Comparison

Cardinal Chains vs Achromatic!

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

Head to head
About

Cardinal Chains

A minimalist puzzle game where players link numbers in non-decreasing sequences to fill a monochrome grid with color. It offers a relaxing experience with a handcrafted soundtrack and elegant design, free from timers or ads.

Highlights
  • 500 unique handcrafted puzzles
  • Non-decreasing sequence gameplay
  • Chill-out soundtrack
  • Minimalist design
  • Customizable color themes
  • Achievements and cloud saves
Features
Read full description

Cardinal Chains is a minimalist puzzle game centering on the concept of non-decreasing sequences. Each puzzle begins with a monochrome grid of numbers, plus a few colored cells marked with an X. Starting at these cells, you must link up numbers in non-decreasing order until the whole grid is filled with color. • 500 unique, carefully handcrafted puzzles of varying difficulty, each with a single solution • Beautiful, lengthy chill-out soundtrack created by accomplished professional artists • Minimalist, elegant design without timers, ads, purchases or other hassles - just pure gameplay • Several built-in color themes, including colorblind options. Or... • ...make your own color themes - right from within the game! • Features achievements and cloud saves

About

Achromatic!

A minimalist puzzle game where you connect dots of the same color to achieve a single cohesive hue. Strategically draw lines, utilizing unique dot properties to solve increasingly complex levels. Enjoy a relaxing soundtrack and a smooth difficulty curve with bonus challenges.

Highlights
  • Connect same-colored dots
  • Unique dot properties
  • 60 handcrafted levels
  • 10 bonus levels
  • Color blind mode
  • Original soundtrack
Features
Read full description

Achromatic is a minimalist puzzle game about connecting dots in order to transform them all to one cohesive color. Draw a straight line between two dots of the same color to paint the dots between them. However, you can only change dots of one color at a time. You'll quickly encounter unique dots with exciting properties. For example the square dot lets you change the direction of your line, or the triangle dots are synchronized such that changing one of them changes all of them. Achromatic features an original and relaxing sound track to accompany its polished minimalist aesthetic. Its smooth difficulty curve will teach you the mechanics and gently ease you into more difficult levels. All levels were carefully designed by hand to ensure the best puzzling experience possible. For those craving a challenge, bonus levels are available after beating the game to really test your logic skills. Features: • 60 handcrafted level plus 10 challenging bonus levels • Unique dots with special properties • Supports both vertical and horizontal orientation • Color blind mode

Screenshots

Cardinal Chains4 screens
Achromatic!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Cardinal Chains at 100% against Achromatic!'s 38%. Cardinal Chains also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 5 months vs every 9 months). Achromatic!'s advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Cardinal Chains costs $2.99 and Achromatic! $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cardinal Chains holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cardinal Chains has 24 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Cardinal Chains's written reviews are positive against 38% of Achromatic!'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cardinal Chains ships an update every 5 months, Achromatic! every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on July 8, 2026 and August 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Cardinal Chains versus Achromatic!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCardinal ChainsAchromatic!
Price$2.99$2.99
Rating4.9 (24 ratings) — better4.3 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better38.0% of reviews
Number of ratings24 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 5 months — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.69.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size101 MB101 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaniel NoraNick Carney

Customer experience

Cardinal Chains

All ratings24 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Achromatic!

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive38.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative54.0%

In-app purchases

None

Cardinal Chains

No in-app purchases

None

Achromatic!

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cardinal Chains free?
Cardinal Chains costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Achromatic! free?
Achromatic! costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Cardinal Chains or Achromatic!?
Cardinal Chains is rated higher. Cardinal Chains averages 4.9 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while Achromatic! averages 4.3 from 4 ratings.
Do Cardinal Chains or Achromatic! have ads?
Neither Cardinal Chains nor Achromatic! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cardinal Chains or Achromatic!?
Cardinal Chains ships an update every 5 months, and Achromatic! every 9 months. Most recently, Cardinal Chains was updated on July 8, 2026 and Achromatic! on August 26, 2026.

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