Mur vs Midgaard by SmartMonsters
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mur
This interactive app enhances a physical children's book using augmented reality. Scan book images to unlock a musical, 360-degree virtual world that follows the story's themes. Designed for young children, it offers a unique blend of physical and digital play.
- Augmented reality integration
- Interactive 360º world
- Original musical score
- Scannable book images
- Storyline progression
- Focus on music and themes
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*Requires the physical book "Mur"* *Winner of the Bologna Ragazzi VR/AR award 2017* *Mur - a step in book*, is a beautiful, interactive and musical app built to augment the *physical children’s book, “A bear called Mur” by Kaisa Happonen and Anne Vasko*. Mur is a little story with a big message about being perfect just the way we are. The app is targeted kids aged 4 - 8 and is for both iPhones and iPads. The Mur app uses *augmented reality* to bridge the physical with the *virtual reality* of the app universe. The images in the book can be scanned, opening a dream-like intro sequence where the real-world slowly fades and makes Mur’s world appear. The book becomes *a set of keys* to unlock interactive experiences in a *360º world*, which can be navigated via the smartdevice as a sort of magical window. The Mur app follows the storyline of the book, but without words it focuses on *music* which is built up in four acts, each with a different theme. The music is especially arranged, composed and performed for the app. *Developed by Step In Books, Denmark* Step In Books is an award-winning company developing innovative experiences on mobile devices. Step In Books *work* with authors and artists *to bring stories to life* on tablets and smartphones. Mur is created by the team behind *Wuwu & Co.* Illustrations are made by Anne Vasko.
Midgaard by SmartMonsters
Experience a retro text-based MUD adventure with a focus on community and accessibility. Explore a magical world, manage your character, and interact with thousands of players globally in a friendly, blind-friendly environment.
- Retro text-based MUD emulation
- Graphical character state displays
- In-app game and account functions
- Blind-friendly accessibility
- Friendly and inclusive community
- Cross-world character movement
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Swords! Dragons! Castles! Magical fireballs! Inns with ale! Retro gaming at its most retro! Midgaard is our homage to the text MUDs of decades past. Running on the TriadCity platform, it's an emulation of the classic DikuMUD adventure tradition circa 1994. Midgaard is a labor of love for us. It's where many of us first encountered MUDs and were astonished by their engrossing play and extraordinary potential. It's full of clever ideas, many of which became standards as the tradition evolved. Most importantly, it's fun! It's completely FREE to play, is blind-friendly, and has more women players than men. Best of all, it's friendly! For twenty years SmartMonsters has been free of the flame wars, misogyny, and mean-spiritedness prominent in some other environments. Even our bulletin boards are safe! Visit us today - we can't wait to meet you! As a member of the SmartMonsters universe, Midgaard is one linked World among others. Your characters can move freely between Midgaard, TriadCity, Dungeon, and future Worlds all with quite different "laws of physics". Meet you there! * Simple, straightforward graphical interface with minimal controls. * All major game and account functions available in-app, without having to exit to the Web site. * Graphical displays of character state: health, energy, attributes, skills, etc. * Manage chat channels, natural language parsing, and other features. * Character maintenance: health, energy, experience, Skills. * Store login creds in the Keychain; share them among devices via iCloud. * Access the Players' Guide, FAQ, Message of the Day and other website resources directly within the app. * Create new characters. * Fully mobile: works happily over WiFi or cellular data. * Blind-friendly: thoroughly tested with Voice Over by volunteers from audiogames.net and elsewhere. * Female-friendly: we've had more women players than men for over 20 years. * Very friendly community - apparently all the mean people go to WoW 'cos we have none; even our bulletin-boards are safe! * Thousands of players from all over the world.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Midgaard by SmartMonsters at Free against Mur's $0.99. Midgaard by SmartMonsters also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). Mur's advantage is review sentiment (13% vs 0%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.6). On ads, in-app purchases 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
Midgaard by SmartMonsters is free to download; Mur costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Mur ships an update every 3 months, Midgaard by SmartMonsters fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mur | Midgaard by SmartMonsters |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | — | 3.5 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 12.5% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 424 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | PIBOCO ApS | SmartMonsters, Inc. |
Customer experience
Mur
Midgaard by SmartMonsters
In-app purchases
Mur
No in-app purchases
Midgaard by SmartMonsters
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Mur free?
Is Midgaard by SmartMonsters free?
Do Mur or Midgaard by SmartMonsters have ads?
Which is updated more often, Mur or Midgaard by SmartMonsters?
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