Gen Con vs Mad Scientist Controls
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Gen Con
Navigate and enhance your convention experience with this official guide. Discover events, manage your schedule, connect with friends, and utilize an interactive map to explore the venue. Event hosts can also use it for electronic badge scanning.
- Event browsing and searching
- Ticket purchasing
- Personal event schedule
- Friend messaging
- Interactive convention map
- Electronic badge scanning
Read full descriptionHide full description
Make the most of your Gen Con experience with the Official Gen Con Mobile App: your handy electronic guide to The Best Four Days in Gaming. Browse and search for events, purchase tickets, view your event schedule, message with your friends, find your way with the interactive convention map, learn about what's happening at the convention, and more! Event hosts will also use this tool to scan badges for events using electronic ticketing. We're releasing new versions with added features and fixes often, so please keep your app up to date! Report issues or give us feedback through our Technical Support forum at gencon.com/forums
Mad Scientist Controls
Control your JAWS Rover robot via Bluetooth for exciting adventures. Explore and maneuver your robot with an easy-to-use interface. Requires the JAWS Rover device.
- Bluetooth connectivity
- Robot control
- Exploration
- Maneuvering
- Easy-to-use interface
Read full descriptionHide full description
Take control of your JAWS Rover! This app lets you connect to your robot via Bluetooth and guide it on exciting adventures. Explore, maneuver, and have fun with this easy-to-use interface. This app requires the JAWS Rover device built with the Mad Scientist Labs (Session at CodeMash 2025)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Mad Scientist Controls at 5.0 against Gen Con's 3.0. Mad Scientist Controls also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.5). Gen Con's advantage is ratings volume (41 vs 4). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Mad Scientist Controls holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Gen Con has 41 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Gen Con ships an update fortnightly, Mad Scientist Controls every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Gen Con | Mad Scientist Controls |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (41 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 30.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 41 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Gen Con, LLC. | Gregory Shayko |
Customer experience
Gen Con
Mad Scientist Controls
In-app purchases
Gen Con
No in-app purchases
Mad Scientist Controls
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Gen Con free?
Is Mad Scientist Controls free?
Which has better reviews, Gen Con or Mad Scientist Controls?
Do Gen Con or Mad Scientist Controls have ads?
Which is updated more often, Gen Con or Mad Scientist Controls?
Other comparisons
