two & a half gamers Coin Sort Review: The Hybrid Puzzler smarter than HexaSort
We dive into Coin Sort, a surprising hybrid-casual puzzler that blends merge + sorting mechanics with clever ad monetization.
Flow-state puzzler: players merge and sort coins, driving a satisfying loop.
Unique twist: players call in new coins themselves, creating agency.
Difficulty ramps as more coins = higher-value merges = more chaos.
Shallow progression today (daily rewards, calendar, boosters).
Likely to expand into menu + cosmetic/meta systems if scale continues.
Early launch style: prove core loop, meta comes later.
Revenue ~$120K/day; ~65% IAP, ~35% ads.
Banner ads: ever-present, likely a decoy to push “Remove Ads” IAP.
Interstitials: after level 3, ~9.7 per DAU. Pop-up after 3rd = strong “remove ads” conversion.
Rewarded ads: clever mechanic where frozen stacks of coins drop mid-level for 5s → high-pressure CTA. Also includes 2x post-level and daily reward.
Explosive scaling since June 2025, 360K DAU → $40K/day ads + $80K/day IAP.
Strong Tier 1 focus: US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan.
Scaling with playables, though creative variety still thin (3–4 pages).
Coin Sort is IAP-heavy (~65% IAP vs HexaSort’s 88% ads).
Takeaway: Coin Sort proves that hybrid puzzlers don’t need to be ad-first — if you build clever ad funnels that push players into IAPs, you can scale fast in Tier 1 markets.
Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop
--------------------------------------
PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.
Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/
They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.
- Scale fast
- Keep your shares
- Drawdown only as needed
- Have PvX take downside risk alongside you
+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors
---------------------------------------
For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.
Our sponsor FastSpring:
Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years
They power top mobile publishers around the world
Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.
---------------------------------------
This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.
Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric
Podcast:
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Vibe Check
03:47 Game Discussion: Coin Sort
06:47 Gameplay Mechanics and User Experience
09:57 Monetization Strategies and Ad Revenue
18:48 Game Launch and Initial Reception
21:47 Creative Strategies and User Engagement
24:47 Scaling Challenges and Market Dynamics
27:55 Comparative Analysis of Game Performance
30:47 Future Trends and Market Predictions
---------------------------------------
Matej Lancaric
User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant
https://lancaric.me
Felix Braberg
Ad monetization consultant
https://www.felixbraberg.com
Jakub Remiar
Game design consultant
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar
---------------------------------------
Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!
Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!
Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me