Comparison

Tricky Taps vs Simon's Bacteria

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

Head to head
About

Tricky Taps

Test your puzzle-solving skills in this challenging game. Tap levers to guide a ball through a track, avoiding obstacles and spikes. Collect stars and gems, and unlock fun skins.

Highlights
  • Tap levers to roll and bounce the ball
  • Avoid spikes and obstacles
  • Collect stars and gems
  • Unlockable skins
  • Challenging puzzle gameplay
Features
Read full description

Think you’re a puzzle master? Prove it. Let’s see how you do in this tricky puzzle game. Tap the levers to roll and bounce the ball along the track, without letting it drop or hit the spikes. Tons of super-cool and tricky obstacles to avoid. Collect stars and gems as you play. Choose from awesome skins - beach ball, spike ball, and more! Get rolling! To opt out of CrazyLabs sales of personal information as a California resident, please visit the settings page within this app. For more information visit our privacy policy: https://crazylabs.com/app

About

Simon's Bacteria

Features
Read full description

Simon's Bacteria is a turn-based strategy game built around one deceptively simple mechanic: rotate a stone, and watch the board change. HOW IT WORKS Each stone on the board points in one of four directions. On your turn, rotate one of your stones 90° clockwise — it moves into the cell it now points to, and can trigger a chain reaction of captures across the board. Read the board carefully: a single rotation can flip the momentum of the entire game. PLAY TOGETHER Challenge your friends through Game Center and play together across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Choose your favorite game mode, compete for victories, unlock achievements, and jump straight into a rematch. Your first 3 multiplayer games are free — after that, a one-time purchase unlocks unlimited multiplayer for good. • Multiplayer across iPhone, iPad, and Mac • Three unique game modes • Game Center achievements and statistics • Quick rematches with friends PLAY YOUR WAY • Chaos Mode — a fully randomized board for a classic, unpredictable game every time. • Symmetry Mode — mirrored starting positions for a perfectly fair fight. • Balanced Mode — randomized but evenly distributed starting directions. THREE LEVELS OF AI (VINTAGE 1998) No neural networks, no cloud, no buzzwords — just an honest, old-school game AI in the spirit of 1998, built on classic move-search logic rather than anything fashionable. It adapts to the difficulty you choose — from a forgiving opponent that favors easy captures, to a sharp one that looks several moves ahead and plans around your counter-attacks. DESIGNED TO GET OUT OF YOUR WAY • Clean, focused board — no clutter, no timers pressuring your every move. • Three visual stone styles to match your taste. • Game Center leaderboards and achievements to track your wins. • Your games and stats are saved locally — pick up right where you left off. • No ads. No account required for single-player. No data collection beyond what Game Center itself handles. FREE TO PLAY, OPEN SOURCE Single-player is completely free, forever, with everything unlocked — it's an open-source passion project. Multiplayer includes 3 free games to try it out, then a small one-time purchase for unlimited play. If you'd like to say thanks separately, optional tips are available in the Tips menu; they simply help cover the cost of the Apple Developer license required to bring an open-source project like this one to the App Store. Whether you have two minutes or twenty, Simon's Bacteria rewards careful thinking over fast reflexes. COMING SOON We're actively working on additional board generation modes and new AI difficulty tiers.

Screenshots

Tricky Taps4 screens
Simon's Bacteria2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tricky Taps at none against Simon's Bacteria's 4. Tricky Taps also leads on iOS requirement (13 vs 17.6). Simon's Bacteria's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price 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

Both are free to download. Simon's Bacteria sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Tricky Taps asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tricky Taps ships an update every 2 months, Simon's Bacteria every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Tricky Taps versus Simon's Bacteria: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTricky TapsSimon's Bacteria
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (42K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews60.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings42K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size135 MB15 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperCoco PlayAndrei Kondratev

Bugs and requests

Tricky Taps

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Impossible obstacles on certain levels
  • Endless mode issues with level generation
  • Checkpoint issues causing loss of progress

Requested features

3 requests
  • More levels
  • Checkpoint system for difficult levels
  • Ability to disable ads (for paid users)

Simon's Bacteria

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Tricky Taps

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Simon's Bacteria

One-time4
  • Multiplayer Unlock$0.99
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Large Tip$4.99

Questions

Is Tricky Taps free?
Tricky Taps is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Simon's Bacteria free?
Simon's Bacteria is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Tricky Taps or Simon's Bacteria have ads?
Tricky Taps shows ads; Simon's Bacteria does not.
Which is updated more often, Tricky Taps or Simon's Bacteria?
Tricky Taps ships an update every 2 months, and Simon's Bacteria every 3 weeks. Most recently, Tricky Taps was updated on November 10, 2026 and Simon's Bacteria on October 31, 2026.

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