Mobile game ads are often fake because they’re built to win the cheapest possible install, not to show you the game. Studios test huge numbers of ad versions and keep whichever gets the most taps, and a staged puzzle where a player makes an obvious mistake tends to beat real gameplay. Regulators have banned some of the worst examples, but misleading ads still run every day. The store listing, not the ad, is where you find out what a game really is.
Why do game ads show a different game? #
Free games get most of their players through paid ads. The industry calls it user acquisition: a studio pays an ad network for each install, and the cheaper each install, the more players it can afford to buy. That turns ads into a numbers game. Studios produce many versions of an ad, run them side by side, and keep the ones that cost least per install.
What wins that contest often has nothing to do with the real game. The most common styles:
- Pull-the-pin puzzles. Pull the right pin to save a character from lava or send gold to the right place.
- “Fail” ads. A player makes painfully obvious mistakes, so you think, “I could do better,” and tap to prove it.
- “Only 1% can solve this.” A challenge to your pride.
- Rescue stories. A character in danger who needs your help right now.
- Playable ads. A tiny demo you can play inside the ad, often of a minigame that barely exists in the real thing.
The real game usually has a different job. A match-3 game with home decorating or a strategy game with bases to build keeps players around for months and sells them things. The ad’s only job is the install. When those two jobs pull in different directions, you get an ad for a game that doesn’t exist. A few games have since added versions of their ad minigames as side modes, which is a tell that the ad came first.
Why do fail ads work so well? #
They’re built on irritation. Watching someone miss the obvious move is uncomfortable, and the easiest way to scratch that itch is to try it yourself. Curiosity does the rest: you want to know if the puzzle is really that simple. Neither feeling tells you whether you’ll enjoy the actual game, which is why so many of these installs end in a quick uninstall.
Has anyone done anything about fake game ads? #
Some, slowly.
- The UK. In 2020 the Advertising Standards Authority banned two ads for Playrix’s Homescapes and Gardenscapes because the puzzles they showed weren’t representative of the games. That ruling is the one most often cited, and complaints about misleading game ads can be made to the ASA.
- The US. Misleading advertising falls under the Federal Trade Commission, and you can report deceptive ads at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
- The App Store. Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines say app preview videos may only use screen captures of the app itself. Ads on social media and inside other games aren’t held to that rule, which is why the store preview is more trustworthy than the ad that sent you there.
Enforcement is uneven, and a banned ad can be replaced by a similar one the next day. The practical defense is checking the game yourself.
How to check a game before you install it #
- Watch the preview video on the store listing. On the App Store it has to be real footage from the app.
- Look past the first screenshot. The first image is often marketing art. The later ones tend to show actual screens.
- Read recent low-star reviews. Search for “not like the ads” or “misleading.” If the ad’s minigame is missing, reviewers will say so.
- Check the developer. Tap the developer’s name and look at their other games. A studio that makes only one kind of game will make that kind of game.
- Open the In-App Purchases list. It tells you what the game really sells.
- Search for gameplay footage. A few minutes of a real player’s video settles it.
Our guide to finding good mobile games covers more ways to judge a game without relying on its ads.
Other ad tricks to watch for #
- Tiny or delayed close buttons, and ads where a slightly off tap opens the store instead of closing.
- Ads for impostor games that borrow a famous game’s name or art. Our guide on how to spot fake game apps shows how to check a listing is the real one.
- Fake system warnings. An ad that says your phone has a virus or your battery is damaged is a scam. Your phone doesn’t warn you through ads. Close it and never install anything it offers.
- Prize promises. “You’ve won an iPhone” inside a game ad is never real.
Why does the game I’m playing show ads for other games? #
Free games that run on ads usually get them from an ad network, not by picking each ad themselves. Game players tap game ads, so networks fill game ad space with other games. Developers can block some categories, but they can’t review every ad the network sends.
Our own Flappy Kittens (Flappy Cat on Google Play) works this way. Its ads come from Google’s AdMob network, so some of them will be for other games, and occasionally for exactly the kind of game this article describes. If you see a misleading one, use the ad’s info or options button to report it to Google. What we do control is our own store listing, and its screenshots are captured from the game itself, running for real.
If ads bother you more than the games they advertise, see our guide to stopping ads in mobile games. To stop games from targeting ads based on your activity elsewhere, see how to turn off personalized ads.
Frequently asked questions #
Are the games in mobile ads real? #
Sometimes. The game being advertised is real, but the gameplay in the ad may be a minigame that appears rarely, or not at all. Check the store preview video and recent reviews to see what you’ll actually play.
Why do mobile game ads show people failing on purpose? #
Because it works. Watching someone make an obvious mistake makes many people want to try it themselves, and studios test enough ad versions to know that fail ads often get the cheapest installs.
Can I report a misleading game ad? #
Yes. Use the ad’s info or options button to report it to the ad network, or report it on the platform where you saw it. In the UK you can complain to the Advertising Standards Authority, and in the US you can report deceptive ads to the FTC.
Is it illegal for game ads to be misleading? #
Misleading advertising breaks consumer protection rules in many countries, including the UK and the US. Enforcement happens case by case and slowly, though, so plenty of misleading ads run for a long time before anyone acts.