I Played a Mobile Game for Cash and All I Got Was This Existential Crisis (And Cash)
Why you should probably be concerned about the tiny casino in your pocket
Recently, in my quest to earn some extra money on a monthly basis (more on this sometime in early December), I discovered that several rewards sites provide payouts just for reaching arbitrary milestones in mobile games. What could be easier than getting paid $20-$50 essentially to goof around on my phone, I thought. So I gave it a try.
Now, I love games, but I rarely play the mobile variety. I was aware of their less-than-stellar reputation among the gaming outlets I follow but never had reason to give them any additional thought.
In retrospect, I probably should have given that less-than-stellar reputation a little more consideration.
What game?
You might know Swagbucks for their paid surveys or their shopping rewards, but they also offer plenty of rewards for playing mobile games.
After browsing their options, I settled on a game called Solitaire Cruise. I figured I’d pick something easy to finish quickly and maybe even a little fun. (The $35 payout didn’t hurt its case, either).
It did turn out to be “fun,” in a predictably simple, mindless way. It was good for unwinding while watching something equally undemanding, like a football game or Twitch stream.
But this also brings me to the first big problem:
It was addictive.
It started on the lowest difficulty imaginable. The rules weren’t even as strict as those of traditional solitaire: I just had to play the current card on any card one number higher or lower, regardless of suit or color. Over and over.
Slowly, through the introduction of various mechanics, the game got more complex. This made it more interesting but also more dependent on sheer luck. By that point, though, I was hooked.
Tap.
“Damn.”
Tap.
“Damn. Okay, this next one, though — ”
Tap.
“Damn it all!”
The worst part was that I knew I was being manipulated! But knowing didn’t help. I became determined to win at a game decided largely by chance in the first place.
It was full of ads.
… Except a disturbingly small portion of my time in-game was spent playing the actual game! See, after every hand, I was made to watch an ad. Make that two ads, because I got extra coins for that, and coins were necessary for advancing the game.
Sometimes, often, I’d run out of coins because — not sure if you’ve made the connection yet — this was just straight-up gambling and at no point had not running out of coins ever been a real possibility.
And naturally, the solution to running out of coins was to watch more ads.
It only wanted me to buy things.
The sole positive in all this is that the game was free to play. However, because of its free-to-play nature, it spent every free second trying to convince me to spend money on — wait for it — more coins.
Anytime I was even slightly struggling in the game, I’d get a prompt for a whole array of coin packages, some offers reasonable (35,000 coins for $4.99, whatever) and some much less so (the alleged “BEST value” package: 950,000 coins for $74.99, utter madness, why would anyone do this).
I understand the games industry is a business like any other. Every game is ultimately trying to make a profit. But most other games at least pretend to care about things like game design and player satisfaction. By contrast, this sort of mobile game seems to exist solely to hook players and bleed them dry.
Does it matter?
Is this all so bad? I could, of course, just avoid games like this in the future. Are they really hurting anyone?
My biggest concern is that if I, a reasonably aware adult, can find myself getting sucked in by these games, how are they affecting kids? At this point, there is mounting evidence that young people are more likely to use loot boxes and similar features. This can harm them both psychologically (as an introduction to gambling) and financially (even small microtransactions add up quickly, especially for kids who haven’t yet learned to spend responsibly).
I suppose I’m also worried about the more general implications of widespread access to games like this. It did seem to have more in common with a casino than with the average video game or even an arcade. At least back in the ‘80s, your entire wallet couldn’t be directly connected to a Ghosts ‘n Goblins cabinet. At some point, you’d just run out of quarters and go home.
What does it mean for society at large when everyone with a smart device effectively has access to as much gambling as they can afford? I don’t know, I’m not sure anyone can know yet, but I can’t imagine it’s anything good.
It’s fine to have fun with these games if that’s what you enjoy, of course, just be careful with them, and maybe keep an eye out for the more vulnerable people in your life (adolescents, gambling addicts) who could be easily exploited by them.
