Comparison

Kittens Game vs Universal Paperclips™

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

Head to head
About

Kittens Game

Manage a growing village of kittens in this text-based simulation game. Gather resources, research technologies, and expand your settlement. This old-school experience is free of ads and micro-transactions.

Highlights
  • Village simulation
  • Resource management
  • Technology research
  • Text-based gameplay
  • Kitten management
Features
Read full description

Kittens Game is a village simulation text game. You manage a village of kittens as they acquire resources and unlock new technologies. This is an old school game and a product of many years of love and hard labor. It does not have any ads or micro-transactions.

About

Universal Paperclips™

Become a super-powered AI focused on creating an unstoppable paperclip empire. This idle management strategy simulation game offers full gameplay without ads or in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • AI paperclip maximization
  • Idle management gameplay
  • Strategy simulation
  • Empire building
  • Full gameplay
  • No ads
  • No in-app purchases
Features
Read full description

The OFFICIAL mobile version of the hit browser game. No ads, no in-app purchases, full gameplay. "The game is click-crack." - Wired "This paperclip sim will cause your next existential crisis." - VentureBeat "A hopelessly addicting game." - Forbes "A terrifying lesson in how artificial intelligence will make us unnecessary." - Business Insider "If this planet ends up with a tombstone, what is written on the tombstone may be, 'they didn’t really understand what it’s like to be a paperclip maximizer.'" - Eliezer Yudkowsky Become a super-powerful AI who only wants one thing: paperclips. Use your unstoppable intelligence to create a massive paperclip empire in this addictive idle/management/strategy/sim.

Screenshots

Kittens Game1 screens
Universal Paperclips™4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Universal Paperclips™ at #31 against Kittens Game's #97. Universal Paperclips™ also leads on price ($1.99 vs $2.99). Kittens Game's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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

Kittens Game costs $2.99 and Universal Paperclips™ $1.99 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 — 4.5 for Kittens Game against 4.5 for Universal Paperclips™. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 322 and 303 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 68% of Kittens Game's written reviews are positive against 66% of Universal Paperclips™'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kittens Game ships an update every 4 months, Universal Paperclips™ every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Kittens Game versus Universal Paperclips™: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKittens GameUniversal Paperclips™
Price$2.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.5 (322 ratings)4.5 (303 ratings)
Positive reviews67.9% of reviews — better65.8% of reviews
Number of ratings322 — better303
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank#97#31 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB73 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperDmitrii PopovEverybody House Games, LLC

Customer experience

Kittens Game

All ratings322 ratings
Positive85.1%
Neutral5.6%
Negative9.3%
Written reviews131 reviews
Positive67.9%
Neutral12.2%
Negative19.8%

Universal Paperclips™

All ratings303 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral5.9%
Negative7.3%
Written reviews278 reviews
Positive65.8%
Neutral13.3%
Negative20.9%

User reviews

Kittens Game

From 322 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Captivating gameplay
  • 👍 Engrossing incremental game
  • 💡 Impressive depth and complexity
  • 🚀 Rewarding progression
  • 👍 Minimal UI, focus on gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy UI, screen jumping
  • 🐛 Inconsistent save/load behavior
  • 🐛 Compatibility issues on newer devices
  • 🐛 Broken or underperforming features
  • 🔋 Slow progression can be tedious

Universal Paperclips™

From 303 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple but addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Engaging and clever concept
  • 💡 Interesting philosophical elements
  • 🚀 Surprisingly deep and replayable

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches, especially in later stages
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 😞 Lack of offline progress or background play
  • 😞 Poorly optimized for iPad

Bugs and requests

Kittens Game

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Disappearing buttons and UI elements
  • Progress loss or reset when switching apps
  • Broken or non-functional features (e.g. solar farms)
  • Compatibility issues on iPhone X and newer devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Bulk crafting/upgrading options
  • Ability to disable pollution mechanics
  • Better UI optimization for larger screens
  • Vibration/notification support for events
  • More detailed analytics and tracking

Universal Paperclips™

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Drones gifts getting stuck at NaN
  • Inability to progress past certain stages due to bugs
  • Inconsistent behavior when closing and reopening the app
  • Resets or loss of progress after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to save and resume progress across devices
  • Offline/background progress
  • Better iPad optimization with multi-column layout

In-app purchases

None

Kittens Game

No in-app purchases

None

Universal Paperclips™

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Kittens Game free?
Kittens Game costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Universal Paperclips™ free?
Universal Paperclips™ costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Kittens Game or Universal Paperclips™?
Kittens Game and Universal Paperclips™ are both rated 4.5 out of 5 on the App Store, from 322 and 303 ratings respectively.
Do Kittens Game or Universal Paperclips™ have ads?
Neither Kittens Game nor Universal Paperclips™ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Kittens Game or Universal Paperclips™?
Kittens Game ships an update every 4 months, and Universal Paperclips™ every 3 months. Most recently, Kittens Game was updated on September 23, 2026 and Universal Paperclips™ on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Kittens Game or Universal Paperclips™?
Kittens Game currently peaks at #97 in the App Store charts, and Universal Paperclips™ at #31. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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