CasinoGames/ONBOARDING_IMPLEMENTATION.md

Onboarding System Implementation Summary

Overview

A comprehensive, non-intrusive onboarding system has been implemented for both Blackjack and Baccarat games. The system provides a great first-time user experience without annoying experienced players.

Components Created (in CasinoKit)

1. OnboardingState.swift

• Tracks first-time user progress
• Manages which hints have been shown
• Persists state to UserDefaults
• Supports tutorial mode (replay hints)
• Game-specific identifiers (separate state per game)

Key Methods:

• shouldShowHint(key:) - Check if hint should be displayed
• markHintShown(key:) - Mark hint as seen (persisted)
• completeWelcome() - Mark welcome sheet as completed
• startTutorialMode() / endTutorialMode() - Enable/disable tutorial replay
• reset() - Clear all onboarding data (for testing)

2. WelcomeSheet.swift

• First-launch welcome screen
• Lists key features with icons
• Two CTAs: "Show Me How" (tutorial) or "Start Playing" (skip)
• Automatically shows game emoji (🃏 for Blackjack, 🎴 for Baccarat)
• Fully localized

3. ContextualTooltip.swift

• In-game hint tooltips
• Appears at the right moment
• "Got it" button to dismiss
• Animated entry/exit
• Automatically marks hint as shown on dismiss
• View modifier for easy integration

4. PulsingModifier.swift

• Visual pulse animation to draw attention
• Optional enhancement for interactive elements
• Configurable color and scale
• Currently available but not actively used (can be added later)

Integration in Games

Blackjack

Welcome Sheet Features:

1. Beat the Dealer - Get closer to 21
2. Learn Strategy - Built-in hints
3. Practice Free - Start with $1,000
4. Customize Rules - Change settings

Contextual Hints:

• Betting Zone: "Tap chips, then tap here to bet" (when entering betting phase for first time)
• Deal Button: "Tap Deal to start the round" (after placing first bet)
• Player Actions: "Choose your action based on the hint above" (during first player turn)

Baccarat

Welcome Sheet Features:

1. Bet on Player, Banker, or Tie
2. Track Patterns - Road maps show history
3. Practice Free - Start with $1,000
4. Customize Settings - Change table limits

Contextual Hints:

• Betting Zone: "Tap chips, then tap a betting zone" (when entering betting phase for first time)
• Deal Button: "Tap Deal to start the round" (after placing first bet)
• Result Display: "Results appear here, then in the road maps below" (after first round completes)

Settings Changes

Both games now default to more beginner-friendly settings:

Setting	Old Default	New Default
Table Limits	Low Stakes ($10-$1,000)	Casual ($5-$500)
Starting Balance	$10,000	$1,000

Rationale:

• Lower minimum bet ($5) is less intimidating for beginners
• $1,000 balance creates more meaningful decisions (not too much/little)
• Still allows ~200 hands at $5/hand for good learning experience
• Users can always increase in settings

Bug Fix

Blackjack Late Surrender:

• Fixed inconsistency where resetToDefaults() set it to true but Vegas preset overrode to false
• Now correctly defaults to false to match Vegas rules

User Flow

First Launch:

1. App loads
2. Welcome sheet appears automatically after 500ms delay
3. User chooses:
   • "Show Me How": Enables tutorial mode, shows contextual hints during first round
   • "Start Playing": Skips tutorial, hints still appear once naturally during gameplay

Subsequent Launches:

• Welcome sheet never shows again
• Contextual hints appear once at the right moment
• Each hint only shows once per hint key
• Completely transparent to returning users

Tutorial Mode:

• User can replay tutorial by tapping "Show Me How" on welcome
• All hints re-enabled for that session
• Tutorial mode doesn't persist across app launches

Technical Details

Hint Timing

• Hints are shown with delays using Task.sleep(for:) on MainActor
• Animations use spring duration for smooth transitions
• onChange modifiers trigger hints based on game state changes

Persistence

• Uses UserDefaults with game-specific keys
• Format: "onboarding.{gameIdentifier}.{property}"
• Examples: "onboarding.blackjack.hasLaunched", "onboarding.baccarat.hintsShown"

Thread Safety

• All onboarding state is @MainActor
• Safe to use from SwiftUI views
• No threading concerns

Documentation Updates

Blackjack README

• Added "First-Time User Experience" section at top of features
• Documents welcome sheet, tutorial mode, and contextual hints

Baccarat README

• Added "First-Time User Experience" section at top of features
• Same structure as Blackjack for consistency

CasinoKit README

• New "Onboarding & Tutorials" section with full API documentation
• Code examples for WelcomeSheet, ContextualTooltip, OnboardingState
• Updated file structure to show new components
• Added Blackjack to "Apps Using CasinoKit" list

Best Practices Followed

✅ Non-intrusive: All onboarding is skippable ✅ One-time only: Hints never show twice (unless tutorial mode) ✅ Right moment: Hints appear contextually, not all at once ✅ Short & visual: Messages are concise with icons ✅ Localized: All strings use String Catalog ✅ Accessible: Uses standard SwiftUI components ✅ Persistent: User's progress is saved ✅ Game-specific: Each game has independent onboarding state

Testing Recommendations

Manual Testing:

1. Fresh install: Delete app, reinstall, verify welcome sheet appears
2. Tutorial mode: Tap "Show Me How", verify hints appear in sequence
3. Skip mode: Tap "Start Playing", verify hints still appear once naturally
4. Second launch: Relaunch app, verify welcome doesn't show again
5. Settings reset: Check if onboarding can be reset (could add to settings)

Reset for Testing:

Add this to a development menu if needed:

Button("Reset Onboarding") {
    gameState.onboarding.reset()
}

Future Enhancements (Not Implemented)

These could be added later if desired:

1. Progressive discovery hints: Tips after 5/10/20 hands

   • "Enable card counting in settings" (Blackjack)
   • "Side bets offer bigger payouts" (both games)

2. Onboarding analytics: Track which hints are most helpful

3. User-requested replay: "Show tutorial again" in settings

4. Pulsing hints: Use PulsingModifier on interactive elements during tutorial

5. Accessibility announcements: Post VoiceOver announcements for key moments

Files Created

CasinoKit/Sources/CasinoKit/
├── Models/OnboardingState.swift
└── Views/
    ├── ContextualTooltip.swift
    ├── WelcomeSheet.swift
    └── PulsingModifier.swift

Files Modified

Blackjack/
├── Models/GameSettings.swift (defaults changed, bug fix)
├── Engine/GameState.swift (added onboarding property)
└── Views/Game/GameTableView.swift (integrated onboarding UI)

Baccarat/
├── Models/GameSettings.swift (defaults changed)
├── Engine/GameState.swift (added onboarding property)
└── Views/Game/GameTableView.swift (integrated onboarding UI)

README Files:
├── Blackjack/README.md
├── Baccarat/README.md
└── CasinoKit/README.md

Conclusion

The onboarding system provides a polished first-time user experience that:

• Helps new users understand the game quickly
• Never annoys experienced players
• Maintains the premium feel of the apps
• Follows iOS best practices
• Is fully reusable for future casino games

All code follows the project's Swift/SwiftUI guidelines, uses design constants, and includes proper accessibility support.