1. HN folk are being surprisingly hostile here and it's not cool.

2. Is it really true that "the game is X levels and in-app purchases is a-lot-more-levels" is banned but "the game is Y levels and limited features and in-app purchases gets you features and hints" is not?

I'm confused, because the version you can install for free is literally that: you get the 10 tutorial challenges and 1 subsequent challenge for free, then you have to pay to buy / unlock the full game. How is that different from the classic shareware / demo concept? Obviously it's not banned.

> Demos, betas, and trial versions of your app don’t belong on the App Store – use TestFlight instead.

https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#bet...

This doesn't apply to a demo with a full product behind it. You can release your "demo" combined as one app, with a small subset of content available for free and the rest locked behind a macrotransaction. Which is what OP already does, except they also have microtransactions targeting children on the side. This essentially only prohibits you from releasing a demo if the demo is for an unfinished product.

ugh, that more i hear about apple the gladder i am that i have never had to go anywhere near the whole slimy mess.