Mars vs The River Game
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!
The River Game
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Sfida altri giocatori, espandi il tuo impero e aumenta il tuo capitale per raggiungere la vetta. Ma attenzione: eventi imprevisti potrebbero minacciare la tua azienda e rallentare la tua crescita! Evita la bancarotta gestendo con attenzione le tue risorse, pianifica le tue mosse e prendi decisioni sagge. Unisci le forze con altri giocatori per formare alleanze e rafforzare il tuo potere. Sei pronto a costruire il tuo impero e battere la concorrenza?
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The River Game at none against Mars's 3. The River Game also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs every 2 months). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. The River Game asks for nothing beyond the download.
Mars ships an update every 2 months, The River Game daily. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mars | The River Game |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (26 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 65.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 26 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Daily — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 14.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2.6 GB | 149 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Stefan Nyul | Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi |
In-app purchases
Mars
- Logistics contract$0.99
- MAA Gold Membership$1.99
- Sponsors contract$2.99
The River Game
No in-app purchases









