You win Pi Games coins by participating and winning in various contests of skill on this website.
There are three general types of contests:
Regular Contests
Hot Streak Contests
Credit Contests
Let's explore each type of contest in more detail
Regular contests
Regular contest is a type of contest you participate in every time you play a game.
There's a separate contest for every game type and price combination, so Reel Wild P$23 and Reel Wild P$53 have separate contests.
Each contest has seven (7) different prizes, labeled Prize #1 to Prize #7 (with #1 being the most common and #7 being the most rare and valuable). When you enter a contest you always begin playing for Prize #1 for you first game in this contest. Subsequent prizes are selected randomly. At the end of a game you will see what the next prize will be, so you can either play for the prize or choose to play a different contest.
The prizes are awarded in P$$ gold coins which can be sold for US dollars or exchanged for P$ silver coins. The prizes grow progressively i.e. the more games are played the bigger the prizes get, until there are won, then they reset to the minimum value.
Universal Prizes
Besides the seven (7) main prizes there are three (3) universal prizes which all game types and game prices participate in. We call them the "Mini Pot", the "Triple Diamond" and the "Double Heart". These are the most rare and the most valuable prizes of all.
Winning
There are two ways to win in these contests. Beating the game's target score will instantly win the prize.
If you didn't beat the target score, don't worry! Your score is still participating in the contest. If nobody beats your high score after 12 games have been played for that prize, you will become and the winner and claim the prize. This is called the "Best in 12" system.
Hot Streak Contests
Hot Streak (or Hotstreak) contests are the type of contests that award players P$$ for winning several games in a row. Only instant wins count i.e. beating the game's target score.
There are two contests of this type: the first one for games priced $P23 to P$203, the second one is for games priced P$503 to P$5003.
Each contest has three prizes: 1) four wins in a row prize; 2) five wins in a row prize; 3) six wins in a row prize.
The prizes grow progressively i.e. the more games are played the bigger the prizes get, until there are won, then they reset to the minimum value.
Credit Contests
In Credit Contests winners are awarded P¢ (copper) coins, which can be used to play games.
Weekly Straight % Contest
This contest begins at noon every Sunday and lasts a week. Every player gets 14% of what they paid in back in P¢ copper coins. But in order to qualify for the prize you must perform at least one instant win of any game (i.e. beat that game's target score).