Gamification uses game mechanics like challenges, achievements, and rewards to motivate and engage non-game users. It works by setting goals and providing feedback as users make progress, such as completing lessons on a website. Examples include progress bars, points, badges, and leaderboards that recognize accomplishments and keep users engaged by satisfying their innate human desires for achievement and status. However, gamification requires more than just adding game-like elements - the key is finding what can be meaningfully gamified and building the user experience around those gameful parts.