The daily skill challenge the whole UK plays at once
— and the best stackers get paid.

The story in one line

A British developer built a "Wordle for reflexes" that pays out real cash — and built the whole thing single-handedly.

Every player in the UK gets the exact same challenge each day. Scores come down to skill, not luck. The best stackers across ten prize tiers win real money, paid by UK bank transfer. It's free to enter, funded entirely by advertising rather than player spending, and every score is verified server-side — making it bot-proof and provably fair. Deliberately the opposite of the "earn money playing games" apps that pay users next to nothing.

Why it's different

Free cash-prize apps already exist — but they're one of two things. Either it's pure luck (a free, ad-funded scratchcard where you win at random), or it's real skill but you have to stake your own money to enter — the kind of app rated 18+ and labelled "contains gambling content." Heartbeat Stacker is the bit in between that didn't really exist: a skill game you enter for free.

• Skill, not luck. Your score is earned — and everyone plays the same daily challenge, so it's a level field.
• Free to enter. Funded by ads, so you never deposit or risk a penny of your own. The skill-for-cash apps make you pay in; this one doesn't.
• A real tournament. Climb ten tiers from 25p to £250 by playing well — not a coin-grind that trickles out pennies.
• Paid for real. Winners get actual cash, by UK bank transfer.

It's early, and this simple stacker is just the first game proving the model — but free-entry, skill-based, real-cash tournaments are genuinely new, especially in the UK.

See it in action

Real screens from the live app — free to use in coverage. Full-resolution versions in the downloadable assets below.

"You won £25.00" — prize claim

Gameplay — 3× perfect streak

Gameplay — perfect stack

Recent winners & £250 top tier

New high score & prize pool

UK leaderboard

Fact sheet

Is it gambling? No — here's why

Story angles for journalists

• "Wordle that pays." Everyone in the UK plays the identical challenge each day — a shared daily ritual with real money on the line.
• The solo-dev underdog. One British developer built the game, the backend, the anti-cheat and the payouts alone — taking on a category dominated by scammy "money apps."
• Provably fair tech. Server-side replay verification of every score — a genuine anti-cheat safeguard rarely seen in casual mobile games.
• The first big winner. A real, named UK player wins a headline tier — human-interest, with a face and a quote. (Available on request as prize pools grow.)
• Your heart rate is part of the game. Heartbeat Sync turns your real-time pulse into a score bonus — a novel use of wearables.
• "No catch" economics. Free to play, funded by ads, no purchase necessary — the transparent answer to "is this a scam?"

Downloadable assets

Free to use in coverage of Heartbeat Stacker. Need something specific (a particular resolution, a clip, an interview)? Just ask.

About the founder

Jamie Shepherd is the solo developer behind Heartbeat Stacker, building the game, server-side anti-cheat and automated prize payouts single-handedly under Heartbeat Stacker Ltd.

"Nobody's really done this with a proper skill game before — ads pay for the prizes, so it costs you nothing to play for real cash, and you're never staking your own money. This first game's deliberately simple, just to prove the idea works. From here it's bigger, better games, and the plan is to start sending a slice to charity too — so playing and watching an ad means you're giving for free. Early days, but that's where it's going."

Available for interview, demos and comment on indie development, mobile game fairness, and the difference between skill prize competitions and gambling.

Press contact