The longer answer sheet
The homepage covers the six questions everyone asks first. These are the rest.
Playing
Is this gambling?
No. Gambling requires staking something of value on chance for a chance to win something of value. Here nothing of value goes in and nothing of value comes out — the coins are free, can't be bought and can't become anything. It's a video game wearing casino clothes.
Then why is it 20+?
Because the games use gambling mechanics, and 20 is New Zealand's legal age for casino gambling. We'd rather hold the same line than introduce anyone younger to reels and stakes, even worthless ones.
Are the games rigged to keep me playing?
No, and this cuts both ways: no fake near-misses to tease you, and no pity wins to keep you warm. Outcomes come from your browser's cryptographic random number generator, each round independent, matching the published paytables exactly.
Will playing here make me better at real gambling?
No — and be suspicious of anywhere that says otherwise. You can learn rules here, but the mathematical edge in real casino games doesn't yield to practice. Success at social casino games implies nothing about future success at real-money gambling.
Can I play offline or on any browser?
You need a connection to load a page, and any modern browser on phone, tablet or desktop will run all four games. There's no app to install and never a version to update.
Coins and your data
Does my balance follow me across devices?
No. Coins live in one browser's local storage on one device. Your phone and your laptop each keep their own jar — there are no accounts to sync them, by design.
What exactly is stored, and where?
Two small entries in your browser's local storage: your coin balance with play statistics, and a note that you dismissed the cookie notice. Nothing is transmitted anywhere. The cookie policy lists both by name.
What happens if I clear my browser data?
Coins, statistics and achievements vanish and can't be recovered — there's no server copy. Your next visit starts fresh with 10,000 coins, which is honestly not a bad deal.
Why do the games keep a house edge if coins are free?
Authenticity. These games are interesting partly because their maths is slightly against you — remove that and a slot becomes a screensaver. The edge here costs you nothing but worthless coins, and the daily top-up hands them back.
The site
Will you ever sell coins, run ads or link to casinos?
No, no and no. No purchases of any kind, no advertising, and no links or referrals to gambling operators or other gaming sites. That's a permanent decision, not a current setting.
Can I suggest a game or report a problem?
Please do — team@driftandreelgames.com. Factual errors in rules or paytables get priority; see corrections for how those are handled.
Who is behind the site?
A small independent editorial desk in the sense described on the about page — no casino, no betting company, no marketing network. The site is not licensed by any regulator because free games with worthless coins don't need licensing, and we never pretend otherwise.