Comparison

Gwakkamole vs Stroop!

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

Head to head
About

Gwakkamole

This game trains inhibitory control, a key executive function, through engaging gameplay. Players must quickly identify and smash specific targets while avoiding others to improve cognitive skills. It's part of a research-backed suite developed by leading universities.

Highlights
  • Inhibitory control training
  • Executive function development
  • Engaging target-smashing gameplay
  • Research-backed cognitive training
  • Part of Smart Suite
Features
Read full description

Gwakkamole is a game designed to train inhibitory control, a subskill of executive functions. Inhibitory control involves being able to control one’s attention, behavior, thoughts, and/or emotions to override a strong internal predisposition or external lure, and instead do what’s more appropriate or needed (Diamond, 2013). Players need to smash avocados that have no hat or that tip their hat but avoid smashing avocados with spiky hats or with electric hats. How does this support learning? Executive functions refer to a set of top-down, goal-oriented cognitive processes that enable people to control, monitor and plan behaviors and emotions. Miyake and Friedman’s model supports a unity-and-diversity view of EF in that it incorporates the three distinct but related components of EF: inhibitory control, task-switching and updating (Miyake et al., 2000). What is the research evidence? Our research suggests that Gwakkamole is an effective way to train inhibitory control. Homer, B.D., Ober, T., Rose, M., MacNamara, A., Mayer, R., & Plass, J.L. (2019). Speed Versus Accuracy: Implications of Adolescents' Neurocognitive Developments in a Digital Game to Train Executive Functions. Mind, Brain, and Education, 13(1), 41–52. DOI: 10.1111/mbe.12189 Research has found that EF is related to performance in literacy and math along with long-term gains in school performance and academic readiness (Blair & Razza, 2007; Brock, Rimm-Kaufman, Nathanson, & Grimm, 2009; St Clair-Thompson & Gathercole, 2006; Welsh, Nix, Blair, Bierman, & Nelson, 2010) and that disparities in EF among preschool children from low-income versus high-income homes may contribute to the achievement gap (Blair & Razza, 2007; Noble, McCandliss, & Farah, 2007). This game is part of the Smart Suite, created by New York University’s CREATE lab in collaboration with the University of California, Santa Barbara, and The Graduate Center, CUNY. The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A150417 to the University of California, Santa Barbara. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.

About

Stroop!

This colorful puzzle game challenges your perception and reaction time. Match the color of the word to the word's actual color, not the word itself, under a strict time limit. Compete for high scores in this engaging brain-training experience.

Highlights
  • Color word matching
  • Time-limited challenges
  • High score competition
  • Multilingual word support
  • Reverse Stroop Effect gameplay
Features
Read full description

Stroop is confusing and colorful Puzzle Game! Don't be misled by the Reverse Stroop Effect! And Touch the color correctly in limited time. Achieve a high score!! *name of color will be written in not only English, but also French and Spanish... How to Play Color name will be shown and Touch the same color speedy! If you touch wrong color or Time is up, the Game is Over... The deadline will come closer!! Choose answer in a moment and get a high score!!

Screenshots

Gwakkamole4 screens
Stroop!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Gwakkamole at 80% against Stroop!'s 25%. Gwakkamole also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.9) and ads (none vs shown). Stroop!'s advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 39 months). On price, ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Gwakkamole holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 11 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Gwakkamole's written reviews are positive against 25% of Stroop!'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Gwakkamole ships an update every 39 months, Stroop! every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Gwakkamole versus Stroop!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGwakkamoleStroop!
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (14 ratings) — better3.9 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings14 — better11
Update frequencyEvery 39 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size169 MB86 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNew York UniversityYukihiro Kadono

Customer experience

Gwakkamole

All ratings14 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

Stroop!

All ratings7 ratings
Positive57.1%
Neutral28.6%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

None

Gwakkamole

No in-app purchases

None

Stroop!

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Gwakkamole free?
Gwakkamole is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Stroop! free?
Stroop! is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Gwakkamole or Stroop!?
Gwakkamole is rated higher. Gwakkamole averages 4.8 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while Stroop! averages 3.9 from 11 ratings.
Do Gwakkamole or Stroop! have ads?
Stroop! shows ads; Gwakkamole does not.
Which is updated more often, Gwakkamole or Stroop!?
Gwakkamole ships an update every 39 months, and Stroop! every 2 weeks. Most recently, Gwakkamole was updated on November 4, 2026 and Stroop! on November 3, 2026.

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