab or section in profile)
  • Leaderboard UI with opt-in toggle
  • Push notification templates for challenge announcements and completions
  • Flair system (lightweight — just a string displayed on profile)

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Open Questions

  1. Challenge difficulty calibration — The proposed challenges are guesses. “Try 3 new strains” might be trivial for heavy users and impossible for occasional users. Should challenges have difficulty tiers (Easy / Medium / Hard) with scaled rewards?
  2. Incomplete challenge psychology — Expired, incomplete challenges can feel like failure. Should incomplete challenges show “you were 2/3 of the way there!” encouragement, or simply disappear? Research suggests that near-miss feedback increases future participation.
  3. Challenge fatigue — If users see the same challenge types every month (try strains, scan labels, share content), does it become stale? The rotating bonus challenge helps, but the standard pool may need to be larger (8-10 challenges, 5 active per month).
  4. Leaderboard size — How many users are visible on the leaderboard? Top 10? Top 50? Top 100? Smaller boards feel more prestigious; larger boards give more users the thrill of being “on the board.”
  5. Team challenges — Could future iterations support group challenges? “Your friend group collectively tried 20 new strains this month.” This requires the Friend Connections infrastructure from Strain Compatibility.
  6. Regional leaderboards — Should leaderboards be global or segmented by region/state? Regional boards reduce the gap between casual and power users, but the user base may be too small for regional segmentation at launch.
  • IQ Points — The currency that challenge rewards are denominated in
  • Community Badges — Challenges and badges reinforce each other (badge progress is a challenge type)
  • Referral System — Referral leaderboard and referral challenge depend on this system
  • Cannabis Personality — December’s bonus challenge references the annual personality summary
  • Share Cards — Challenge completion and monthly summary cards use the share card system