Game offers: how milestone rewards work, and why some don't track

A game developer isn't paying for a download. It's paying for a player who sticks around, and reaching level 25 is good evidence of that. So the reward is split into steps: a little for installing and finishing the tutorial, more for the middle levels, the most for the last one.

A good offer lists every step and what it pays before you install. If all you can see is "up to £20", you don't know how much of that is realistic.

The game itself decides who's new, using its own tracking. If you've played it before, on any phone, through any site, it will usually see you as a returning player and nothing will track. That isn't the rewards site being unfair; it's the developer only paying for new customers.

Most failed game offers come down to a handful of things:

• Install from the link the offer gives you, on the same phone you'll play on.
• Turn off VPNs and ad blockers before you tap start.
• Open the game soon after installing, and don't reinstall it partway through.
• Keep the game installed until every milestone you care about has confirmed.
• Note the date you hit each level, so you can report it if something doesn't appear.

Each milestone confirms on its own, usually 7 to 30 days after you reach it. So you can be paid for the early levels while you're still working on the later ones.