Comparison

Map Puzzles vs Shanghai Ultra

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

Head to head
About

Map Puzzles

Reconstruct historical and contemporary maps by placing jigsaw-like pieces. Offers a peaceful, educational, and family-friendly experience with adjustable difficulty and helpful tools. Save progress and sync across devices.

Highlights
  • Map jigsaw puzzles
  • Drag and drop interface
  • Adjustable difficulty guides
  • Auto-save progress
  • Educational map content
  • Cross-device syncing
Read full description

Can you rebuild these maps from the past and present? Like a jigsaw puzzle but each piece is a cut-out section of the map which needs to be put back into the right place. Now with 126 available map puzzles ready to play immediately! EASY TO LEARN Simple drag and drop interface that works for adults and children. A simple tutorial on "How To Play" is included. Puzzles in each pack start easy and get harder the more you do. HARD TO MASTER Puzzles range from easy (solve in minutes) through to very hard (may take an hour). But don't worry, your placed pieces are automatically saved so you can do the puzzle over several sessions. You can also turn on and off useful guides like outlines or a ghost image depending on how hard you want it to be. And if some pieces are too small, just turn on the Auto-Zoom feature. Can you earn all the Game Center achievements? EDUCATIONAL The maps span time from ancient eras to the modern day. A range of map types are also represented including world, country, city, story, constellations, geological and weather. Once a puzzle is completed you can explore a zoomed in version to read the fascinating details on the map. FAMILY FRIENDLY All puzzles are family friendly with the easier puzzles well suited to your younger puzzlers. PEACEFUL An uncluttered puzzle solving space lets you be in the moment as you work your way through the puzzle at your own pace. HELPFUL Some of the puzzles are hard. If you get stuck, use the Shuffle button to get new pieces, the Auto Fill feature to put those difficult pieces into their correct places or a Ghost image to help you find the right place. CONNECTED Works on your iPads and Macs. In-App purchases of puzzle packs are shared between your devices and you can easily enable synching of Puzzle completion progress between them. Start a puzzle on one device and finish it on another.

About

Shanghai Ultra

A beautifully crafted mahjong solitaire game focused on clean, satisfying tile matching. Offers multiple board layouts, tile styles, and themes for a personalized experience. Every game is solvable, ensuring fair challenges.

Highlights
  • 7 board layouts
  • Multiple tile styles
  • Customizable themes
  • Guaranteed solvable deals
  • Score tracking
  • Leaderboards
  • Global Daily Challenges
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Shanghai Ultra is mahjong solitaire the way it should be — clean, focused, and beautifully crafted. Match pairs of free tiles to clear the board. Simple to learn, endlessly satisfying to master. Every deal is guaranteed solvable, so the challenge is always fair. Choose from beautifully crafted traditionally inspired tiles or try the fun emoji based sets. Seven board layouts range from a quick 56-tile game to the full 186-tile Turtle. Rich felt-textured backgrounds and five colour themes set the mood. No ads. No interruptions. Just you and the tiles. FEATURES • 7 board layouts: Quick, Dragon, Phoenix, Turtle, Fortress, Pyramid, and Cross • Multiple tile styles from classic to playful, including a Clear tile style optimised for great visibility • Background themes with subtle felt texture • Every deal is guaranteed solvable • Score tracking with hints, shuffle, and timer • Leaderboard with iCloud sync across devices • Game Center support - Leaderboards, Achievements, and Challenges • Take part in fun Global Daily Challenges with the Quick layout • Light, dark, and system appearance modes • Designed for iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Screenshots

Shanghai Ultra4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Map Puzzles at Free against Shanghai Ultra's $1.99. Map Puzzles also leads on ratings volume (135 vs 3) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). Shanghai Ultra's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9) and review sentiment (100% vs 67%). 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

Map Puzzles is free to download; Shanghai Ultra costs $1.99 up front. Map Puzzles sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Shanghai Ultra asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shanghai Ultra holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Map Puzzles has 135 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Map Puzzles's written reviews are positive against 100% of Shanghai Ultra's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Map Puzzles ships an update every 5 weeks, Shanghai Ultra every 6 days. Both last shipped on October 14, 2026.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Map Puzzles versus Shanghai Ultra: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMap PuzzlesShanghai Ultra
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.7 (135 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings135 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#183 — better
DevicesiPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size651 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCleverInfoJonathan Clarke

Customer experience

Map Puzzles

All ratings135 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral3.7%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral22.2%
Negative11.1%

Shanghai Ultra

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Map Puzzles

One-time9
  • Puzzle Pack 1 : 14 x Mixed$0.99
  • Puzzle Pack 2 : 14 x Mixed$0.99
  • Puzzle Pack 3 : 14 x Mixed$0.99
Show 6 more
  • Puzzle Pack 4 : 14 x Artistic$0.99
  • Puzzle Pack 5 : 14 Illustrated$0.99
  • Puzzle Pack 6 - Diverse Maps$0.99
  • Puzzle Pack 7 - Caricatures$0.99
  • Puzzle Pack 8 - Hard$0.99
  • Unlock all Map Puzzles$6.99
None

Shanghai Ultra

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Map Puzzles free?
Map Puzzles is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shanghai Ultra free?
Shanghai Ultra costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Map Puzzles or Shanghai Ultra?
Shanghai Ultra is rated higher. Map Puzzles averages 4.7 out of 5 from 135 ratings, while Shanghai Ultra averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Map Puzzles or Shanghai Ultra have ads?
Neither Map Puzzles nor Shanghai Ultra shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Map Puzzles or Shanghai Ultra?
Map Puzzles ships an update every 5 weeks, and Shanghai Ultra every 6 days. Most recently, Map Puzzles was updated on October 14, 2026 and Shanghai Ultra on October 14, 2026.

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