Measured Updated dailyMarkdown copy

Live counter or timer stays in frame

A viral gaming format on TikTok and Instagram

Keep a persistent scoreboard, price tally or stopwatch on screen for the whole video.

3

accounts it worked for

11x

median, times their usual

#24

of 35 in gaming

Editing trick

Screen recording, Talking head

Why it works

The running number creates stakes and a reason to watch to the end. It works for matches, builds and puzzle races.

Hook formula[Challenge], Total [cost/score/time]: starts at zero.

How to make it

  1. 1Add the counter from the first second
  2. 2Update it with every score, part or round
  3. 3Save the biggest number or the reveal for the end

Examples

Best first, one per account. Each links to the original post.

  • @playqb54

    86K followers, Instagram

    “FIRST TO 54”

    670x their usual likes, screen recording, tips and guides

  • @lt_times

    16K followers, TikTok

    “Oct. 30”

    12x their usual views, talking head, tips and guides

  • @linustech

    1.4M followers, TikTok

    “Total Cost: $0”

    7.7x their usual views, screen recording, tips and guides

Your post here and want it removed? Email [email protected].

This is the preview. Start a free trial for the full library.

The full library has every post, format and hook in gaming, plus long-running Meta ads, and your AI agent can search it over MCP. The library comes with Volume Core and Pro, from $29.99 a month, and every plan starts with a 3-day free trial.

For AI agents

Start a free trial, add this MCP server to your agent (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex), then ask it for what’s working or make this request:

Get the MCP

More gaming formats

What’s working in gaming this week

How this is measured

  • Every post is compared with its own account's usual reach, not with other accounts. "14x their usual" means the post got 14 times the median views of that account's recent posts.
  • TikTok videos and Instagram Reels are measured on views. Instagram carousels have no view count, so they are measured on likes against the account's usual likes, and say so.
  • A post makes the library at 2x its account's usual or more. A format is a repeatable move (what is said or shown, or how it is edited) that several accounts used in breakout posts. It is listed here once it worked for 3 or more different accounts.
  • Formats rank on how many accounts they worked for and how far above usual, damped so a fluke on one tiny account cannot outrank a format that worked for ten.