How to play
Coin Pusher is the arcade classic: a shelf full of coins, a pusher sliding back and forth, and a prize tray below the front edge.
- Choose your coin value: 1, 5, 10 or 25 credits per coin.
- Tap one of the seven chutes to drop a coin into that column, or press Drop coin to use any chute. Each coin costs its value.
- Each column holds up to 5 coins. When you drop into a full column, the coin at its front is pushed off the shelf.
- The push can spread: each full neighboring column has a 30% chance to lose its front coin too. One coin can make up to three coins fall.
- A coin that falls lands in the prize tray 80% of the time and pays. The other 20% slip into the gaps at the sides.
Coins:
| Coin | Pays when it falls into the tray | Chance when you drop a coin |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | 1 × its coin value | 98.6% |
| Gold (star) | 10 × its coin value | 1.2% |
| Gem | 50 × its coin value | 0.2% |
The shelf starts with 4 free coins worth 1 credit in every column (28 in all), and it stays as you left it between drops. Every coin pays the coin value it was dropped with.
Strategy
Here is the math, calculated exactly:
- Long-run return: 96.48%. Each column works like a queue: coins come off the front in the order they went in, and the shelf never holds more than 35 coins. Each falling coin, whatever its type, goes into the tray 80% of the time and pays its own value. So over many drops you get back 80% of the average coin you drop: 0.8 × 1.206 = 0.9648. That holds whatever coin values you mix.
- Short sessions return less. A column never drops below 4 coins, so the shelf always holds at least 28 coins, and coins still on the shelf when you stop don’t pay. In our simulation (dropping into one column), 20-drop sessions returned 88.5% on average and 100-drop sessions 95.0%. The longer you play, the closer you get to 96.48%.
- Full columns pay sooner. Dropping into a full column pushes a coin off right away. A column with space only grows. Where you drop changes when coins fall, not the long-run return.
- Gold and gem coins travel. A special coin you drop has to work its way to the front before it can pay, so keep feeding its column.
For more arcade-style games, try Sun Temple Coins or Peg Drop.
If you enjoy Coin Pusher, try Colossus Reels or Coral Reef Slots next.
