Total money grab is close to the mark.

Unfortunately it is involving and entertaining. I long for the day when you just bought a game and didn’t have to shell out bucks constantly to play. Even the old time arcades only charged a quarter a play!
I make it a practice to NOT buy anything that is made of nothing. It just takes patients and a willingness NOT to be dragged into the contests!
Personally I like the variety of challenges that keep popping up. Allows me to change direction and keeps the experience fresh.
I do concentrate on one objective at a time and unless I have something pop up that is more interesting, I just keep plugging away.
ONE PROBLEM: when using both the iPhone and iPad version they DO NOT sync properly. Causing me to loose headway on my iPad when ever I fire up the iPhone version.

lakelog about Secret Passages: Hidden Objects, v2.97