Comparison

Tiny Bubbles vs Shift Shaft

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

Head to head
About

Tiny Bubbles

An award-winning puzzle game where players manipulate squishy soap bubbles. Mix colors, create chain reactions, and solve hundreds of unique challenges. Offers a relaxing experience with atmospheric music and fluid physics.

Highlights
  • Inflate, mix, match, and pop bubbles
  • Physics-based bubble manipulation
  • Hundreds of unique puzzles
  • Multiple game modes (Puzzles, Arcade, Infinity)
  • Relaxing ambient music and sounds
  • Color-blind accessibility mode
Features
Read full description

Winner of over a dozen gaming awards. Play with squishy clusters of soap bubbles in this mesmerizing puzzle game. Inflate, mix, match, pop, and win with hundreds of goals to complete. INNOVATIVE NEW GAMEPLAY Fill bubbles with colorful air and push nearby bubbles around using the physics of real bubbles! Break edges between bubbles to mix new colors and create matches of 4 or more. Plan your strategy from a list of moves to build up cascading chain reactions for dazzling bonuses. HOURS OF AMAZING CONTENT Experience unique surprises down every path! Each of the over 170 handmade puzzles requires new thinking and twisting strategies with ever increasing challenges. Play in 3 different game modes: PUZZLES, ARCADE, and INFINITY. Try to beat 35 bubbly achievements that will give your brain a workout. RELAXING AND ATMOSPHERIC Relaxing ambient music gracefully integrates with the satisfying sounds of popping bubbles. Put on a pair of headphones and experience a new level of flow and mindfulness. Play Infinity mode to earn helpful hint tickets. LIFE-LIKE SOAP BUBBLE PHYSICS From the vision of artist/coder/designer Stu Denman and inspired by the work of his MIT scientist grandfather, the game brings the beauty of nature to your screen. Incredibly fluid “molecular dynamics engine” animates hundreds of bubbles at 60 FPS. CHARMING CREATURES Help tiny aquatic creatures that are trapped in the bubbles. Avoid greedy jelly crabs and spiky urchins. Love him or hate him, a curious fish named Bloop will surely reveal your nature as an optimist or a pessimist. COLOR-BLIND MODE Featuring an innovative color-blind mode that provides an authentic and accessible game experience without intrusive icons or patterns. * No advertisements or in-app purchases. * ------ AWARDS ------ ● Winner, Best Mobile Game, Gamer's Voice Award at SXSW ● Winner, Best Quickplay, 14th International Mobile Gaming Awards ● Winner, Google Indie Games Festival ● Grand Prize Winner, The Label's Indie Showdown ● Official Selection, The PAX 10, Penny Arcade Expo West ● Winner, Amazon Games Forum Showdown ● Winner, Seattle Indie Game Competition ● Winner, Best Overall Game, Intel Buzz Workshop ● Official Selection, Indie Megabooth, PAX West ● Official Selection, Made With Unity Showcase ● Finalist, Intel Level Up ● Finalist, Best Gameplay, AzPlay, Spain

About

Shift Shaft

This puzzle game challenges players to match three or more rocks by rotating the entire game board. Upgrade your character's stats and unlock items as you explore an underground world and battle unique enemies. Enjoy an uninterrupted gaming experience with no ads or in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • Rotate the game board
  • Match 3 or more rocks
  • Upgrade player stats
  • Unlock over 30 items
  • Battle 5 unique enemies
  • Explore underground world
Features
Read full description

“What really blew my mind with Shift Shaft and the main thing that makes it feel unlike any other game out there is your ability to rotate the entire board at will. It sounds simple but this changes everything… This is truly a thinking person’s matching game.” - Jared Nelson, TouchArcade.com A match & rotate puzzle Manipulate your player and the board by rotating it and clearing groups of 3 or more rocks. Build up your player Collect and spend gems to upgrade your stats and unlock over 30 different items during each run. Explore the underground world Go up against 5 unique enemies and the gem-eating spider to uncover the world beneath the mines. No ads & no in-app purchases Play for as long you'd like with no ads or pay walls.

Screenshots

Tiny Bubbles4 screens
Shift Shaft4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Shift Shaft at fortnightly against Tiny Bubbles's every 2 months. Shift Shaft also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 83%) and price ($2.99 vs $3.99). Tiny Bubbles's advantage is ratings volume (3.8K vs 143). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Tiny Bubbles costs $3.99 and Shift Shaft $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Tiny Bubbles against 4.9 for Shift Shaft. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tiny Bubbles has 3.8K ratings behind it against 143, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of Tiny Bubbles's written reviews are positive against 100% of Shift Shaft's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tiny Bubbles ships an update every 2 months, Shift Shaft fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Tiny Bubbles versus Shift Shaft: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTiny BubblesShift Shaft
Price$3.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.8 (3.8K ratings)4.9 (143 ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.8K — better143
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size127 MB34 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperPine Street Codeworks LLCWilliam Katz

Customer experience

Tiny Bubbles

All ratings3,814 ratings
Positive97.2%
Neutral1.8%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews193 reviews
Positive83.4%
Neutral6.7%
Negative9.8%

Shift Shaft

All ratings143 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral1.4%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

User reviews

Tiny Bubbles

From 3.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics and animations
  • 🎶 Relaxing and soothing soundtrack
  • 💡 Unique and creative puzzle mechanics
  • 👍 Challenging yet satisfying gameplay
  • 🕹️ Intuitive and easy to learn controls

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🔍 Unclear instructions and tutorial
  • 🕰️ Time-based puzzles can feel stressful
  • 🔒 Limited hint system and paywall
  • 🔚 Not enough new levels after completion

Shift Shaft

From 143 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Innovative rotate screen mechanic
  • 👍 Easy to learn, hard to master
  • 💎 Rare hidden gem
  • 🧠 Clever and entertaining design
  • ✨ Adds a breath of fresh air

Room to improve

  • 📉 Graphics could be less pixelated
  • 🤔 Difficult to pick up strategies
  • ⏳ Mid-run save feature missing

Bugs and requests

Tiny Bubbles

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Incorrect level completion conditions
  • Hint system not functioning properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • More levels and worlds to explore
  • Endless/infinite mode without time limits
  • Improved hint system and accessibility
  • Cloud save/sync across devices

Shift Shaft

Requested features

2 requests
  • Non-pixelated graphics
  • Mid-run save option

In-app purchases

None

Tiny Bubbles

No in-app purchases

None

Shift Shaft

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tiny Bubbles free?
Tiny Bubbles costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shift Shaft free?
Shift Shaft costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Tiny Bubbles or Shift Shaft?
Shift Shaft is rated higher. Tiny Bubbles averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.8K ratings, while Shift Shaft averages 4.9 from 143 ratings.
Do Tiny Bubbles or Shift Shaft have ads?
Neither Tiny Bubbles nor Shift Shaft shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tiny Bubbles or Shift Shaft?
Tiny Bubbles ships an update every 2 months, and Shift Shaft fortnightly. Most recently, Tiny Bubbles was updated on October 22, 2026 and Shift Shaft on October 21, 2026.

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