# The Happiness Project — Play Games for Science

> Play games to help scientists study well-being and mental health. (iPhone/iPad app by UCL.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-happiness-project/id1366965114 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [UCL](https://appshunter.io/developer/611203777)
- Category: Education, Entertainment
- Price: Free
- Rating: 3.90/5 from 42 App Store ratings · 12 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 99 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2019-01-27
- Data updated: 2026-08-24
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-happiness-project/id1366965114/reviews.md

## What is The Happiness Project?

Play fun mini-games to help brain scientists study the psychology and neuroscience of well-being!

Created by scientists at UCL and Yale, this app is a citizen science project taking psychology and neuroscience experiments from the lab to your smartphone.

Every 3-minute game that you finish contributes data to real scientific research about how the brain works. The anonymous surveys help us see what causes well-being and understand mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. Be part of a unique citizen science experiment and help us write the equation for happiness!

Dr Robb Rutledge (Yale Psychology) says: "We all want to know what determines happiness. It’s hard to figure it out! In our games, we ask people about their happiness as they make decisions in different situations. We hope people enjoy our app and help us answer some really important scientific questions!"

This citizen science project was supported by the UK Medical Research Council.

## Key features

- Play mini-games for science
- Contribute to psychology research
- Study neuroscience of well-being
- Anonymous surveys
- Understand mental health
- Citizen science project

## Recent user reviews (10 of 12)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-happiness-project/id1366965114/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Brilliant, subtle design

*2024-04-14*

It looked like a fairly amateurish game app at first, but in fact it works really well. Great design, QA, and well proved.

### 1/5 — Unhappy

*2023-12-04*

This game is a torture device of unhappiness.

### 1/5 — Games are boring

*2022-10-28*

These games are boring and should not be used to measure motivation to happiness. I am motivated to just get the game done as quickly as possible and that's about it :)

### 5/5 — Interesting project

*2021-12-20*

The games are well constructed and the questions seem relevent. All the best

### 3/5 — Not stimulating

*2021-08-22*

Super boring

### 1/5 — Boring

*2021-07-08*

These games are super boring

### 1/5 — Unfun games

*2021-05-12*

These games are simply not fun so one has to pretend to care whether one wins or not. I wound up quite angry!

### 5/5 — Simple, but fun

*2021-03-26*

Cute little games. Quite harmless. If it helps the scientists that's great.

### 2/5 — Not winning me over

*2021-02-22*

I really want to help with this project but I’m seriously doubting the effectiveness of this app. Am I the only person whose mood doesn’t change in response to a phone game? I think the games need to be more engaging or competitive or something in order to make the player care more about the outcomes. Also, the fishing game just kills me. I hate that I’m forced to play it at every level because I feel like all that tapping is going to give me a repetitive stress injury.

### 5/5 — Games for science

*2021-01-05*

Interesting games, teaching you about the science behind them as well makes it even more enjoyable. Nice to think it will help improve the scientific understanding of well-being to help people enjoy their lives more.

## Frequently asked questions about The Happiness Project

### What is The Happiness Project's learning methodology?

The Happiness Project uses a gamified approach to citizen science. Users play short mini-games that collect data on decision-making and happiness levels, contributing to scientific understanding of well-being and mental health.

### How does The Happiness Project track user progress?

Progress tracking in The Happiness Project is focused on contribution to research. While individual game scores may not be the primary focus, users contribute data with every completed 3-minute game, helping scientists analyze trends.

### Does The Happiness Project offer certifications?

The Happiness Project does not offer formal certifications. Its primary goal is to gather data for scientific research on psychology and neuroscience, rather than providing educational credentials.

### What do users like most about The Happiness Project?

Users appreciate the opportunity to contribute to real scientific research while playing enjoyable mini-games. The app's focus on well-being and mental health also resonates with many players.

### What are the main criticisms of The Happiness Project?

Based on its 3.9-star rating from 41 reviews, some users may find the game mechanics repetitive or the scientific purpose less engaging than traditional games. Specific criticisms are not detailed in the provided data.

### Is The Happiness Project suitable for all ages?

The Happiness Project has an age rating of 12+. This indicates it is intended for users aged 12 and older, suggesting content and complexity appropriate for this demographic.

### How often is The Happiness Project updated?

The Happiness Project was last updated on July 14, 2025, with version 1.1. This indicates recent development activity, though the frequency of future updates is not specified.

### Does The Happiness Project have ads?

No, The Happiness Project does not contain advertisements. The app is entirely free to download and use without any ad interruptions.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.1 — 2025-07-14

Bug fixes and general improvements

### 7.15.3 — 2022-01-12

Game improvements

### 7.15.2 — 2021-08-22

Game and survey improvements.

### 7.14.3 — 2021-03-24

Game and survey improvements.

### 7.12.5 — 2021-01-24

Game and survey improvements.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-24.*