Comparison

hocus. vs Photo Tower Battle

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

Head to head
About

hocus.

Engage with a collection of mind-bending puzzles featuring impossible shapes. Create and share your own levels, or get assistance from AI when you're stuck. Explore both handcrafted challenges and an endless mode.

Highlights
  • 120 mind-bending handcrafted levels
  • Create and share custom levels
  • Load levels from pictures
  • Endless mode
  • AI-assisted gameplay
Features
Read full description

hocus. is celebrating 10th year; Let artificial intelligence design new levels for you. You can even get help from her if you get stuck. Best Games on iPhone; Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Middle East New, polished, mind-bending, impossible shapes. Features: • 120 mind-bending hand-craft levels • Create/share your own levels • Load / take picture of levels cards • Endless mode • Shortest path algorithm

About

Photo Tower Battle

Features
Read full description

About Photo Tower Battle Photo Tower Battle is a physics puzzle game where you stack blocks made from your own photos. Just rub the background away with your finger, and anything around you — people, plush toys, figures, snacks — turns into a block. Drop your blocks, pile them up, and see how high you can go without toppling the tower. FEATURES * Make blocks from photos — Pick a photo and wipe away the parts you don't want with your finger. Not just people: objects, plush toys, figures, anything can become a block * Paint your own — No photo needed. Draw straight onto a clear canvas with ten colors and three brush sizes, and shape whatever you like * Real physics — Blocks stack with hit areas that follow their exact outline, so a tower that loses its balance comes crashing down. Keeping it standing is the whole skill. A block with separated parts breaks into those parts the moment you place it * Play solo — Drag a block, turn it, let go and watch it fall. See how high you can get and beat your best score * Battle the computer — Take turns against the computer (AI) in a one-player battle * Battle a friend — Share a six-digit passcode (room code) and play online * Local ranking — Your top ten scores are saved on the device * Ready to play — Nine blocks are built in (six figure poses plus three sample photo blocks), so you can start stacking the moment you install * Simple controls, kid-friendly wording — Easy enough for children, fun for grown-ups HOW TO PLAY 1. Tap Make, pick a photo, and rub away the parts you don't want to create a block (or choose Paint a block to draw one instead) 2. Tap Play, drag the block into place, turn it with the rotate button, and let go to drop it 3. Stack as high as you can without toppling the tower. If it collapses and falls off the floor, the game is over BATTLE MODES In the solo battle you take turns with the computer (AI), stacking block by block. To play with a friend, make a room and share the six-digit passcode, or type in the passcode you were given. You can play in real time even when you are far apart. PRIVACY All photo cutting happens on your device, and the block images you make are never sent anywhere. Online battles only exchange block moves and game state — no personal information is included.

Screenshots

hocus.4 screens
Photo Tower Battle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Photo Tower Battle at Free against hocus.'s $1.99. Photo Tower Battle also leads on update cadence (every 11 days vs every 5 weeks). hocus.'s advantage is chart position (#57 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Photo Tower Battle is free to download; hocus. costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

hocus. ships an update every 5 weeks, Photo Tower Battle every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
hocus. versus Photo Tower Battle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterhocus.Photo Tower Battle
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (234 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews87.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings234 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#57 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGAMEBRAIN YAZILIM TEKNOLOJILERI ANONIM SIRKETIYuga Tachikawa

In-app purchases

None

hocus.

No in-app purchases

None

Photo Tower Battle

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is hocus. free?
hocus. costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Photo Tower Battle free?
Photo Tower Battle is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do hocus. or Photo Tower Battle have ads?
Neither hocus. nor Photo Tower Battle shows ads.
Which is updated more often, hocus. or Photo Tower Battle?
hocus. ships an update every 5 weeks, and Photo Tower Battle every 11 days. Most recently, hocus. was updated on October 26, 2026 and Photo Tower Battle on October 19, 2026.

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