Running Game vs POOLS™
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Running Game
Navigate a snowy landscape, collecting berries and avoiding obstacles in this thrilling endless runner. Compete for the highest score in an adventure that will keep you engaged for hours.
- Endless running gameplay
- Berry collection
- Obstacle avoidance
- High score competition
- Platform adventure
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In this endless runner you have to help the big guy on its way through snow and ice. *Collect delicious berries. *Avoid dangerous obstacles. *Earn as many points as possible. Run as far as you can and experience an incredible platform adventure that will keep you playing for hours!
POOLS™
Explore, admire, and listen in this slow, reflective experience. It's an intentionally uneventful journey through uncanny and eerie environments, rewarding patience and quiet attention. Discover a world that subtly changes as you advance, inspired by internet phenomena like liminal spaces and The Backrooms.
- Exploration-focused gameplay
- Relaxing and reflective atmosphere
- Eerie and uncanny environments
- Slow-paced, uneventful experience
- World changes as you advance
- Six chapters, 10-30 minutes each
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Explore, admire and listen. That’s it. Uncanny. Relaxing. Unnerving. Eerie. Immersive. POOLS isn’t a traditional game. it’s slow, reflective, and intentionally uneventful, perhaps a bit like virtual museum. So take your time. Breathe. POOLS unfolds slowly, rewarding patience and quiet attention. No monsters chasing you or jumping at your screen. Yet it can feel oppressive at times by invoking quiet fears of getting lost, the dark, tight spaces and the strange beauty of liminal space architecture. There's no typical story. But as you explore and advance further, you start to notice that the game's world changes around you, deeper you go… Rooms look and feel… different. Base game features six chapters, each lasting 10-30 minutes. Inspired by the internet phenomena Liminal spaces, Found footage and The Backrooms, especially the Poolrooms concept. One of the original artists behind the Poolrooms concept is Jared Pike.
Screenshots
Verdict
Running Game and POOLS™ both sit at 4.3 stars, but that hides the real split: 80% of POOLS™'s written reviews are positive against 33% of Running Game's. POOLS™ also leads on ratings volume (1.8K vs 12). Running Game's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). On price, rating, ads 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
Both are free to download. POOLS™ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Running Game asks for nothing beyond the download.
POOLS™ holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: POOLS™ has 1.8K ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Running Game's written reviews are positive against 80% of POOLS™'s.
| Parameter | Running Game | POOLS™ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (12 ratings) | 4.5 (1.8K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | 80.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 1.8K — better |
| Update frequency | — | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 1.9 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | 茜 韦 | Tensori |
Customer experience
Running Game
POOLS™
Bugs and requests
Running Game
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
POOLS™
Reported bugs
2 issues- Unable to move on iPad Pro
- Glitches reported
Requested features
3 requests- Expand to different Backrooms-inspired themes
- Add a multiplayer mode
- Introduce more interactive elements (e.g., monsters, items to discover)
In-app purchases
Running Game
No in-app purchases
POOLS™
- POOLS: Full Game$9.99
