# Mars vs The River Game

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Mars | The River Game |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.1 (26 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-the-arrival/id1458927524/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **26** | — |
| Positive reviews | 65.6% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Daily** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 2.6 GB | 149 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **14.1** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Stefan Nyul](https://appshunter.io/developer/1458927523) | [Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi](https://appshunter.io/developer/1131224996) |

## What reviewers say

### Mars

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-the-arrival/id1458927524)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Logistics contract | $0.99 | one-time |
| MAA Gold Membership | $1.99 | one-time |
| Sponsors contract | $2.99 | one-time |


### The River Game

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-river-game/id6742748850)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mars free?

Mars is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is The River Game free?

The River Game is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Mars or The River Game have ads?

Mars shows ads; The River Game does not.

### Which is updated more often, Mars or The River Game?

Mars ships an update every 2 months, and The River Game daily. Most recently, Mars was updated on November 3, 2026 and The River Game on October 30, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*