Comparison

Ship Shapes vs Master

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

Head to head
About

Ship Shapes

Learn to recognize and memorize the main day shapes used by boats and ships through an interactive matching game. Score points by correctly matching images to their descriptions. Achieve a score of 50 or more to demonstrate mastery.

Highlights
  • Match images to descriptions
  • Learn ship day shape signals
  • Score points for correct answers
  • Master recognition and memorization
  • Interactive learning experience
Features
Read full description

Learn Ships Day Shapes by matching Images to Descriptions. An easy and fun way to score points as you learn. Anyone who can score 50 points or more will have mastered recognising and memorising the main day shapes used by boats and ships.

About

Master

Learn maritime navigation rules with an interactive system designed for effective retention. This app breaks down complex regulations into manageable sections with visual aids and mnemonics. It revisits incorrect answers and provides instant graphical feedback, making the learning process intuitive and efficient.

Highlights
  • Interactive learning system
  • Step-by-step rule guidance
  • Mnemonics and memory aids
  • Interactive visuals
  • Graphical feedback on answers
  • Practice section with progress tracking
Features
Currently charting
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Master-Nav is a progressive COLREGS learning system developed by a Master Mariner. The COLREGS are notoriously difficult to learn and retain — Master-Nav makes it significantly easier through an interactive system built around how your brain actually works. Instead of guessing through random question banks, Master-Nav guides you step by step through every rule from start to finish. Wrong answers are revisited until the rules stick — properly. Complex regulations are broken down into learnable chunks — bite-sized sections supported by mnemonics, memory aids and interactive visuals designed around how the brain actually retains information. Every incorrect answer is shown graphically alongside the correct one — immediately clear, no confusion. And with a single tap, the relevant COLREGS rule is accessible from any question at any time. Master-Nav covers COLREGS Parts A to D — General, Steering & Sailing, Lights & Shapes and Sound & Light Signals — plus Annex IV Distress Signals. Over 1000 questions in multiple formats, with a dedicated Practice Section that tracks right, wrong and unanswered so you always know where to focus. COLREGS — the easy way.

Screenshots

Ship Shapes4 screens
Master4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Master at 97% against Ship Shapes's 0%. Master also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (94 vs 1). Ship Shapes's advantage is iOS requirement (12.1 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Ship Shapes costs $1.99 and Master $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Master holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Master has 94 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Ship Shapes's written reviews are positive against 97% of Master's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ship Shapes ships an update every 3 weeks, Master fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Ship Shapes versus Master: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShip ShapesMaster
Price$1.99$1.99
Rating2.0 (1 ratings)4.7 (94 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews96.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings194 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#172 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.1 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB117 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEdmund BroadbentPeterjohn Chisholm

Customer experience

Ship Shapes

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Master

All ratings94 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral2.1%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive96.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Ship Shapes

No in-app purchases

None

Master

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ship Shapes free?
Ship Shapes costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Master free?
Master costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Ship Shapes or Master?
Master is rated higher. Ship Shapes averages 2.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Master averages 4.7 from 94 ratings.
Do Ship Shapes or Master have ads?
Neither Ship Shapes nor Master shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ship Shapes or Master?
Ship Shapes ships an update every 3 weeks, and Master fortnightly. Most recently, Ship Shapes was updated on October 10, 2026 and Master on October 13, 2026.

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