Comparison

Tantrix.com vs Ancient Board Game Collection

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

Head to head
About

Tantrix.com

A strategic puzzle game where players connect hexagonal tiles with colored paths. Compete against others online or a robot opponent, testing your spatial reasoning and planning skills.

Highlights
  • Hexagonal tile-based gameplay
  • Strategic path connection
  • Online multiplayer
  • Robot opponent
  • Develops strategic thinking
  • Enhances spatial ability
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Tantrix.com - a spatial game of colour and strategy - now available on iPad! This fascinating New Zealand game was invented in 1988 and has since won numerous awards worldwide for its quality, beauty and elegance. It consists of 56 unique hexagonal tiles connected by red, green, blue and yellow paths. Players must try to block or control their opponents path-colour while simultaneously growing their own. Online Tantrix has been available for nearly 20 years, and now with this app you can compete against the international Tantrix community on your mobile. Or challenge the resident robot opponent to a game anytime! Tantrix is simple enough to learn, yet with the possibility to be infinitely complex. Unlike conventional strategy games such as chess, in Tantrix the ratio of skill and luck varies from game to game. The best player usually wins, but not always! Great for training strategic thinking, spatial ability, problem solving, planning and also memory skills.

About

Ancient Board Game Collection

Explore a collection of historical board games from ancient civilizations. Play against AI, friends online, or locally on a single device. Offers accessibility features for visually impaired players.

Highlights
  • 9 unique ancient board games
  • Online multiplayer against friends
  • Local multiplayer on one device
  • AI opponent for solo play
  • VoiceOver and Voice Control support
  • High contrast game boards
Features
Read full description

Have you ever heard of Hnefatafl, a game played during the Viking Age? Or Latrunculi, popular over 2000 years ago in ancient Rome? Discover these games and many more in the "Ancient Board Game Collection". Features: - 9 different games: Konane, Hnefatafl, Nine Men's Morris, Dablot Prejjesne, Gomoku, Halatafl, Latrunculi, Five Field Kono and Bagh-Chal - Play online against your friends or compete with via Game Center - Local Multiplayer on a single device - Step up your game by playing against the AI - Fully Accessible via VoiceOver and Voice Control - High Contrast Game Boards for people with low vision Note: There are no Ads for anyone, but the game comes with In-App-Purchases. The free download allows you to play one online game at a time and lets you try out the local multiplayer and AI mode once. Unlimited online games and playing locally as often as you want can be bought as an In-App Purchase

Screenshots

Tantrix.com1 screens
Ancient Board Game Collection4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Ancient Board Game Collection at 4.5 against Tantrix.com's 3.6. Ancient Board Game Collection also leads on ratings volume (100 vs 5). Tantrix.com's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). On price, review sentiment, ads 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

Both are free to download. Ancient Board Game Collection sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Tantrix.com asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ancient Board Game Collection holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ancient Board Game Collection has 100 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 54% and 53% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tantrix.com ships an update every 2 weeks, Ancient Board Game Collection monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Tantrix.com versus Ancient Board Game Collection: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTantrix.comAncient Board Game Collection
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (5 ratings)4.5 (100 ratings) — better
Positive reviews53.8% of reviews — better53.3% of reviews
Number of ratings5100 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB279 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDave DyerKlemens Strasser

Customer experience

Tantrix.com

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive53.8%
Neutral15.4%
Negative30.8%

Ancient Board Game Collection

All ratings98 ratings
Positive87.8%
Neutral3.1%
Negative9.2%
Written reviews75 reviews
Positive53.3%
Neutral16.0%
Negative30.7%

Bugs and requests

Tantrix.com

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Ancient Board Game Collection

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Gomoku AI lets you win easily
  • Online games remain untouched by opponents
  • No wins or forfeit notices for inactive opponents
  • Online players are missing/inactive
  • Opponents have two days to respond, leading to long waits
Show 9 more
  • Matches start but opponents don't play their next move
  • Giant picket sign dances around the board blocking view
  • Online mode doesn't allow play after a turn
  • Game crashes when surrendering
  • Online multiplayer doesn't work
  • Cannot find anyone online
  • Opponent takes a very long time to move
  • Paid version via Apple store not unlocking full game
  • Free version limits play significantly

Requested features

25 requests
  • Add Renju rules for Gomoku
  • Change board size
  • Add more game variations
  • Add Go and Japanese Chess
  • Add more themes
Show 20 more
  • Add an undo button
  • Add an expert level for the computer
  • Add more ancient board games from Africa, Middle East, East Asia, etc.
  • Add missing difficulty levels in 'Train' mode
  • Add 'Extra Hard' mode
  • Add Bagh Chal to 'Train' mode
  • Add Chinese Chess, Fanorona, Go, Mancala
  • Add a full Go mode on the Gomoku board
  • Option to keep head-to-head game statistics vs the computer
  • Easier way to invite others to play within the app
  • Add Senet to the game set
  • Add Japanese Chess - Shogi
  • Add a confirm button
  • Add time limits for turns
  • Add difficult modes for Gomoku and Hnefatafl
  • Add Go game
  • Add chess
  • Add a timer for turns
  • Option to cancel a game without a loss if opponent is inactive
  • Add more complex training levels for all games

In-app purchases

None

Tantrix.com

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Ancient Board Game Collection

One-time1
  • Royal$4.99

Questions

Is Tantrix.com free?
Tantrix.com is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ancient Board Game Collection free?
Ancient Board Game Collection is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Tantrix.com or Ancient Board Game Collection?
Ancient Board Game Collection is rated higher. Tantrix.com averages 3.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Ancient Board Game Collection averages 4.5 from 100 ratings.
Do Tantrix.com or Ancient Board Game Collection have ads?
Neither Tantrix.com nor Ancient Board Game Collection shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tantrix.com or Ancient Board Game Collection?
Tantrix.com ships an update every 2 weeks, and Ancient Board Game Collection monthly. Most recently, Tantrix.com was updated on October 16, 2026 and Ancient Board Game Collection on October 22, 2026.

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