# Choose Calm or Game

> Prior can stay a quiet task app, or add XP, a pet and weekly leagues on top of it. Pick one, and switch back at any time without touching your tasks.

Source: https://priortasks.com/docs/game-mode/calm-or-game/
Last updated: 2026-11-05

Prior has two ways to feel. **Calm** is a quiet tool with nothing extra on screen. **Gamified** adds levels, a pet, chests and weekly leagues on top of the same tasks. Your tasks, projects and habits are identical in both, and what you earn is never for sale: paid plans give no XP, no cosmetics and no league advantage.

## Where you choose

Prior asks once, after you complete your first task: "Earn XP for what you finish, and raise a pet. Your tasks stay the same." Choose **Yes, let's play** or **No thanks**. **No thanks** keeps you in Calm. The **Discover** page also has a "Make it a game" chapter if you want to decide later.

## Switch at any time

1. Open **Settings → Game**.
2. Under **Experience**, choose **Calm** or **Gamified**.

The change saves at once and follows your account on every device. It needs a connection: without one, the page asks you to connect.

## What Gamified adds

- [XP and levels](https://priortasks.com/docs/game-mode/xp-and-levels/) for the tasks you finish and the habits you check in, with a rank every 10 levels.
- A [streak](https://priortasks.com/docs/game-mode/streaks/) of days in a row.
- A [pet](https://priortasks.com/docs/game-mode/pets/) that hatches from an egg and grows with your level.
- [Chests and items](https://priortasks.com/docs/game-mode/chests-and-items/) from level-ups, streaks and achievements.
- [Achievements](https://priortasks.com/docs/game-mode/achievements/).
- [Weekly leagues and leaderboards](https://priortasks.com/docs/game-mode/leagues/), only if you choose to be seen.

The XP bar and the pet sit at the bottom of the sidebar. The **Progress** page, also in the sidebar, holds the details: **Overview**, **Leagues**, **Achievements**, **Inventory** and **Pet**. On a phone, open it from **More**.

## What Calm does

Calm hides all of the above: no XP bar, no pet, no celebrations, no **Progress** page, and you never appear on a leaderboard. Prior still counts your XP, your streak and your chests in the background, so switching to Gamified later shows your real level and not a fresh start.

## The first time you turn Game on

- You get a pet egg. It hatches when you complete your next task or check in a habit.
- You get a **Simple ring** avatar border and **Classic confetti** to start with.
- Prior credits the tasks you completed in the last 90 days, once, in a project or not. A message tells you the level you start at. This starting XP counts toward your level and achievements, never toward weekly leagues or project leaderboards.

## Your public identity

Under **Public identity** in **Settings → Game**, which appears when Gamified is on:

- **Username**: how you appear on leaderboards instead of your name. See [Leaderboards, usernames and kudos](https://priortasks.com/docs/game-mode/leaderboards-and-kudos/).
- **Leaderboards**: **Public**, **Anonymous** or **Hidden**. New accounts start on **Hidden**: nobody sees you until you change it.
- **Effects**: **Full**, **Subtle** or **Off**. Confetti and animations follow this, and your system's reduced-motion setting always wins.
- **Sounds**: small chimes for completions and level-ups. They are off by default.

> [!note]
> Calm and Gamified are the same on every plan. Nothing in Game mode needs Pro.