Cat Condo is the stupidest, most cynical game in the App Store. So why can’t I stop playing? | Tom Hawking

To win the game without spending money or watching ads, you tap your phone screen as fast as you can, nonstop, for 3,000 years

There's a truism in the world of online media: if you're not paying for the product, you are the product. The aphorism also holds true in the world of gaming - and particularly in the case of freemium phone apps.

You're probably aware of these apps, if not the terminology: they arrive as free downloads, on the proviso that in order to access all their features you will either pay in time (through watching advertising) or money (via in-app purchases).