Grindstone vs Summer Pop!+
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Grindstone
Engage in a challenging puzzle-battle game where you slash your way up a treacherous mountain. Cleave through swarms of enemies, battle bosses, and discover blueprints for powerful gear. Over 200 levels of intense puzzle-battling await.
- Sword-slashing puzzle battles
- Over 200 levels
- Battle bosses
- Loot resources
- Discover gear blueprints
- Cleave deadly foes
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GRINDSTONE is a game of sword-slashing puzzle battles from the award-winning creators of Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes and Critter Crunch! Grindstone Mountain is overrun with vicious Creeps! Slay your way up its treacherous peak where fortune, glory (and death) awaits! It’ll take sharp puzzle skills and an even sharper blade to cleave your way through the swarms of bloodthirsty Creeps dwelling within Grindstone’s dungeons. Battle bosses, loot resources, discover long-lost blueprints for powerful gear, all while cleaving the innards from your deadly foes! Now with more than 200 levels of intense puzzle-battling madness!
Summer Pop!+
Embark on a relaxing seaside adventure filled with match-3 puzzles and charming animal characters. Explore beautiful beaches, engage in fun activities, and overcome challenges like the mischievous octopus boss. Enjoy hundreds of levels with new gameplay modes and special effects.
- Match-3 puzzle gameplay
- Seaside paradise setting
- Adorable animal characters
- New game modes
- Hundreds of levels
- Special effects
- Octopus boss challenges
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Beautiful seaside paradise immerses you in a relaxed atmosphere of blue skies and clear seas. Bask in the gentle sea breeze, stroll along the golden beach, go fishing and diving with the little raccoon, watch Uncle Polar Bear make ice cream, try your luck at the claw machine, and enjoy a refreshing drink at the beverage shop. Join the little animals for a delightful seaside holiday! New Gameplay, Same Joy Introducing six exciting new game modes, each level accompanied by adorable animals. With carefully designed 4820 levels, it offers a fresh and rich experience. Enjoy new special effects, making elimination easy and satisfying. The cute and lovable raccoon transforms into a captain, leading friends on a seaside adventure. Mischievous little fish, chewy gummies, fragile honey jars, running roses, angry little starfish, beautiful bottled butterflies—more surprises await on this journey! Octopus Mischief, Seaside Adventure Warning: Octopus boss ahead! Is the venom-spitting octopus back? No, it's just here to stir up trouble, with a mischievous and slightly provocative look. Make sure to drive it away. Join forces with the little animals to fight the octopus—hurry up and lend a hand!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Grindstone at 78% against Summer Pop!+'s 23%. Grindstone also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.1) and ratings volume (6.7K vs 39). Summer Pop!+'s advantage is monetization model (free vs paid). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Grindstone holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Grindstone has 6.7K ratings behind it against 39, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Grindstone's written reviews are positive against 23% of Summer Pop!+'s.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Grindstone | Summer Pop!+ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (6.7K ratings) — better | 3.1 (39 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 78.1% of reviews — better | 23.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6.7K — better | 39 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 988 MB | 612 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Capybara Games Inc. | ELEMENTA GAMES PTE. LTD. |
Customer experience
Grindstone
Summer Pop!+
User reviews
Grindstone
From 6.7K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Addictive gameplay
- 👍 Unique and charming art style
- 🎨 Excellent soundtrack and sound effects
- 💡 Satisfying chain combos
- 🕹️ Intuitive and challenging mechanics
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- ⏱️ Unskippable animations
- 🔄 Progress loss when switching apps
- 🤔 Difficulty spike in later levels
Summer Pop!+
From 39 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Amazing graphics
- 🕹️ Fun and addictive gameplay
- 🕰️ Endless replay value
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔇 Inability to play own music
Bugs and requests
Grindstone
Reported bugs
3 issues- Freezing on black screen after intro
- Inability to complete certain levels due to glitches
- Disappearing save data after updates
Requested features
5 requests- More levels and content updates
- Ability to save progress mid-level
- Option to disable animations
- Landscape mode support on iPad
- In-game enemy encyclopedia
Summer Pop!+
Reported bugs
3 issues- Game crashes on startup after updates
- Levels getting stuck or not progressing
- Sync/save issues with iCloud
Requested features
3 requests- Chinese language support
- Option to disable hints
- Improved coin/currency earning system
In-app purchases
Grindstone
No in-app purchases
Summer Pop!+
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Grindstone free?
Is Summer Pop!+ free?
Which has better reviews, Grindstone or Summer Pop!+?
Do Grindstone or Summer Pop!+ have ads?
Which is updated more often, Grindstone or Summer Pop!+?
Other comparisons
