Paint Tubes vs Cairn
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Paint Tubes
Engage in a satisfying puzzle experience by shooting balls to color tubes and advance through over 100 levels. Enjoy simple one-tap controls, vibrant visuals, and addictive gameplay designed for quick fun.
- Ball shooting mechanics
- Tube coloring gameplay
- Over 100 levels
- One-tap controls
- Rich visual effects
- Addictive gameplay
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Cool off, shoot the balls, and color tubes to reach the goal in over 100+ levels! One-tap easy-to-learn controls, rich visual effects, and addictive gameplay mechanics.
Cairn
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One tap. One slab. How high can you build? Cairn is a premium stone-stacking arcade game where you drop sliding stone slabs to build the tallest swaying cairn you can. Every perfect drop widens your tower. Every overhang gets sliced away. The higher you climb, the narrower the margin for error. What makes Cairn different The sky changes as you build. Dawn bleeds into afternoon. Afternoon softens into dusk. Dusk fades into night. The higher your cairn grows, the further the world falls away below you. It is a game you can feel. No countdown timers. No energy bars. No banner ads. Ever. How to play A stone slab slides across the screen. Tap to drop it. Land it perfectly on the slab below and your tower holds its full width. Miss the edge and the overhang is cut off. Keep going until the remaining slab is too thin to continue. That score is yours to beat. Simple to learn. Genuinely hard to master. Genuinely calming to try. Features - One-touch controls, zero learning curve - Infinite play: no levels, no end, just height - Perfect drops reward you with a wider platform - Sky palette shifts from dawn through dusk to deep night as you climb - Swaying stone physics that feel satisfying on every tap - Daily Challenge: the same seed for every player, one attempt per day, global leaderboard - Game Center leaderboards and achievements - No banner ads, no interstitials, no countdown timers - Opt-in rewarded continue only: no forced interruptions Premium, not free-to-play Cairn keeps it calm. No subscriptions, no energy systems, no aggressive upsells. An optional coffee tip supports development and unlocks a warm cosmetic glow. The game respects your time and attention. Who plays Cairn If you love classic arcade score-chasers like stacking and tower games but want something with more soul, a calmer pace, and a visual atmosphere you can sink into, Cairn is for you. It fits a two-minute break or a twenty-minute session equally well. Privacy No account required. No personal data collected beyond Game Center scores. No tracking for ad targeting. Download Cairn. Build something that sways. Cairn requires iOS 16 or later. Game Center required for leaderboards. Rewarded continue is optional and free.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Paint Tubes at none against Cairn's 1. Paint Tubes also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 16.0). On price, update cadence, 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. Cairn sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Paint Tubes asks for nothing beyond the download.
Paint Tubes ships an update every 8 days, Cairn every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Paint Tubes | Cairn |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (32 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 46.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 32 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Every 11 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 77 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | AppTout | Branko Borota |
In-app purchases
Paint Tubes
No in-app purchases
Cairn
- Coffee$1.99









