paddiction so why is puzzle and dragons a successful game? several reasons. the puzzle part is a luck game that feels like a skill game. you see videos of folks pulling off an incredible series of moves. and you think, wow! that guy's really good. i could be that good. but you don't see how many runs were much more average. ie how much of it is really luck. pad has a pay-to-play mode. though in phone-land it's called in-app-purchase. you can buy magic stones for about a dollar. which you can spend on useful things. like the ability to keep playing when you die or run out of stamina. like a free spin on the roulette wheel. which is the only place you can get some of the best monsters in the game. it psychologically separates your spending (of stones) from your spending of real money. which really helps to monetize the game. the genius part is that pad gives stones away. at the rate of about one a day for a week every other week. magic stones are free! see? we're just giving them away. spend em on this. spend em on that. spend em like water. cause they're free! the other thing they do is limit your play time. the game's version of playing hard to get. makes you want it more. yeah, sure you can play all you want. but you need special monsters. and they're only available in special dungeons. which are only available on certain days at certain times. which is a secret. so you have to keep checking in to see if it's time for your special dungeon. or you can look it up on the web. pad's got a rather enthusiastic fan base. which is both a reason for and product of its success.  ¶ 8:00 AM