Isotopolis vs Sandbox
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Isotopolis
Explore particle physics by accelerating, steering, and colliding particles to create new isotopes. Learn about the fragmentation process and the table of nuclides through engaging gameplay. This educational game is developed by scientists and students.
- Particle acceleration and steering
- Isotope creation and discovery
- Learn about fragmentation process
- Explore the table of nuclides
- Educational gameplay
- Developed by scientists and students
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Accelerate, steer, and collide particles to make new and rare isotopes in this game from the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory and the Games for Entertainment & Learning Lab at Michigan State University. Players will guide particles through the process of creating new isotopes as they learn about the fragmentation process and the table of nuclides. Developed by scientists and students at Michigan State University; Isotopolis seeks to teach players about the world of particle physics through play. The game is 100% free-to-play (with no in-app purchases). Supported By: * The American Physical Society * MSU Vice President for Research * MSU Graduate Studies * MSU University Outreach and Engagement * MSU College of Communication Arts * MSU Chief Information Officer * MSU Department of Physics of Astronomy * Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics * National Science Foundation
Sandbox
Explore a creative sandbox world where you can mix elements to discover their reactions and create dynamic environments. Experiment with physics, build structures, and witness exciting events like explosions and growth. New modes allow for planet destruction and life cycle simulation.
- Element mixing and reaction discovery
- World building with plants and weather
- Physics experiments (fire, explosions)
- Planet destruction mode
- Life cycle simulation mode
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Sandbox - Physics Simulation Do you curious what happened when lighting hit firework powder? Would you like to mix gas with gun powder and let them explode? Would you like to create a sandbox world, plant trees, flowers & watching them growing? Let download Sandbox game to enjoy a creative & relaxing game! You have many elements in game, you can mix them together & discover how them react to each other, how they turn to different form! You can build strong platform, grow your world, put fire, lighting, rain, plants,... on it! With SandBox you can create & destroy everything, you will find many exciting experiment: boil water, making rain, making fire & explosion,... Big Update: - new game mode Planet Destroy: use powerful weapons to destroy whole planet - new game mode Life Box: simulate real life cycle Let download & Relax with Sandbox!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Isotopolis at none against Sandbox's 1. Isotopolis also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (63% vs 47%). Sandbox's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 37 months) and ratings volume (8.8K vs 10). On price 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
Both are free to download. Sandbox sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Isotopolis asks for nothing beyond the download.
Sandbox holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sandbox has 8.8K ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of Isotopolis's written reviews are positive against 47% of Sandbox's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Isotopolis ships an update every 37 months, Sandbox monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Isotopolis | Sandbox |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (10 ratings) | 4.4 (8.8K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 62.5% of reviews — better | 47.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 10 | 8.8K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 37 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 189 MB | 204 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Brian Winn | Tran Dinh Hung |
Customer experience
Isotopolis
Sandbox
Bugs and requests
Isotopolis
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Sandbox
Reported bugs
3 issues- Certain elements not functioning as expected
- Saved files becoming corrupted
- Inconsistent performance and stability issues
Requested features
4 requests- Add more elements and materials to experiment with
- Implement a pause/speed up time feature
- Introduce a sandbox mode without any ads
- Allow users to save and load custom creations
In-app purchases
Isotopolis
No in-app purchases
Sandbox
- Remove Ads$3.99
