Universal Paperclips™ vs Magic Research
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- AI paperclip maximization
- Idle management gameplay
- Strategy simulation
- Empire building
- Full gameplay
- No ads
- No in-app purchases
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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.
Magic Research
Lead a new magic institution to discover the secrets of magic and achieve fame. Research spells, build your campus, manage staff, and uncover hidden storylines to win the Tournament of Magic. Enjoy a complete game experience with no ads.
- Cast over 100 spells
- Research magic in various schools
- Build and manage campus
- Manage researchers and apprentices
- Discover hidden features and storylines
- Retirement bonuses for faster progress
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In Magic Research, you are the headmaster of a newly-created institution of Magic with one goal: to learn as much as possible about this power and get enough fame to be able to compete, and win, the prestigious competition of schools: the Tournament of Magic. But what will you discover along the way? * Cast over a hundred different spells with various effects * Research magic in various magical schools to discover new, surprising ways to use this power * Accumulate resources and build the school campus * Manage a team of researchers and apprentices to lead your school to fame * Discover tons of hidden new features - when will you unlock the next one? * Find over eight dozen secret storylines with permanent, game-altering effects * Restart the game and make faster progress each time with retirement bonuses * Optimized both for iPhone and iPad * No ads! This is the full, complete game. You can transfer save data from the demo by using the Export / Import Save feature available in both the demo and in the full game.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Magic Research at every 4 days against Universal Paperclips™'s every 3 months. Magic Research also leads on review sentiment (95% vs 66%) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). Universal Paperclips™'s advantage is price ($1.99 vs $3.99). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Universal Paperclips™ costs $1.99 and Magic Research $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Magic Research holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 303 and 188 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of Universal Paperclips™'s written reviews are positive against 95% of Magic Research's.
Universal Paperclips™ ships an update every 3 months, Magic Research every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Universal Paperclips™ | Magic Research |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (303 ratings) | 4.7 (188 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.8% of reviews | 95.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 303 — better | 188 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #39 — better | #101 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 73 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Everybody House Games, LLC | Matias Ezequiel Colotto |
Customer experience
Universal Paperclips™
Magic Research
User reviews
Universal Paperclips™
From 303 App Store ratingsWhat 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
Magic Research
From 188 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great idle/incremental game
- 💡 Deep and complex systems
- 🚀 Well-paced progression
- 💰 Worth the price
- ✨ No ads or microtransactions
Room to improve
- 🐛 UI layout issues
- 🐌 Can be grindy
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🐛 Text running off page/scrolling issues
- 🐛 Wood resource bug
Bugs and requests
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
Magic Research
Reported bugs
8 issues- On new iPhones, switching away and back causes UI unresponsiveness
- Text running off the page, preventing interaction with buttons
- Wood resource counting backwards
- Becoming stunned for a full minute, unable to act
- Bosses running away from fights
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- Exploration difficulty jump
- UI layout issues on iPad Pro (long scrolling panels, cut-off inventory views, difficult spell favorite scrolling, useless event panel)
- Text pages not scrolling, making discoveries unreadable
Requested features
12 requests- Add background music
- Add Chinese language support
- Make monsters pixelated
- Adjustable times for apprentice auto-casting
- Display monstium collection counter during exploration
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- Allow apprentices to auto-craft potions
- Make the game accessible to the blind
- Add a way to start further into dungeons
- Automate crafting
- Improve quality of crafted items (armor, weapons)
- Add a 'Magic Smithing' school
- Allow players to avoid or cure silence effects
In-app purchases
Universal Paperclips™
No in-app purchases
Magic Research
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Universal Paperclips™ free?
Is Magic Research free?
Which has better reviews, Universal Paperclips™ or Magic Research?
Do Universal Paperclips™ or Magic Research have ads?
Which is updated more often, Universal Paperclips™ or Magic Research?
Which is more popular, Universal Paperclips™ or Magic Research?
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