Comparison

Puzzle Catcher vs Backyard Baseball '97

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

Head to head
About

Puzzle Catcher

This vibrant tile-sliding game offers a relaxing yet engaging experience inspired by mosaic art. Spin colorful glass tiles into place to create beautiful designs across a variety of lighthearted levels. Choose between casual play for relaxation or challenge mode for a timed experience.

Highlights
  • Colorful tile sliding gameplay
  • Mosaic art inspiration
  • Casual and challenge modes
  • Unlockable levels with diverse themes
  • Color blind mode
  • Screen brightness controls
Features
Read full description

Inspired by suncatchers, tangrams, and quilting, Puzzle Catcher is a bright and vibrant tile game that celebrates the simple beauty of mosaic art. Enjoy the view as colorful glass tiles are spun into place, revealing the fun of creativity and the joy of getting it just right. Unlock and explore the many lighthearted levels. From whimsical characters and geometric designs to geeky science stuff and monster trucks, there is something for everyone! Play casual to relax after a hard day, or spark some excitement with challenge mode. It's your choice: make the levels look good, beat the clock, or really show off and do both at the same time! It's a simple game with surprising depth that's easy to learn but hard to master. With its classic design and focus on the future, Puzzle Catcher is handcrafted for everyone to enjoy for generations to come. Features: -Tile Shapes: triangles, blocks, interlocking and more! -High Replay Value: countless tile combinations -Zap tiles to blow them up -Casual Play and Challenge modes -Includes Brilliance Pack (15 free levels) -Playable demos for all premium board packs -Color Blind Mode: built right in & toggle in real-time -Screen Brightness Controls: play outside in the sunlight -iPhoneX resolution support About BlitWise: Michael P. Welch runs his indie game studio in Upstate New York, USA, and has written well-known games such as Scorched Tanks, DX-Ball, and Pocket Tanks. BlitWise takes the long view on what it means to be a game developer and is keenly focused on writing games from scratch that are built to stand the test of time.

About

Backyard Baseball '97

Relive the classic baseball game with iconic characters, fun power-ups, and intuitive controls. Play quick games, practice batting, or manage a full season with unique game modes and simplified rules.

Highlights
  • Iconic character roster
  • Power-ups and special pitches
  • Pick-up and single game modes
  • Full season management
  • Batting practice mode
  • Simplified T-ball mode
Read full description

Rediscover the joy of the original Backyard Baseball 1997! Build your roster from the iconic cast of 30 characters stacked with charming personalities and witty banter, and get the edge on the competition with power-ups, fireball pitches, super strength, and Pablo Sanchez! Play pick-up games, practice batting, and compete in single games or a whole season with simple, intuitive controls that anyone can master! Game Modes: Random Pick-up: A quick way to jump right in! The computer chooses a random team for you and itself, and the game starts immediately. Single Game: You take turns with the computer to choose players from a random pool of characters. Season: You create a team and manage it through a 14 game series. The opposing teams are computer generated. At the end of the season the best two teams advance to the BBL playoffs (best of 3). The winner advances to the championship series which consists of the Super Entire Nation Tournament (best of 3) and then the Ultra Grand Championship of the Universe Series (best of 5)! Batting Practice: Choose a batter and face Mr. Clanky for some batting practice. This is where you’ll learn just when to click to make your chosen batter hit that ball! T-ball - Select T-ball mode for more accessible game play. Simply click to hit, run, and field! BACKYARD BASEBALL RULES The rules for Backyard Baseball are a hybrid of Pro and Little League rules: No leading off No Injuries Bunting is allowed Tagging up is allowed Stealing is allowed At our core, we are fans first–not just of video games but of the Backyard Sports franchise. Fans have asked for accessible and legal ways to play their original Backyard titles for years, and we are excited to deliver. Without having access to the source code, there are hard limitations on the experience we can create. Backyard Baseball '97 runs buttery smooth for iOS devices, looks better than ever, and creates a new installation for digital preservation within the Backyard Sports catalog that allows the next generation of fans to fall in love with the title that started it all.

Screenshots

Puzzle Catcher4 screens
Backyard Baseball '974 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Puzzle Catcher at Free against Backyard Baseball '97's $4.99. Puzzle Catcher also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (93% vs 65%). Backyard Baseball '97's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 11 months). On 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

Puzzle Catcher is free to download; Backyard Baseball '97 costs $4.99 up front. Puzzle Catcher sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Backyard Baseball '97 asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Puzzle Catcher holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Backyard Baseball '97 has 1.6K ratings behind it against 33, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of Puzzle Catcher's written reviews are positive against 65% of Backyard Baseball '97's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Puzzle Catcher ships an update every 11 months, Backyard Baseball '97 every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Puzzle Catcher versus Backyard Baseball '97: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPuzzle CatcherBackyard Baseball '97
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.9 (33 ratings) — better4.0 (1.6K ratings)
Positive reviews92.9% of reviews — better65.4% of reviews
Number of ratings331.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#5 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size100 MB326 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBlitwise Productions, LLCPlayground Productions LLC

Customer experience

Puzzle Catcher

All ratings33 ratings
Positive97.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive92.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative0.0%

Backyard Baseball '97

All ratings1,548 ratings
Positive72.5%
Neutral8.9%
Negative18.6%
Written reviews266 reviews
Positive65.4%
Neutral13.5%
Negative21.1%

Bugs and requests

Puzzle Catcher

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Backyard Baseball '97

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Gameplay freezes and crashes
  • Inconsistent fielding and throwing mechanics
  • Hitting mechanics feel unresponsive
  • Inability to save progress after crashes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Full-screen mode
  • Improved controls and input responsiveness
  • New game modes (e.g., home run derby, playoffs)
  • Ability to select home field
  • Option to mute all sounds

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Puzzle Catcher

One-time9
  • Fire Diamonds Pack$0.99
  • Color Blocks Pack$0.99
  • Hexagon Sky Pack$0.99
Show 6 more
  • Interlock Pack$0.99
  • Tromino Pack$0.99
  • Rolling Stars Pack$0.99
  • Super Brilliance Pack - Deluxe$0.99
  • Super Brilliance Pack$1.99
  • Puzzle Catcher Deluxe$4.99
None

Backyard Baseball '97

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Puzzle Catcher free?
Puzzle Catcher is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Backyard Baseball '97 free?
Backyard Baseball '97 costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Puzzle Catcher or Backyard Baseball '97?
Puzzle Catcher is rated higher. Puzzle Catcher averages 4.9 out of 5 from 33 ratings, while Backyard Baseball '97 averages 4.0 from 1.6K ratings.
Do Puzzle Catcher or Backyard Baseball '97 have ads?
Neither Puzzle Catcher nor Backyard Baseball '97 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Puzzle Catcher or Backyard Baseball '97?
Puzzle Catcher ships an update every 11 months, and Backyard Baseball '97 every 10 days. Most recently, Puzzle Catcher was updated on October 24, 2026 and Backyard Baseball '97 on October 22, 2026.

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