Skillz

General Ratings

Skillz Games Review

Skillz Games is a one-of-a-kind gaming platform that launched in 2012, offering mobile-first games with a focus on competitive gameplay. The people at Skillz describe it as the best gaming competition system in the world, and I couldn’t agree more. In addition to the fun of actually battling real players, there’s a chance to rake in real prizes via cash tournaments.

Skillz offers free casino-style games, as well as arcade, card, board, word games, and more, all in downloadable format. There’s no gaming platform quite like it, and this Skillz review will reveal all the reasons that made me love it and why I’m sure you’ll be happy to play here, too.

Legal States

Skillz Games operates under sweepstakes gaming laws in the US. As of the time of my review, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, and South Dakota are the restricted states. Players in Maine and Indiana are also restricted for card games, while New Jersey is prohibited for Dominoes Gold only. These state restrictions are for cash tournaments that may reward real prizes. Anyone in any state can still download and play Skillz gaming apps in the free version. The legal age to play here is 18 years and above.

How Skillz Works

Although Skillz isn’t a regular online sweepstakes casino, it operates under the no purchase necessary policy and uses virtual currencies for gameplay. Whether you play a casino-style game like Poker or Bingo or an old-school board game like Yatzy, you can either play free game versions or cash games. The two currencies supporting gameplay are Z coins and Bonus Cash for free matches and cash games, respectively. The redeemable tokens here are known as Ticketz.

You need to play cash matches to earn Ticketz and claim real-world prizes. And at Skillz, this ranges from cash and gift cards to a Porsche. The unique thing about the way Skillz Games works is that each game is offered as an individual app that you must download to play. Competition is at the heart of the Skillz experience, and Skillz uses proprietary technology to match players with similar skill levels, thereby ensuring fair play and equal chances of winning.

Skillz Bonuses

Skillz doesn’t have a standard welcome bonus, but considering that this is a unique gaming platform, it’s not at all surprising. While not having a regular bonus, Skillz still has several ways of warming new players up to the app. Soon after launching the game, I was given a Starter Pack deal of $8 Bonus Cash for a first deposit of only $12, as a limited-time offer only available for 2 days. A second limited-time deal SUPREME offered a 100% Bonus Cash of $25 valid for 7 days.

The social gaming experience at Skillz is characterized by lots of bonuses and rewards, so there’s plenty more on offer as you play.

Bonuses Review

Skillz bonuses are available across all games. So, if you claim a promo on one app, you’ll be able to use it on any other Skillz games you’ve downloaded. The bonuses I’ve mentioned earlier are one-time deals, but below are some of the other offers you can regularly claim:

Daily Login Bonus – Daily free credits are offered every 12 hours on the app. You’ll also get random free Zs every 2 hours. Simply visit the Store to claim these rewards.

Daily Challenges – Challenges and missions are available every day of the week, and these exist just to offer you more free currencies. The rewards are pretty generous, and you can earn free Zs, Bonus Cash, and Ticketz.

Trophies – Claiming trophies will help you become a decorated player in the Skillz community, but that’s not all. This silverware can help you earn free Z, bonus cash, or Ticketz. All you have to do is complete activities or make achievements on the app.

Refer a Friend Bonus – Invite your friends and acquaintances, and both you and they will get $1 in Bonus Cash. To activate the reward, your friend must use your unique referral promo code to sign up and make their first Skillz deposit.

Email Request – You can send an email to Skillz requesting a free entry into a cash tournament during the promotion period. The email must be sent from the email address on your Skillz account and must also contain your username, user ID number, phone number, mailing address, and date of birth associated with your Skillz account.

Leaderboard – The Skillz leaderboard awards medals and prizes the higher you place in a league. There’s a Practice League, Pro League, and some games combine both into a Progressive League. The more you play and win, the higher you can rank.

Promotions & Bonus Assessment

Skillz Casino-Style Games

Skillz has a range of more than 400 games to choose from. While a few of these are casino-style games, most are arcade games, puzzles, word games, and even trivia games. There’s no Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, or other popular casino software companies like we’re used to. Instead, these games are from small standalone developers, a lot of whom are unknown, like Big Run Studios, Tether Studios, and Grey Square Games.

Skillz also has a few of its own proprietary games in the mix. The unique thing about Skillz is that each game is offered as an individual mobile app that you have to download to play. Some of the features available across the games include player chat, head-to-head matches vs friends, and live events – limited-time opportunities to win unique prizes.

Games and Software Review

Since all the action is on the game apps, the Skillz platform is pretty simple and straight to the point. At the same time, you can tap on each game to see a short description, available Skillz features, and the download link for your device (iOS or Android device).

Games Assessment

Skillz Banking

Playing cash tournaments at Skillz requires you to deposit on the app. Despite taking real money deposits, Skillz isn’t going against sweepstakes rules because cash entries don’t determine what you win. Instead, Ticketz, which are offered at the end of each match, are the redeemable tokens. And since Ticketz are given whether you win or lose, they’re not directly tied to any cash you use in playing tournaments. A variety of credit cards and e-wallets are available for you to deposit and redeem prizes across all game apps.

Payment Options Review

You must enter some of your personal data and create an account before you can deposit (or play cash games) at Skillz. Just head to the Store and select your deposit amount, and you’ll be redirected to begin signing up. The minimum amount you can deposit in a single transaction is $10, and the highest as of this Skillz Games review is $75.

You can redeem lower than $10 if you wish, but any withdrawals under $10 have a $1.50 transaction fee, so you’re better off waiting till you have enough Ticketz for a $10 cashout. Transaction times can take between 4 and 6 weeks, which is a bit slow. As a rule, Skillz will only process payouts back to the payment method used in depositing and up to the deposit amount. Anything in excess will be paid via check to US players or PayPal for other permitted countries.

Payments Assessment

Is Skillz Legit?

From what I gathered about this mobile gaming platform, Skillz is legit. Skill Inc. has been around since 2012. It’s a US-registered company based in Nevada and is listed as SKLZ on the New York Stock Exchange. The platform is open to most countries in the world. In the US, it’s considered a sweepstakes casino and operates under sweepstakes rules while only accepting players of legal age, 18 or higher.

Skillz guarantees that all games with cash tournaments have undergone patented tests to ensure fairness. They also use geolocation technology to verify player’s location for cash tournaments.

Company and Safety Review

Safety Assessment & Trust Score

Skillz Customer Support

Customer support at Skillz is available via email, live chat, and an FAQ section. As with most other gaming sites, the email channel has a slow response time. Live chat is much more immediate, but you must be logged in to use this feature. Heading straight for the FAQs is the easiest way to get information, whether you’ve created an account or not. There’s lots of info divided into categories so you can easily find the answers you need.

Contacts Review

Support Assessment

Skillz Games UX

I talked about how easy it is to browse the Skillz platform in earlier sections and here I’ll expand a little more on that. Because the mobile site is a go-between for accessing the gaming apps, it’s minimal and straight to the point. A simple top-line navigation takes you to the ‘lobby,’ ‘recommended games,’ and a view of the ‘categories.’ There’s a working Search feature too.

Clicking on any game takes you to a page with info on the game’s features, and you simply tap on “Get” to download the app, available for iOS (Apple Store) and Android (apk link). If you’re viewing on your desktop, there’s a QR code for downloading each game on your mobile device. The user experience is heightened by the pop of neon colors on a black background, which makes Skillz look both modern and classy.

Accessibility Review

UX Assessment

Skillz Sister Sites

Skillz takes a very different approach to other sweepstakes casinos, so there aren’t any other sites quite like it. But if there’s one thing we absolutely love about Skillz is that its games are massive fun and super engaging, much like many of our top recommended sweepstakes casinos.

Comparison

How It Stacks Up

When I compared to other sweepstakes casinos that offer a large catalog of slots and table games, Skillz does fall short. However, this mobile game platform is in a league of its own because it’s so unique. You won’t find anywhere else that offers such a range of non-casino games, including options like chess, puzzle, and strategy games. All games are designed to reward players based on their skill, which delivers an experience that is more challenging and – for many players – more exciting than chance-based casino games.

And that’s just the lobby. Skillz offers just as many promotions, payment methods, and other features as the competition. If they would add a welcome bonus for new players, there’d be nothing to complain about.

Our Experts Verdict

It took us a good while to thoroughly review this platform and the different games offered. That’s because I had to download each individual game I tried. The Skillz experience is a fresh one, which is ironic because this site has been around for over a decade. However, no other social casino is doing it quite like them. There are several sweepstakes sites that promote community gaming and competitive play, but not in the same format as Skillz.

During my review, it was clear they haven’t thrived just because of this. There are enough titles to enjoy and a variety that is clearly intentional. I felt like a child in a candy store looking for which game to play and being captivated just by the idea of each one. I was equally surprised at the promotions and generous rewards and was pleased with the banking options.

This multiplayer platform and its offerings are very well thought out, and all of us at SweepsKings agree that the friendly competition and cash tournaments featured here are some of the best we’ve come across. While it’s unfortunate there’s no cash no deposit bonus, you’ll be happy to start your journey at Skillz Games and take advantage of the limited-time Bonus Cash offers and free Z coins available for you to claim right away.

Our partnership with Skillz is still pending, so you need to visit their website directly to get started. SweepsKings placed links to equally fun social gaming sites with prizes, feel free to use them to play with an exclusive bonus.

FAQs

Recommended sweeps reviews

Vegas Gems

Jackpota

ZitoBox

Funrize