What the gems really cost.
The bundles in the store
Why games use their own money
A price in coins is harder to feel than a price in dollars. Every purchase becomes two steps, buying the coins and then spending them, and the moment of spending is separated from the moment of paying. Bonus amounts on bigger bundles make the conversion harder still, and they push you towards spending more at once.
The second trick is the mismatch. If an item costs 1,200 and bundles come in 500 and 1,100, there is no way to buy exactly 1,200. Whatever is left over stays in the game, already paid for, waiting to be spent.
How this works
Each bundle's price is divided by what it gives to get the cost per 100. For an item, every combination of bundles that reaches its price is considered and the cheapest one is chosen, counted in whole cents. No combination ever needs more than the item's price plus one bundle, because dropping a bundle from anything bigger would still be enough and cost less, so the search is exact and quick.
Questions people ask
How do I work out what game coins cost in real money?
Divide a bundle's price by the number of coins it gives. A 9.99 bundle of 1,100 coins is about 0.91 per 100 coins. Then multiply by what the item costs in coins.
Why is there always some currency left over?
Bundle sizes rarely match item prices, so reaching a price usually means buying past it. The extra has already been paid for and can only be spent in the same game.
Is the biggest bundle always the best value?
Per unit it usually is, but it is only a saving if you would have spent that much anyway. Buying more than you need to get a better rate is the point of the bundle.
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Free, and staying that way. If it changed what you spent in a game, that is the whole point.
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