I've been struggling with the games for a few days. If they don't pay out an absolute pittance, they pay literally nothing at all.

Is it worth playing them or are they just achievement bait? Is there a single Worthwhile Game(tm) to play, like in a lot of petsites?

Most are just achievement bait. Caliph's Tomb is fun and has better payout (20k if you clear the table) & I like Mazes and Mahars (Though I wish we got some new cards sometime).

mostly they're just for fun and achievements. quests are really the best way to make money each day, aside from restocking but you have to like... learn how to do it well which i've never felt inclined to bother with.

Card Crusade pays out 75K - but I still don't think its worth it, takes way too long to play and you don't win very often.

Mystic Spindles is really great if you play 4 corners. If you're good at the game it takes less than 2 minutes to play. You don't get much ~15K, but you collect int points that can be used to buy some exclusive books and directly improve your pet's int. Its best played very early because my pet with 30 int, needs 264 pts for its next point, and the game gives you 40 pts per win. As a comparison my pet with 2,333 int needs 19,839 pts for 1 Int. At 209 Int, needs 1,785 pts.

I agree with Meteora about Caliph's Tomb. I prefer the bottom right layout because I always do better with it.

I think the games are useful for very new players because every little helps when you don't have much. After that they're mostly for achievements. If you don't care about achievements they're not worth bothering with unless you enjoy playing a particular game.

I play Caliph's Tomb (can play 10x a day = 200,000sp)

Seashell Spotter (can play 35x a day, 2000sp each time, plus shells, clothing, and books on occasion)

Matlal's Jewels (if you earn 10,000 points, it's a 20,000sp payout, and it's easier to get even more. Also 10x a day)

Mazes & Mahars is good if you're listening to podcasts and need something to do with your hands, only 15,000sp max for winning but entertaining and can get you some nice achievements.

I've heard that Cybill Sledding is easy and gives out 10,000sp, but that one hurts my eyes.

Thank you all for the advice! I probably won't bother with achievements, at least for now, but Mystic Spindles and the games mentioned seem worth the trouble, especially Calph's Tomb.

Some of the achievements have some vaguely worthwhile prizes (if you have time, it doesn't hurt to look - press the stars beside the tiers to see what you'll get), but otherwise, I wouldn't bother with the action games if sP is your goal.

I think they need a serious revamp to adjust for subeta inflation lol also, why does 2048 not pay anything at all? it makes no sense to me.

Everything is relative. I revisited a site I haven't been to for years. Dozens of great games and I played some of my old favourites. The payout in the equivalent of sP is appalling so we're earning a fortune from games here in comparison.

Something about a plot Does 2048 Not give sP unless you beat the game?

big agree. have you TRIED making money from neopets games? it's absolutely NOTHING. at least here you can play solitaire for 15 minutes and come out with 200k. i used to get 250k every day by playing burrero basket bonanza for less than a half hour. it's not gonna be a primary method of getting big savings but if you're antsy to accumulate money it's a decent ancillary, if you have the time and enjoy the games.

I actually play games because I like the games, not because they have a payout. My particular faves are 2048, Divine Discs, and Subeku. If you like these games as well, here are some tips:

2048 - as has been mentioned, it doesn't have a payout. But I still find something relaxing about squishing blocks together. My biggest disappointment was when I managed to get two 2048 blocks at the same time and put them together... only for them to morph into a single 2048 block. There is no 4096! Here's a thread for updating it if you wanna weigh in: 2048 - Developing the Game Further (Oh, and tip - try to keep your largest blocks all in one corner as you go so they're easier to merge together without the smaller numbers getting in the way.)

Divine Discs - There is no limit to payout from this game. It doesn't pay out a whole bunch - I think if you're super lucky enough to get it on the first try, the most you can get is 10,000 sp - but the number can rack up! My strategy is to go color by color, and pay attention to the buttons as they light up as to how many of each color you should keep.

Subeku - The weird thing about Subetan sudoku is that you're just as likely to get a difficult game on Very Easy as you are on Hard. The difference is how many hints you have! Since Hard gives the highest payout (15,000 sP x 10 times per day), I recommend always playing on hard, and if you get a puzzle that's too difficult, just toss it and start over again.