Passes are like a ticket, you need at least one pass to watch one episode and passes is a thing you need to have to read stories. Gems on the other hand is when someone has “locked” a choice and you can only “unlock it” with a gem.
I hope that made sense!
Passes are what you spend on reading episodes. Episode 2 costs 1 pass to read, episode 3 costs one pass, so forth. You need passes in order to read stories. You have 4 (they re-charge) and can speed up the time by watching ads.
Gems can be used in stories to purchase new clothing or pick certain options. Usually found in episode featured stories but some user stories may have so it makes it easier for authors to enter the payment program.
gonna try to add info that hasnt already been said in case it helps: passes regenerate every few hours or so. and now if you run out you can watch ads for more passes. when i first started playing i didnt understand the concept. so you can get free passes if you wait.
you dont need gems but they do enhance the game if you want. and in the episode-written stories, they do sometimes make you feel bad if you dont use them lol but try to ignore that.
also, one time i got a deal of like 10 passes for only 50 cents or a dollar or something, and also a similar deal for gems. and i remember it being a really great deal so if you want to save money then wait for a deal like that to show up.
also, idk if this went the same way for everyone, but when i first started playing i only got 2 passes before i had to wait for them to refill again. now i get 4 at a time which makes a huge difference and i feel like i can actually read a decent amount of content for free without waiting. so, dont get discouraged if it only gives you 2 at first!