# A Short Tale vs cardinal.

The clearest difference is price: cardinal. at Free against A Short Tale's $3.99. cardinal. also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 5 months) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). A Short Tale's advantage is ratings volume (246 vs 14) and chart position (#195 vs unranked). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

cardinal. is free to download; A Short Tale costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

cardinal. holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: A Short Tale has 246 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of A Short Tale's written reviews are positive against 80% of cardinal.'s.

A Short Tale ships an update every 5 months, cardinal. every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | A Short Tale | cardinal. |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $3.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.6 (246 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-short-tale/id1062642163/reviews) | **[4.9 (14 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cardinal/id1589334930/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **246** | 14 |
| Positive reviews | 74.2% of reviews | **80.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#195** | — |
| Size | 290 MB | 99 MB |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Glitch Games](https://appshunter.io/developer/499866302) | [Perfect Hat Games LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1124547329) |

## What reviewers say

### A Short Tale

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-short-tale/id1062642163)

**Currently charting:** #195 Top Paid · Puzzle (US App Store)

Embark on a first-person point-and-click adventure where you shrink to toy size and explore a brother's room. Solve puzzles, collect items, and uncover clues in a charming, nostalgia-inducing environment with trademark humor.

**Highlights:** First-person point and click adventure, Toy-sized room exploration, Charming and nostalgic environment, Humorous puzzles, Glitch Camera for clues, Item collection and usage, Auto-save feature

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Challenging puzzles
- 👍 Charming and relaxing atmosphere
- 💡 Unique and clever puzzles
- 🤖 Impressive game design
- 🎨 Beautiful graphics

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional glitches and bugs
- 🤔 Some puzzles too obscure or illogical
- ⏱️ Slow navigation and screen transitions
- 🤷‍♀️ Lack of hints or guidance

**Reported bugs**

- Camera/photo album icon overlap issue
- Crossword puzzle glitch causing game to freeze
- Missing puzzle elements preventing completion

**Requested features**

- Hint system or built-in walkthrough
- Improved navigation and screen loading times
- More logical and intuitive puzzle design


### cardinal.

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cardinal/id1589334930)

Engage in a minimalistic logic puzzle game where you deduce a secret solution using sixteen cards and clues. Enjoy procedurally generated boards for endless play and compete globally in daily challenges.

**Highlights:** Minimalistic logic puzzles, Deduce secret solutions, Procedurally generated boards, Endless regular mode, Daily global competitions, 16 logic cards

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is A Short Tale free?

A Short Tale costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is cardinal. free?

cardinal. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, A Short Tale or cardinal.?

cardinal. is rated higher. A Short Tale averages 4.6 out of 5 from 246 ratings, while cardinal. averages 4.9 from 14 ratings.

### Do A Short Tale or cardinal. have ads?

Neither A Short Tale nor cardinal. shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, A Short Tale or cardinal.?

A Short Tale ships an update every 5 months, and cardinal. every 3 days. Most recently, A Short Tale was updated on October 21, 2026 and cardinal. on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*