Gigs: get paid to decorate homes in Malta Living

Want to get paid to decorate homes? In Malta Living there's now an app for exactly that. Gigs is a jobs board between players: one player posts a gig, others pitch for it, and the game holds the money until the work is done. Decorating a home is the first kind of gig. Party DJ and Driver are coming next.

Gigs takes over from the decorating jobs we described in hire other players to decorate your home. The rules and the held money are the same. What's new is one place for all of it, a short note on everything, and a red number that only counts what needs you.

Where to find Gigs

Gigs sits at the end of your phone's apps, with a New tag for its first week. You can also reach it two other ways:

• Earn → Gigs near you opens it on Find, the gigs you could take.
• Homes → Get it decorated opens it on Post, for that home.

The app has four tabs: Find, Post, Yours and History.

Post a gig and let the game hold the money

On Post, choose the home and the rooms, a look (Marble & Brass, Smoked Oak, Limestone & Linen or Surprise me), a furniture budget from €200 to €50,000 and a fee of 10% to 30% of the budget. Then write a brief in your own words, up to 120 characters: "Moving in Friday. Warm, lots of plants, no white sofa please."

Tap Hold and post. The budget and the fee leave your wallet as one Bank line, and the game holds them. Cancel before anyone is picked and every cent comes back.

Pitch for a gig

Each gig on Find is a card with the client's brief, the budget and what you'd get after the game's 3%. Tap Apply and write a pitch of up to 120 characters, then say when you can start: now, tonight or tomorrow. Your record goes with it as facts, such as "Finished 3 of 3, 3 approved first time". Notes can't hold phone numbers, emails or links, the same as in Gossip.

To take gigs you need to live in Malta, have an account at least 7 days old and have played on 3 different days. It's a lot like a shift at a job, except your boss is another player.

Pick, decorate, hand over

The client sees every pitch with the worker's record, and can Chat before choosing. If they haven't picked 12 hours after the first pitch, the game picks the best record for them. They get one reminder an hour before that happens.

Once you're picked, a gig shows a trail: Pitched → Picked → Decorate → Hand over → Paid. Tap Decorate and buy from the client's budget, never your own wallet. You can also move, turn or store their pieces. You can't sell their things, and a piece you bought can go back for its full price. When it's right, tap Done, add a note, and the game adds what changed: the new pieces, what moved and the budget coming back.

Pay, one change, or not what I asked

The client gets the hand-over card: your note, what changed, Before and After, and one gold button: Love it, pay. They can ask for one change, please, chat, or say Not what I asked, which works as before: undo it all for 25% of the fee, or keep it and pay half, with the moderators if you disagree. After paying, they can add a tip of €5 to €500.

The red number and the notifications

The red number on Gigs counts only what waits on you: new pitches, a hand-over to pay, being picked or a change asked. It clears when you open that gig, and it never counts new gigs in general.

A gig sends you at most four notifications: when you're picked, when your home is ready, when you're paid, and the pick reminder. Quiet hours and your Settings apply, under Rent, bills and work. Nothing arrives for each pitch.

History, with no stars

History has two sides: I did and I posted. Each gig shows the date, the pay, any tip and how it ended. There are no stars, just facts, and Book again posts the same gig for that decorator only. The furniture is the same as in Buy mode, at the same prices.

Hiring someone in real life works the same way: agree the job and the price first, then pay when it's done. Malta's consumer authority, the MCCAA, has advice on agreeing a service before you pay. New to the game? Read about the Malta life simulator, see every app on the phone, or play Malta Living free in your browser.

Questions people ask

What happened to Get it decorated and Jobs from players?

They live in Gigs now. Homes → Get it decorated opens Gigs on Post, and Earn's line is now Gigs near you. Jobs that were already open carried straight over.

Does a tip cost the decorator anything?

No. A tip goes straight to them as money sent, with the usual 1% sending fee paid by you, and the game's 3% gig cut isn't taken from it.

Why didn't I get a notification for a new pitch?

On purpose. A gig sends at most four notifications, so you only hear about what matters. New pitches show as the red number on Gigs instead.

Can I post a gig for a friend only?

Yes. On Post, open Who can see it and choose One friend. When they say yes, the gig is theirs straight away. Book again does this for you.