A color by number game with no ads

Most people who search for a color by number game without ads have already lived through the alternative: a picture half finished, a video that will not close, a timer counting down on a free reward. This guide explains what to check before you install a coloring game, why so many are built around ads, and how Pixel Calm handles it.

Why so many coloring games show ads

A free coloring game has to earn money somehow. The common answer is advertising: a banner at the bottom of the screen, a full screen video between pictures, and rewarded videos that trade thirty seconds of your attention for a hint. The second common answer is a weekly subscription that unlocks the library. Neither is evil, but both work against the reason people color in the first place, which is to slow down.

Ads interrupt at the worst moment, right when a picture comes together. Subscriptions turn a relaxing hobby into a recurring bill. And both models tend to bring timers, expiring events and daily pressure, because those mechanics drive more ad views and more renewals.

A checklist before you install

App store pages do not always make the business model obvious. A few minutes of checking saves frustration later.

• Read the "Contains ads" and "In-App Purchases" labels. If a game says it contains ads, it does, even if the screenshots never show one.
• Look at the purchase list. Items like "weekly" or "VIP pass" mean a subscription. A single one-time unlock is a different, simpler deal.
• Check the privacy label. Games that show ads usually list identifiers and usage data used for tracking. A game that collects nothing has no ad network inside.
• Watch for timers. Event countdowns, energy bars and pictures that expire are signs the design is built to pull you back, not to let you relax.
• Try it in airplane mode. Many ad supported games refuse to work, or work badly, without a connection.

How Pixel Calm works

Pixel Calm is a color by number pixel art game for iPhone and iPad with no ads at all. Not fewer ads, not ads you can skip: none. There are no timers, nothing expires and nothing resets. You can leave a picture for a month and it will be exactly where you left it.

The game is free. It contains 1,000 pixel pictures arranged as a calm journey through 50 worlds, and levels unlock in order as you finish them. There is one optional purchase, Pixel Calm Plus, which is a one-time purchase for unlimited hints and paint buckets. There is no subscription.

Hints and buckets without videos

In ad supported games, hints are usually the thing you watch videos for. In Pixel Calm, hints simply fly to the nearest pixel you have not colored yet, which is handy when a single stray square is hiding somewhere in a big picture. The paint bucket fills a large area of one number in a tap. You earn extra hints and buckets by coloring the Daily Picture: keep your streak going and each day adds 2 hints and 1 bucket. If you would rather never count them, Pixel Calm Plus makes both unlimited.

What "free" can honestly mean

A fair free game lets you enjoy the whole thing without paying and offers a clear, optional way to support it. In Pixel Calm, every one of the 1,000 pictures, the Daily Picture, the Storybook Collection and the Create tab are part of the free game. The purchase only removes the limit on two helpers.

The game also collects no personal data. There is no account to create, no analytics sent anywhere, and progress is stored on your device. That is the clearest sign there is no ad network: there is nothing to show you ads with.

Other things that make coloring feel calm

• Highlight the selected number so the pixels you need stand out, and jump to the next color when one is finished.
• Gentle sound: soft coloring chimes, a relaxing rain ambience and calm background music, each of which you can turn off.
• Fill effects called Glitter, Soft Pop and Still, from sparkly to completely quiet.
• A time-lapse replay of your coloring when a picture is done, which you can share as an image.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Pixel art coloring, one square at a time: How color by number pixel art works, with tips for finishing big pictures.
• A coloring game that works offline: Why coloring games fail without internet, and how to check one before a trip.
• Color by number for adults: Why grown-ups enjoy color by number and how to make it a mindful habit.
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