Comparison

Dissembler 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

Dissembler

A minimalist puzzle game where you flip tiles to match colors and make them disappear. The goal is to clear the entire board, requiring careful planning and abstract thinking. Enjoy handcrafted puzzles with a relaxing soundtrack and daily challenges.

Highlights
  • Tile-flipping color matching
  • Hand-crafted abstract puzzles
  • Relaxing minimalist design
  • Original soundtrack
  • Daily puzzles with solutions
  • Infinite mode with leaderboards
  • Color-blind mode
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Dissembler is a subtle puzzle game about unraveling playful, abstract artworks one color at a time. Winner of the Excellence in Design award at Freeplay 2018. “If you’re a puzzle fan, I can’t stress it enough — you need to play this game.” — AppUnwrapper “Dissembler is one of those puzzle games that just feels good to play around with, but it backs that simple joy with a solid spate of puzzles and gameplay modes.” — Shaun Musgrave, Touch Arcade About the game: Flip pairs of tiles to make matching color groups vanish, but that's where the resemblance to a standard match-three ends. In Dissembler no tiles will drop in to replace the ones you’ve matched: your task is to remove all tiles and leave behind a clean slate. The experience starts simply, leading you gently from basic principles to more complex puzzles, but before long it will require careful planning and lateral thinking. ■ Beautifully-presented minimalist puzzle game with chilled original soundtrack ■ Every one of the 171 puzzles is a hand-made work of art with no randomness ■ Experiment freely – undo any number of moves at any time without any penalty ■ Buy once and enjoy forever – no in-app purchases! ■ Free daily puzzles, plus step-by-step solutions revealed the next day ■ Infinite mode offers an endless play mode with Game Center leaderboard ■ Color-blind mode makes Dissembler accessible to more players

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

Dissembler4 screens
Close Cities4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Close Cities at Free against Dissembler's $2.99. Close Cities also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Dissembler's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On rating 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

Close Cities is free to download; Dissembler costs $2.99 up front. Close Cities sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Dissembler asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Dissembler against 4.8 for Close Cities. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.5K and 356 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Dissembler's written reviews are positive against 69% of Close Cities's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dissembler ships an update every 2 months, Close Cities every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Dissembler versus Close Cities: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDissemblerClose Cities
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (1.5K ratings)4.8 (356 ratings)
Positive reviews91.2% of reviews — better69.4% of reviews
Number of ratings1.5K — better356
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#144 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB158 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShape Shop Pty Ltd atf Shape Shop TrustJuan Manuel Altamirano Argudo

Customer experience

Dissembler

All ratings1,464 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral2.1%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews91 reviews
Positive91.2%
Neutral6.6%
Negative2.2%

Close Cities

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

Bugs and requests

Dissembler

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Audio issues
  • Screen rotation problems

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Haptic feedback for tile clicks
  • Challenge mode with move limits
  • Randomly generated puzzles

Close Cities

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Dissembler

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 Dissembler free?
Dissembler costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Close Cities free?
Close Cities is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dissembler or Close Cities?
Dissembler and Close Cities are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1.5K and 356 ratings respectively.
Do Dissembler or Close Cities have ads?
Close Cities shows ads; Dissembler does not.
Which is updated more often, Dissembler or Close Cities?
Dissembler ships an update every 2 months, and Close Cities every 3 weeks. Most recently, Dissembler was updated on October 14, 2026 and Close Cities on October 12, 2026.

Other comparisons