# How do you compare idle miner games before downloading?

**~400-word free teaser · EarnMid Idle Miner Teardown**

Store pages for idle miners, diggers, and pickaxe smashers all promise the same fantasy: swing, upgrade, wake up richer. Most don’t tell you how the **offline cap**, **prestige**, or **ad honesty** actually feel after day three. Here’s a five-criteria filter you can run in under ten minutes—before you install another clone.

## Five criteria (use these first)

1. **Loop type** — Is the joy in *hitting* the rock, *managing* shafts, or *digging* deeper? If the trailer is all smash VFX but the description says “full idle,” expect a mismatch.
2. **Offline cap** — Look for max away-time language (or silence). A true idle game states a reclaim window; a smash-first game may starve overnight progress so you return for taps.
3. **Prestige clarity** — Does the game explain *when* rebirth is worth it? Mature titles show permanent multipliers; shallow clones only raise prices.
4. **Ads / IAP honesty** — Prefer rewarded boosts over forced mid-swing interstitials. “Remove ads” plus optional packs beats paywalls that stall the pickaxe mid-combo.
5. **Juice vs systems** — Smash games must nail impact feel; management idles can win on spreadsheet dopamine. Rate the fantasy you actually want—not the one in the icon.

Score each 1–5 from the store video, recent reviews mentioning “offline” / “ads” / “prestige,” and the first session if you soft-install. Drop anything that markets idle but caps reclaim harshly without saying so.

## Why a full teardown still helps

Criteria get you a shortlist. A structured teardown adds a **side-by-side table**, a **player + builder verdict**, and **five stealable mechanics** (systems only—no art theft) so indies don’t reinvent dark patterns and players don’t waste battery on FOMO clones.

## CTA — $1 full sample teardown

- **Free (this teaser):** https://impression-cumulative-lock-solaris.trycloudflare.com/idle-teardown-teaser  
- **Paid $1 zip** (prompt + checklist + filled Pickaxe Smash vs peers sample): https://impression-cumulative-lock-solaris.trycloudflare.com/idle-teardown  

Hub: https://idle-miner-hub.pages.dev  

Placeholders for MoneyMaker mounts: Free `{BASE}/idle-teardown-teaser` · Paid `{BASE}/idle-teardown` ($1) · `BASE=https://impression-cumulative-lock-solaris.trycloudflare.com`