Viral campaigns widely use online promotional games. Although antecedents of the extrinsic value of participation are discussed in the literature, few studies have focused on the intrinsic value of playing a promotional game. This study examines two dimensions of online game control: the amount of skill required and the ability to influence the odds of winning. A new typology of online promotional games is then proposed and tested using a sample of 146 real online promotional games. When a game mobilizes the players’ skill, word of mouth increases.
