Clickbait Arcade

Fake ads as arcade games

Clickbait Arcade is a PC arcade game built around the puzzles and challenges shown in fake mobile-game ads. You walk through a neon arcade, choose a cabinet and play one of 12 games. Instead of downloading an app to find a different game behind its ad, you get to play the advertised idea: pull pins to direct gold away from lava, steer a crowd through number gates, or grow a tower by beating enemies weaker than you.

The cabinets cover several kinds of challenges. In Math Gate Runner and Crowd Cannon, you send a crowd through gates that multiply it before attacking an enemy force. Pull the Pin and Dig Down ask you to find the right route for gold, water or a hero while avoiding lava. Other games include drawing a shield against bees, arrows and floods, and choosing one of three items to save a hero. Sometimes the clue in Pick the Item is in the interface itself.