Comparison

Tiny Armies vs Close Cities

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

Head to head
About

Tiny Armies

Engage in fast-paced conquest battles with tiny armies. Strategize your moves across various terrains and challenge opponents solo, locally, or globally via iMessage. Enjoy quick gameplay sessions with a visually striking presentation.

Highlights
  • Fast-paced conquest gameplay
  • Strategic unit movement
  • Terrain-based challenges
  • Solo and multiplayer modes
  • iMessage battles
  • Quick gameplay sessions
Features
Read full description

Epic battles of tiny proportions! Tiny Armies is a fast-paced game of conquest. Swipe your units to conquer the enemy and strategize as you encounter lakes, mountains, and forests along the way. Play handcrafted levels, endless random maps, or battle your friends face-to-face in local multiplayer for gloriously tiny bragging rights! Quick bursts of gameplay with a striking presentation, designed for Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad. Invade your friends' message threads with the Tiny Armies iMessage Sticker Pack featuring brave knights and animated tiles! - Reviews - "Tiny Armies is a fast, lightweight, easy-to-play, game of conquest. This one's worth buying on your iOS device." - Pocket Tactics "Tiny Armies should be standard issue for all Apple Watch owners. It places an effortless punch right on the button that delivers a knockout." - The Zarf "This is the type of game you'd expect to play on a watch. Once you start playing - oh my gosh - it's like wait, they're attacking me! I'm not just swiping. It's not passive. These guys are moving trying to eliminate me. It's actually quite fun." - Apple WatchCast "One level of Tiny Armies takes a mere minute which makes it perfect for short play sessions. The game is fun and fairly challenging, you’ll need some good tactics to play a couple moves ahead and take down Red." - 5 Minute Games

About

Close Cities

Build beautiful cities on diverse worlds by solving unique puzzles. This relaxing game guides you through 160 levels with a simple tap or drag interface, requiring no architectural knowledge. Conquer each world's challenges and travel through time with its calming soundtrack.

Highlights
  • Build cities on empty maps
  • Solve 160 unique puzzle levels
  • Intuitive tap and drag controls
  • No architectural knowledge needed
  • Travel through different worlds
  • Relaxing music and pace
Features
Read full description

Close Cities is a relaxing puzzle game in which you will have to build cities in different worlds over time. Find a road and start there. Solve all 160 levels and become a Close Cities legend! UNIQUE PUZZLES You will start each level with an empty map that you will have to fill with beautiful cities. Choose the right road, choose the area and tap or drag with your fingers! DOES NOT REQUIRE KNOWLEDGE OF ARCHITECTURE Close Cities offers a fun experience even if you don't know the difference between a square and a bevel. The game's tutorial will show you everything you need to know at a relaxed pace. CONQUER ITS 160 LEVELS Each world has its king and 16 levels that you must solve to build his empire. TRAVEL THROUGH TIME During the course of the game you will discover different worlds over time with relaxed music to let you go.

Screenshots

Tiny Armies4 screens
Close Cities4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Close Cities at Free against Tiny Armies's $0.99. Close Cities also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (69% vs 55%). Tiny Armies's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On ratings volume, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement 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

Close Cities is free to download; Tiny Armies costs $0.99 up front. Close Cities sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Tiny Armies asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Close Cities holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 310 and 356 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of Tiny Armies's written reviews are positive against 69% of Close Cities's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tiny Armies ships an update monthly, Close Cities every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Tiny Armies versus Close Cities: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTiny ArmiesClose Cities
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (310 ratings)4.8 (356 ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.7% of reviews69.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings310356 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#111 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB158 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrothers FlintJuan Manuel Altamirano Argudo

Customer experience

Tiny Armies

All ratings310 ratings
Positive81.0%
Neutral6.8%
Negative12.3%
Written reviews86 reviews
Positive54.7%
Neutral14.0%
Negative31.4%

Close Cities

All ratings356 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral2.0%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews36 reviews
Positive69.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative30.6%

Bugs and requests

Tiny Armies

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Stuck on initial 'Swipe Up' screen on newer iPhones
  • iMessage version doesn't register certain swipe directions
  • Apple Watch swipe input not detected
  • App crashes or fails to install on some devices
  • Swipe controls unresponsive on iPhone 15
Show 3 more
  • Characters trapped in spawn zones by mountains
  • Fog of war reveals AI knowledge of hidden tiles
  • Game occasionally uninstalls itself

Requested features

12 requests
  • Level/map editor for custom gameplay
  • Online multiplayer functionality
  • Additional campaign levels and content
  • Difficulty settings (Easy/Normal/Hard)
  • Dark mode option
Show 7 more
  • Customizable game settings for skirmish mode
  • Random player start order toggle
  • Power-ups or special abilities
  • Improved AI with multiple difficulty levels
  • Music and sound effects
  • Better obstacle placement logic
  • Replay/undo functionality

Close Cities

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Tiny Armies

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Close Cities

One-time4
  • Hints - Small Pack$0.99
  • Hints - Medium Pack$2.99
  • Remove Ads + Hints$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Hints - Big Pack$5.99

Questions

Is Tiny Armies free?
Tiny Armies costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Close Cities free?
Close Cities is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Tiny Armies or Close Cities?
Close Cities is rated higher. Tiny Armies averages 4.3 out of 5 from 310 ratings, while Close Cities averages 4.8 from 356 ratings.
Do Tiny Armies or Close Cities have ads?
Close Cities shows ads; Tiny Armies does not.
Which is updated more often, Tiny Armies or Close Cities?
Tiny Armies ships an update monthly, and Close Cities every 3 weeks. Most recently, Tiny Armies was updated on October 2, 2026 and Close Cities on October 3, 2026.

Other comparisons