Comparison

5 vs Railroad Ink Challenge

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

Head to head
About

5

This app serves as a timer for a cooperative card game, helping players manage mission time. It provides reminders and motivational messages from an AI companion to enhance the gameplay experience.

Highlights
  • Mission time tracking
  • Helpful reminders
  • Encouragement from AI
  • Companion app for card game
  • Fast-paced gameplay support
Features
Read full description

This timer is a companion app for 5-Minute Marvel, the chaotic, fast-paced, cooperative card game. With this app, you'll be able to keep track of the time left in your mission and receive helpful reminders and encouragement from J.A.R.V.I.S., Iron Man's AI companion.

About

Railroad Ink Challenge

Roll dice and draw routes to build a transportation network. Connect exits and expand your railways and highways to score points. Avoid open connections to prevent penalties and aim for the highest score in solo or multiplayer modes.

Highlights
  • Dice rolling and route drawing
  • Network building with railways and highways
  • Connecting exits for points
  • Avoiding open connections for penalties
  • Solo play for high scores
  • Online multiplayer challenges
  • Leaderboards
Features
Read full description

In Railroad Ink Challenge, you have 7 rounds to make as many points as possible. Roll the dice and draw the routes to connect the exits around your board. Expand your network with railways, highways, and stations to collect points, but you will be penalized for any open connections, so plan carefully! Play solo to improve your best score, or challenge players from all over the world! HOW TO PLAY Each round you will have to roll the dice and use the available routes to build your transportation network and connect as many exits as possible. Expand your network to collect points. You’ll also score bonus points for your longest highway and railway, for building into the central spaces of your map, and for completing optional, time-dependent goals before they expire. You can also connect special structures to your network to trigger their special effects, such as duplicating routes, unlocking powerful special routes, and more. But beware: Try to not leave any open connections, as each one will cost you points at the end of the game. EXPANSIONS Forest and Desert expansions add special dice and rules to create even more intricate landscapes for your highways and railways. MODES Play solo with random objectives and join the online rankings or challenge players from all over the world with custom game configurations! The online leaderboards (Daily, Monthly, and All-Time) are completely cross-platform! • The wonderful art of the roll and write game by Marta Tranquilli, fleshed out and digitally enhanced • Network planning gameplay: try to make the best use of the available routes each round to create the perfect transportation network • Try to conquer the top of the online leaderboards (Daily, Monthly, and All-Time)! • Cross-platform, asynchronous multiplayer challenges with your friends! 100% Asynchronous multiplayer challenges Don’t like to wait while your opponents complete their turn? Fear not! With the 100% asynchronous multiplayer challenges, that is an issue of the past! Play a full game on your own, then post the challenge online! Players from all over the world will be able to play with the same dice and goals you had and try to beat your score! Who’s gonna get the best score? Railroad Ink Challenge is the official adaptation of the critically acclaimed roll and write game created by award-winning designers Hjalmar Hach & Lorenzo Silva and illustrated by artist Marta Tranquilli. To find more information about Horrible Guild, please go to https://www.horribleguild.com Having an issue? Looking for support? Please contact us: https://www.horribleguild.com/customercare/ You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/horribleguild/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/horribleguild Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/horribleguild/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@horribleguild YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/horribleguild Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/horribleguild *IMPORTANT* Railroad Ink Challenge requires iPhone 6s, iPad Mini 4, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro, iPad (2017) or later.

Screenshots

54 screens
Railroad Ink Challenge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: 5 at Free against Railroad Ink Challenge's $3.99. 5 also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Railroad Ink Challenge's advantage is rating (4.2 vs 3.4) and review sentiment (48% vs 37%). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

5 is free to download; Railroad Ink Challenge costs $3.99 up front. Railroad Ink Challenge sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. 5 asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Railroad Ink Challenge holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 52 and 205 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 37% of 5's written reviews are positive against 48% of Railroad Ink Challenge's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

5 ships an update fortnightly, Railroad Ink Challenge every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
5 versus Railroad Ink Challenge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter5Railroad Ink Challenge
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating3.4 (52 ratings)4.2 (205 ratings) — better
Positive reviews36.7% of reviews48.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings52205 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size101 MB283 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWiggles 3DHorrible Guild

Customer experience

5

All ratings52 ratings
Positive59.6%
Neutral7.7%
Negative32.7%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive36.7%
Neutral10.0%
Negative53.3%

Railroad Ink Challenge

All ratings197 ratings
Positive81.2%
Neutral5.6%
Negative13.2%
Written reviews125 reviews
Positive48.0%
Neutral17.6%
Negative34.4%

Bugs and requests

5

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Railroad Ink Challenge

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • Resume game feature freezes app
  • Apple ID login loop and authentication errors
  • App crashes during gameplay and tutorial
  • Game locks up after iOS updates
  • Crashes on older devices (iPad Mini 2)
Show 13 more
  • Desert expansion white screen on purchase
  • In-app purchase restoration not working
  • Server connection errors during scoring
  • Game Center account sync issues
  • Daily Challenge timeout and crashes
  • Scoring not saved to server
  • Exit scoring bug deletes game from history
  • Friend list navigation broken
  • Mountains challenge unplayable
  • Tutorial freezes at first dice placement
  • Crashes when using too many factories
  • Offline game results interfere with leaderboard
  • Password recovery impossible on iPad

Requested features

11 requests
  • Local pass-and-play multiplayer mode
  • All expansion dice sets (Rivers, Lakes, Future, Engineers, Lava, Meteor)
  • Optional tile placement mechanic
  • Personal score history and ranking
  • Larger maps with more turns
Show 6 more
  • Offline play without server dependency
  • Timer option for rounds
  • Randomized special square placement
  • View opponent boards after game completion
  • Better expansion rules reference in-game
  • Russian language support

In-app purchases

None

5

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Railroad Ink Challenge

One-time2
  • Forest Expansion$1.99
  • Desert Expansion$1.99

Questions

Is 5 free?
5 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Railroad Ink Challenge free?
Railroad Ink Challenge costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, 5 or Railroad Ink Challenge?
Railroad Ink Challenge is rated higher. 5 averages 3.4 out of 5 from 52 ratings, while Railroad Ink Challenge averages 4.2 from 205 ratings.
Do 5 or Railroad Ink Challenge have ads?
Neither 5 nor Railroad Ink Challenge shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 5 or Railroad Ink Challenge?
5 ships an update fortnightly, and Railroad Ink Challenge every 2 months. Most recently, 5 was updated on October 24, 2026 and Railroad Ink Challenge on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons