Episode 1: App Review Journey: Overview

What set me on the app review journey?

Since Kindle Vella (another serial platform) ended, I entered a phase of re-publishing stuff. During that time, I also commissioned several audiobooks. That resulted in many hours of audio files to review. While fun, audio review doesn’t leave me with a lot of mental bandwidth for writing fiction.

Something similar happened during the pandemic, so as I did back then, I pivoted to nonfiction. Basically, I’ve spent the last 9-ish months researching various apps that promise money for doing random stuff.

Quick assessment:

Yes, it’s possible to make money. I’ve made well over $1000 in about six months.

The big but is that there’s actual strategy involved in the process. The second big but is that if you’re not careful, you could lose money.

The commercials are everywhere!

If you’ve ever played any kind of “free” mobile gaming, you’ve probably already seen hundreds of ads. Usually, a game will rotate three soul-sucking ads for a time then move on to others. The ones I’ve been seeing lately have been Freecash, Scrambly, Kalshi, Match Factory, and Atlas Earth.

What do you need to know before starting the journey (to make money by playing mobile games)?

• Doing some research can save you some heartaches and headaches. I got lucky in that I had a friend who had started doing this way before me and had some good suggestions for games to start with. Since that time though, I’ve also taken to asking AI for suggestions. The more you can tell the AI, the better your results will be.

• Keep track of everything. I naturally keep notes just because I am a curious soul, but they come in handy if you have to dispute something as well. Notes are great, but also take screenshots of specific leveling milestones and purchases.

• While you can make money for free, it’s a lot easier if you can invest small amounts of money at the beginning of each game. When we get to game evaluations, I’ll walk you through what I bought and if I’d recommend doing the same.

• Keep in mind that money isn’t the only thing you’re investing. A lot of this comes down to time. In many cases, the apps are very thinly disguised ad farms. They get paid by players buying junk but they also get paid by advertisers, so the more excuses they can come up with to shove an ad in your face, the more money they make.

Which apps will I be evaluating?

I may try more, but for now, we’ll go with the three I started with: Freecash, KashKick, and Scrambly.

I’ll also go through the games that I played along the way.

I can also tell you about my customer service experience with KashKick. That’s not applicable for Freecash as I didn’t have a problem that required customer service, and Scrambly never got back to me.

Ubershort version of the research so far:

• Lost money with Freecash.

• Made most of my money with KashKick.

• Scrambly annoyed the heck out of me.

Most annoying thing about each platform:

• Mobile version of Freecash locks you down to 3 gaming choices at a time. They have a tendency to push the big, trap-y ones too.

• KashKick can have long wait times to release your money.

• Scrambly is a step counter sometimes, but they also work really hard to get you into new offers. So, if you don’t start enough new offers, they will lock the step counter down.

Other semi-annoying tidbits:

• Freecash only lets you cash out amazon in set increments.

• KashKick’s game selection is accessible all at once but it can be difficult finding something that’s doable and fun.

• Scrambly uses a point system that’s 1000 points is $1.00.

Nicest thing about each platform:

• Freecash has relatively quick and easy cashouts. I think you have to verify who you are once by providing a license or taking a picture or something.

• KashKick is by far the easiest to make a lot of money with.

• Scrambly has a decent selection of games.

General observations:

• Most games are looking for first-time users. Even if you’ve played the game for a few minutes and deleted it, your phone remembers.

• The selection of games changes on all apps, so keep checking them from time to time.

• Most of the games can only be played once unless you have a completely separate account started with a different device and a separate email. I don’t recommend that, but it’s possible.

• There’s no rule against multiple apps, and sometimes, they will offer the same game. The payouts can differ. If you find something interesting on one, it’s worth checking a few others to see what they’re offering.

• This is only the surface of the apps available.

• Tracking is super important. Most of the apps will warn you about that, but just be aware that if something goes wrong with the tracking, it can be a royal pain to claim your money.

Vision, goal, disclaimer:

Everybody is different. This guide and my opinions are heavily influenced by how I game. (I prefer farming games.)

This is very much a your-mileage-may-vary thing. How you game may or may not jive with the games I’ve chosen, but you should still be able to find enough information to get started and forge your own path to extra spending cash.

Reality check:

While there is money to be had here, it’s unlikely to be able to pay your rent at this level.

Conclusion:

At the risk of sounding like one of the annoying commercials, if you’re ready to start making money by gaming, head on to episode 2.