Bills Must Be Paid taught me that every financial crisis needs a hammer

I was never allowed to smash my piggy bank when I was a kid, which I think is a fairly justifiable rule on my parents’ part, and it’s one I’m now forced to pass down to my own child. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to hit a pig-shaped moneybox with a hammer, even now, but I thought the opportunity had passed me by. However, one game exists to help me live out my dreams, at least virtually: Bills Must Be Paid. 

Bills Must Be Paid is an incremental game that involves nothing more than smashing weirdly hoppy little piggy banks as they move across your desk. You’re destitute, but apparently you’ve made a habit of collecting piggy banks without ever checking what was inside. I can’t help but think that’s a weird choice for a hobby, but it does make for a really fun little game. 

Hippity hoppity, are these my property?

Whether you’ve hoarded hundreds of unchecked piggy banks, stolen them from now-traumatized children, or they’ve appeared as if by magic during your financial crisis, these piggy banks cannot sit still. The increasing number of pigs bounce around the table as though their little lives depend on doing so, which they kind of do, because you’re armed with a hammer and nothing else to do but smash them into pieces for their coins. 

Every piggy you manage to smash gives you coins that can be spent on upgrades to make your hammer-wielding god hand faster, stronger, and more likely to hit some sweet jackpots (essentially really full piggy banks). Sadly, there are other things to spend your money on too. The clue is in the title here: Bills Must Be Paid. 

Apparently, I can’t even escape my real-life responsibilities with gaming these days.

Bills get more and more expensive as time wears on, and not paying them is not an option. If you can’t pay a bill, you have to file the world's most pathetic bankruptcy claim (or get help, but more on that later), and the game ends. If that happens, you’re forced to start all over again with a slow hammer, very few piggy banks, and nothing but more bills to come. 

Complications, but the good kind

You’re not entirely alone in this hellish nightmare of debt. Paying off a debt allows you to unlock an upgrade outside of the skill tree, which is nice considering you’re already spending money anyway. You can also occasionally find special coins that offer perks, but these drop at random and are not guaranteed. 

And then there’s Big Toni. Big Toni is what I can only describe as a loan shark, and if you’re in a rut and absolutely cannot pay a bill for one reason or another, they will pay it for you… at a cost. Toni isn’t doing this out of the kindness of their own heart; they obviously want to get paid, and that means giving up some of your hard-earned profits every day on top of what you already owe them for the loan. And being in debt with Toni doesn’t mean you don’t still have other bills to pay as well. 

Like I said: Big Toni is the perfect example of a loan shark.

On the plus side, paying your bills on time without Big Toni coming to the rescue does come with a perk in the form of unusually helpful rings. For every $50 you pay toward your bills, you’ll get one Legacy Point. These Legacy Points can be spent after you declare bankruptcy to buy rings that boost your pig-bonking performance permanently.

Bills Must Be Paid was developed by Rike Games and released in April 2026, so you can go and experience the entire debacle right now. There’s also a demo, although it plays a little differently from the full game I’ve described above (no bankruptcy, extensions on due dates, and no Big Toni preying on you during financial hardship).