Comparison

Brain Dots vs Shatterbrain

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Brain Dots

A challenging puzzle game where you draw lines and shapes to make two balls collide. Collect different drawing tools and create your own levels to test the skills of players worldwide. It's a test of logic and flexible thinking.

Highlights
  • Bump two balls to clear stages
  • Draw lines and shapes freely
  • Collect over 25 varieties of pens
  • Create and share custom stages
  • Review and share victory moments
  • Tests logical thinking and flexibility
Features
Read full description

Over 50 million downloads! The only thing you need to do is to “bump two balls.” Will you be able to clear these simple-looking but actually difficult stages? ▼ The rules are simple! ◆ Let's bump the two balls All you need to do to clear a stage is to “make the blue and red balls bump”. Draw lines and shapes freely to move and roll the balls. Flexible thinking is going to become the key to victory. ◆ Let's collect pens Starting off with a simple pencil, moving onto color pencils, crayons and so on. We have prepared more than 25 varieties of pens of different colors and sizes. Collect various pens and walk through the stages. ◆ Share the moment of victory You can review the moment you cleared a stage on video or picture. Share it on SNS to show off your superior skills to your friends. Not to mention that watching your friends’ gameplay might also become a hint!? ◆ Create Stages Create your own stages and see if users all over the world can solve them. Over 3 million stages already created! ◆ Your brain abilities will be tested This game, continuing after Brain Wars, also tests your logical thinking and the flexibility of your mind. As this game includes the elements of riddle and “Escape the Room” type of games, we would recommend Brain Dots to people who enjoy brain-type puzzles, cards and strategy games. It might also have an impact on your children’s intellectual growth and preventing brain deterioration? ▼ Languages 15 languages! Brain Dots is played all over the world! Japanese / English / Korean / Traditional Chinese / Simplified Chinese / Spanish / French / Portuguese(Brazil) / Swedish / Finnish / Russian / Vietnamese / Thai / Indonesian / Hindi ▼ Latest information Twitter:@braindots_app Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/braindotsapp

About

Shatterbrain

Engage in challenging physics puzzles by drawing shapes to find solutions. Discover multiple ways to solve each level and compete on leaderboards for the best performance. This game is designed for those who enjoy brain teasers and applying physics principles.

Highlights
  • Dozens of physics puzzles
  • Multiple solutions per puzzle
  • Leaderboard competition
  • Draw shapes to solve
  • Challenging gameplay
Features
Read full description

Draw shapes to solve challenging physics puzzles. From the creator of the #1 hit puzzle game, Brain It On! ◆ Dozens of brain busting physics puzzles, with more being added all the time ◆ Multiple ways to solve each puzzle, can you find the best solution? ◆ Compete on the leaderboards for the fastest time or best solution If you enjoy brain games, have a knack for following the laws of physics, and enjoy making things shatter, then this puzzle game is for you. It's easy to learn but hard to master and will get you thinking outside the box in no time! Draw a dot, draw a line, draw whatever you need to solve the puzzle and shatter the shapes. If you like Shatterbrain, please rate it and leave a comment. Your support is greatly appreciated. If you don't like something, please email me at support@orbitalnine.com. I want to hear your feedback and comments so I can improve Shatterbrain and turn it into a hit. You can find me on Twitter at @orbitalnine, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/shatterbrain, or my website: http://orbitalnine.com I hope you enjoy Shatterbrain!

Screenshots

Brain Dots4 screens
Shatterbrain4 screens

Verdict

The call

Brain Dots and Shatterbrain both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 86% of Shatterbrain's written reviews are positive against 50% of Brain Dots's. Brain Dots's advantage is update cadence (every 11 days vs every 11 months) and ratings volume (8.2K vs 436). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Brain Dots sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Shatterbrain sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shatterbrain holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Brain Dots has 8.2K ratings behind it against 436, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Brain Dots's written reviews are positive against 86% of Shatterbrain's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brain Dots ships an update every 11 days, Shatterbrain every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Brain Dots versus Shatterbrain: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrain DotsShatterbrain
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (8.2K ratings)4.6 (436 ratings) — better
Positive reviews49.9% of reviews86.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8.2K — better436
Update frequencyEvery 11 days — betterEvery 11 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB112 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperTranslimit, Inc.Orbital Nine Games Inc

Customer experience

Brain Dots

All ratings8,165 ratings
Positive85.6%
Neutral5.7%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews1,906 reviews
Positive49.9%
Neutral10.9%
Negative39.2%

Shatterbrain

All ratings436 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral3.9%
Negative4.4%
Written reviews164 reviews
Positive86.0%
Neutral4.3%
Negative9.8%

User reviews

Brain Dots

From 8.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🧠 Challenging and engaging puzzles
  • 🎨 Variety of pen styles and customization options
  • ⚙️ Interesting physics-based gameplay
  • 👍 Fun for all ages

Room to improve

  • 💢 Excessive and intrusive ads
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 📱 Compatibility issues with older devices
  • 👀 Difficulty seeing around finger when drawing

Shatterbrain

From 436 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Relaxing challenge
  • 🚀 Elegant and challenging physics-based puzzles
  • 👍 Enjoyable and addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Stimulates the mind
  • 👍 Reasonable ad implementation

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🔍 Lack of instructions or guidance
  • 🔍 Difficulty progressing without 3-starring levels
  • 🔍 Some levels too easy or too difficult

Bugs and requests

Brain Dots

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when trying to create own levels
  • Hint feature not working as expected
  • Inability to play on iOS 17 devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to save and transfer progress across devices
  • Option to disable hint prompts
  • More advanced level creation tools
  • Improved Apple Pencil support

Shatterbrain

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Freezing or crashing on certain levels
  • Issues with drawing/controls not registering properly

Requested features

3 requests
  • More levels and content updates
  • Ability to skip levels without 3 stars
  • Customizable hint/solution system

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Brain Dots

One-time10
  • Mechanical pencil$0.99
  • Pen$0.99
  • Colored pencil$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Crayon$1.99
  • Brush$1.99
  • Watercolor painting brush$1.99
  • Decorated pen$2.99
  • Rainbow pencil$2.99
  • Fountain pen$3.99
  • Remove Cut-In Ads$3.99
1 purchases

Shatterbrain

One-time1
  • Full Game$1.99

Questions

Is Brain Dots free?
Brain Dots is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shatterbrain free?
Shatterbrain is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Brain Dots or Shatterbrain?
Shatterbrain is rated higher. Brain Dots averages 4.4 out of 5 from 8.2K ratings, while Shatterbrain averages 4.6 from 436 ratings.
Do Brain Dots or Shatterbrain have ads?
Both Brain Dots and Shatterbrain show ads.
Which is updated more often, Brain Dots or Shatterbrain?
Brain Dots ships an update every 11 days, and Shatterbrain every 11 months. Most recently, Brain Dots was updated on September 28, 2026 and Shatterbrain on September 26, 2026.

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