Cardinal Chains vs Achromatic!
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 500 unique handcrafted puzzles
- Non-decreasing sequence gameplay
- Chill-out soundtrack
- Minimalist design
- Customizable color themes
- Achievements and cloud saves
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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
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.
- Connect same-colored dots
- Unique dot properties
- 60 handcrafted levels
- 10 bonus levels
- Color blind mode
- Original soundtrack
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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
Verdict
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
Cardinal Chains costs $2.99 and Achromatic! $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Cardinal Chains | Achromatic! |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (24 ratings) — better | 4.3 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 38.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 24 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 9 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 101 MB | 101 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Daniel Nora | Nick Carney |
Customer experience
Cardinal Chains
Achromatic!
In-app purchases
Cardinal Chains
No in-app purchases
Achromatic!
No in-app purchases






