There are more and more Instant Win games or IWG for short being listed these days. It gives a lot more people a chance to win a prize. Sometimes Instant Win Games also have a sweepstakes drawing and a grand prize is given out at the end of the sweepstakes period through a random drawing.
What is an Instant Win Game or IWG for short?
Think of it like playing a slot machine. You play and play and eventually you will hit a win. It might be small or it might be the jackpot.
Playing slot machines isn’t based on luck or how many times you rub the machine (yes, people do this). Slot machines pay out based on odds and statistics. You will not help the machine to land on a winning combination by praying for it, wearing your favorite outfit, or sitting in the chair sideways.
They hit at certain times. When the numbers in the computer that runs the slot machine line up to create the right combination the machine produces a win. Sometimes, the win is small because maybe you bet only 1 coin or point. Other times that same combination wins bigger because you bet more coins or points. I am no slot machine expert. This is my observation and also based on a few things I have read.
The point of the slot machine story was to say that wins like this come at certain times based on certain criteria – in the case of the slot machine a pre-programmed number combination and in the case of the Instant Win Game a pre-programmed time of day.
Skip the Game
Winning on an Instant Win Game has nothing to do with the game they want you to play that is part of the promotion nor is it watching a movie or anything else. It is based on the time of day you enter. We are back now to statistics and odds.
If you read the Official Rules you will see that most say something like this:
“In order for your Game Play to be a potentially winning Game Play, it must have occurred either at the exact randomly predetermined winning time as determined by the “name of the Sponsor here” and/or “Name of Judging Agency here” or if no Game Play has occurred at the exact randomly predetermined winning time, then it must be the Game Play that occurred at the closest time following the randomly predetermined winning time.”
Have you noticed that many Instant Win Games have a link that reads, Click here if you can’t see the game? That is so you can skip the game if you want and also because some computers may not have the plug-in needed to let the browser view the game. his should immediately tell you that it is not based on playing the game.
I have won many, many, many instant win prizes and over the last 2 years that has been the main way I win prizes now. I used to win much more through the mail or just entering basic Internet sweepstakes. And, I have won most of them by clicking that link that allows you to skip the game.
Note: Not every Instant Win Game will give you the option to skip the game.
Can you win Grand Prizes from Instant Win Games?
Most definitely! I won several grand prizes through Instant Win Games like a Disney trip and a Red Sox baseball trip. I have also won many other great prizes like gift certificates and cash.
I keep good records of the prizes I win and I know that over 80% of my wins now come from playing Instant Win Games.
Time of Day
When you enter an Instant Win Game on the Internet you as hoping that the time that has been programmed into the software that runs that game will be the time you are entering.
Although you can win anytime during the day I found, from my experiences, that certain times of the day are best. Why? More people are not on the computer so they are not entering.
My favorite time to enter and win successfully is 3:30 to 4:30 am EST (Connecticut is my timezone). That figures out to be around 1:30 am PST (California which is across the country from me). Most people aren’t up at the time of night or morning depending on how you look at it. Now, I can’t say that I win everytime I am up entering at the time of morning but I do win more then than any other time of day. Sometimes I will win one prize and there have been times I won 10 prizes in a single night.
I am a night person as you can tell and maybe you are a morning person. Staying up late or getting up a bit earlier in the morning are pretty much the same thing. I don’t stay up that late every night because my body won’t corporate with me but when I have it has been worth it.
So, basically between 4 and 6 am are the best times (in my opinion) to enter and win because the majority of the people entering these kind of games are not online. I have also seen that around 10:30 am, noon EST and 10:30 pm EST are also good times for some reason.
More Prizes
It goes without explanation that an Instant Win Game or even a sweepstakes for that matter has a better chance of getting you a prize if it gives out more prizes. If an Instant Win Game is giving out 25,000 prize then you should probably win one if you play enough times.
Less Running Time
The longer an Instant Win Game or sweepstakes is promoted and runs the harder it gets to win because more people will find out about it and that brings in more competition for the prizes they are offering. If an IWG lasts 6 months to a year I enter a few times and then move on. I like those games that run for 2 to 4 months which is a good average for most.
Enter Daily
Most Instant Win Games allow you to play daily so you should try to enter every day during the promotional period to increase your odds.
Winners like Me
Some of my readers are also winning more prizes with Instant Win Games. Read some of their comments. If you are a Instant Win Game winner, feel free to share your story. It may appear on my site the next time I list what people are winning.
There is no way to predict when an instant win game will hit but playing them when more people are asleep is the best odds I have found so far.
Well, I guess it’s not such a big secret after all.
In 2009 I won $5,000 from an Burger King Instant Win Game.
Great tips! Thanks for sharing your post on the Moms In A Blog group:)
I think it depends on the particular contest. If it’s something more geared towards kids . . . school time, or late night when they should be in bed. Same thing with radio shows.
Hi Wendy,
I am a “beginner winner”, and sure you are right: all 3 times I won, was in the morning, early, before most people are up.
Thanks for your useful tips. I never visit such site in this context, you are really a great person
I’m a little confused about how to win an IWG by skipping the game??? I tried it but all it did was skip the game!!
Skipping the game is NOT going to help you win. The point I was trying to make is that playing the game does not help you win in anyway so you can just skip it.
WOW you certainly have some wonderful tips I'll definatly try your method and let you know how I do. Congratulations on your $5000 prize Truely a great prize to win. WHat time of day did you win that one?
i fiNALLY WON MY FIRST WIN!!! $10 STARBUCKS CArd ywayyyyyyyyyy thanks sweeetie
hey sweety, thanks for the tips i always think that am unlucky that i didn't win one game till now. but i do play daily. I didnot understand the option skip the game. If you click that option also you will enter the game or not, what is the need in clicking that.make it clear for me
I see that you mentioned this article that is also targeted for winning on mypoints.com’s spin n win. I tried your strategy, and stayed up ALL NIGHT, which is really hard for me, and spun at 1:00am (one o’ clock in the morning) 3 times in a row and STILL ended up with 0 points each time.
What I noticed what seemed to work for winning on mypoints.com spin n win, was I bought something from their site, and then after I did that the same day, I spun and won points. Then the next day I won points too (without buying anything that day.) Then the next day after that, I didn’t buy anything, spun, and got 0 points. So it seeems as though the more you buy, the more points you’ll get at the Spin n Win.
Which makes sense though. It rewards the members that actually brings them business. Although I wish they’d reward more points, even just small amounts on days and weeks that you DIDN’T buy something.
The more you buy from mypoints.com, the more likely they’ll give you more points in the Spin n Win.
I have been playing and playing and playing as many as I can find and I never win.
There perhaps a distinct shop you can visit and acquire additional out-of
buying than your typical place.
A referral would be greatly appreciated [email protected]