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Exploitative Patternsin Games

Sludge

Also: administrative friction

Excessive friction deliberately placed in the user's protective path — the opposite of a helpful nudge.

Sludge is friction engineered to discourage choices that protect the user — cancelling, refunding, opting out, or closing an account. Where a nudge eases a beneficial action, sludge obstructs one. It is the mechanism behind ‘roach motel’ designs that are easy to enter and hard to leave.

See also

References

  1. Newall, P. W. S. (2025). Sludge, dark patterns and dark nudges: A taxonomy of online gambling platforms' deceptive design features. Addiction. doi.org/10.1111/add.70085 · citing patterns
  2. Kelly, D. (2024). Identifying dark patterns in user account disabling interfaces: Content analysis results. Social Media + Society. doi.org/10.1177/20563051231224269 · citing patterns