Mars vs Building Arcadia
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mars
Engage in a scientific simulation of establishing a Mars colony. Manage a small group of settlers, research technologies, and build a thriving settlement from a single module. Compete with other human-controlled colonies for success on the Red Planet.
- Scientific Mars settlement simulation
- Research and development of technologies
- Exploration of the Red Planet
- Building and managing specialized structures
- Managing settler types and life cycles
- 3D view of settlement and Mars surface
- Offline playability
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Settle on MARS in a mixture of game and scientific simulation. Take control over a tiny group of 10 settlers and choose a landing site on the barren Mars. Develop your venture from one single landing module into a thriving settlement with hundreds of specialized buildings and even more inhabitants. Research & development of new technologies as well as exploration of the Red Planet are key for establishing a permanent presence in this hostile environment. And you are not alone. Other settlements, each one controlled by a real human somewhere on Earth, are starting to grow everywhere and a competition for being the most successful Mars colony has already begun. Features: - Scientific orientated building & simulation of a Mars settlement - Background story in 6 phases with according phase goals - Mars simulation in 30x real time (even running when app is not active) - Choosing one of 7 Earth organizations providing (dis-)advantages - Research & development of 152 individual technologies - Construction, maintenance & repair of 51 individual building - 35 individual building enhancements (no level 1,2,3...) - Sending Mars exploration teams and analyzing found soil samples - Production & dispatching of 23 different resource/module types - Assignment of 5 settler types to all activities in the settlement - Settler life cycle including children and elders - 3D view of own settlement in authentic Mars topography - Panning & zooming of the Mars surface in high resolution 3D - 100% usable without Internet connection - Optional online: ranking list & other settlements on Mars surface - Unlocking of advanced app functionalities step by step - Tutorial explaining all app functionalities - Contains some Ads but only after 15 Minutes of game and very decent - Contains In-App-Purchases but NO PAY TO WIN! - This is a peaceful app! NO FIGHTING, NO KILLING, NO WAR!
Building Arcadia
Build a sci-fi utopia on a new planet as the first Grand Architect. Manage resources, expand your city with futuristic buildings, and uncover ancient secrets and threats in this story-driven idle builder.
- Story-driven gameplay with comedy
- Active design with meaningful tasks
- Manage 40+ procedurally generated locations
- Expand with 25+ futuristic buildings
- Battle ancient evils and discover anomalies
- Idle and incremental gameplay
- Offline play
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WELCOME TO BUILDING ARCADIA, a sci-fi city-builder where strategy meets survival. As the first human Grand Architect, transform the planet Fortuna into a thriving utopia, while uncovering hidden secrets and ancient threats. UNIQUE FEATURES OF BUILDING ARCADIA: - Story-Driven Gameplay: An idle game with a twist of comedy that keeps the narrative engaging. - Active Design Philosophy: Always have meaningful tasks, enhancing engagement. - Inspired by Classics: If you love Anno, Simcity and Idle Planet Miner, you'll find new challenges here. - Fair Free-to-Play: No forced ads, earnable premium currency, and offline play. DYNAMIC CITY-BUILDING AND STRATEGIC ADVENTURE: - Manage over 40 procedurally generated sci-fi locations. - Expand your city with 25+ futuristic buildings. - Battle ancient evils and discover over 11 mysterious anomalies. - Dive into a rich storyline with colorful characters and a witty AI 'Quanta' as your guide. IDLE AND INCREMENTAL GAMEPLAY: - Effortlessly manage resources and growth, even while idle. - Unlock groundbreaking technologies and establish a prosperous economy. STUNNING VISUALS AND ENGAGING GAMEPLAY: - Enjoy crisp, vibrant 3D graphics that bring your cityscape to life. - Experience both casual and challenging gameplay perfect for strategy veterans and new players alike. JOIN OUR COMMUNITY: Discord: https://discord.gg/tnPx479RBs Instagram: https://bit.ly/3lyfRtw READY TO BUILD A UTOPIA? Download Building Arcadia now for an unparalleled city-building adventure in a sci-fi universe. Shape humanity's future among the stars and uncover the mysteries of Fortuna!
Screenshots
Verdict
Mars and Building Arcadia both sit at 4.1 stars, but that hides the real split: 66% of Mars's written reviews are positive against 23% of Building Arcadia's. Building Arcadia's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Mars sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Building Arcadia sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.1 for Mars against 4.2 for Building Arcadia. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 26 and 53 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 66% of Mars's written reviews are positive against 23% of Building Arcadia's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mars | Building Arcadia |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (26 ratings) | 4.2 (53 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.6% of reviews — better | 23.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 26 | 53 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2.6 GB | 309 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Stefan Nyul | Papanix Ltd |
Customer experience
Mars
Building Arcadia
In-app purchases
Mars
- Logistics contract$0.99
- MAA Gold Membership$1.99
- Sponsors contract$2.99
Building Arcadia
- Smallest Karma pack$0.99
- Small Karma pack$1.99
- Medium Karma Pack$4.99
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- Large Karma pack$9.99
- Largest Karma pack$19.99
- Karma Chest$48.99









