How I Turned Samba Rhythm into a Winning Game Design—A Chicago Designer’s Playful Revolution

I didn’t set out to build another lottery app. I wanted to make players feel the pulse of a Samba parade—not just chase prizes, but dance through uncertainty. Growing up in Chicago’s cultural melting pot, I saw how rhythm could be strategy: the beat isn’t random, it’s engineered. Every Bonfo card? A drumstick. Every bonus? A crescendo.

I built Super Bonfo for the player who needs to feel alive while playing—whether they bet $5 or go all-in. The RNG isn’t cold code; it’s the metronome of a street festival. My Northwestern education taught me: if you want engagement, don’t optimize for wins—optimize for flow.

New players start with ‘Carnival Card’—single line, low risk. Veterans chase ‘Rainforest Jackpot’—complex patterns that explode like fireworks at midnight. I’ve seen users cry when they miss… then smile when they return next day. That’s not luck—it’s tempo.

The real magic? It’s not in the odds—it’s in the ritual of pause. When you stop after three losses and step back into silence? That’s when the music finds you again.

I host weekly player salons where strangers become friends sharing screenshots of winning lines like dance moves captured mid-beat. We don’t talk about ‘winning.’ We talk about ‘how it felt.’

Super Bonfo isn’t a game you play—it’s a rhythm you remember.