Comparison

Caldera Tropics vs Sprouts+

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

Head to head
About

Caldera Tropics

A puzzle game where you manipulate the terrain to push robots into water or off the map. Strategically move tiles to trigger enemy actions and clear levels without taking damage.

Highlights
  • Terrain manipulation gameplay
  • Push enemies into water
  • Destroy enemies by pushing them off-edge
  • Strategic enemy action timers
  • Level-based progression
Features
Read full description

A game inspired by Into the Breach and Baba is You in which you push enemy robots into water by moving the earth beneath your feet! Push tiles by tapping an adjacent tile in your desired direction. When you do, your tile pushes every other solid (non-water) tile in front of you in that direction. You cannot, however, push toward a mountain tile. Whenever you move, each enemy's action timer decreases by one. When it reaches zero, they attack the endangered space(s) in front of them. Destroy enemies or tiles by pushing them off of the edge or into chasms. Destroy all enemies without dying to complete the level! Credits Created by Munro Hoberman and Lionel Miele-Herndon Music by Antti Luode Thanks to Gravity Sounds for some sound effects Special Thanks to Kurt Bieg, Henry Lam, and the rest of our playtesters and classmates.

About

Sprouts+

This app offers a digital rendition of a classic mathematical strategy game. Players take turns drawing lines between dots, adding new dots and strategically encircling areas to limit opponent moves. The goal is to be the last player to draw a valid line.

Highlights
  • Classic mathematical game
  • Turn-based gameplay
  • Line drawing mechanics
  • Dot connection strategy
  • Multiplayer options
  • In-app purchases for tokens
Features
Read full description

Sprouts is a mathematical game invented in 1967 by John H. Conway and Michael S. Paterson. The rules are simple. Two players start with a certain number of Dots. They take turns drawing a Line connecting any two Dots or connecting a Dot back onto itself. After each Line is drawn an additional Dot is added along the newly drawn Line. No Line can cross another Line. A Dot can have up to three Lines connected to it. The players take turns drawing a Line until no additional Lines can be drawn. The player who drew the last Line wins the game. The app color codes each Dot to indicate if it has three lines connected to it, is reachable by another Dot or is blocked by lines and cannot be reached. The strategy of the game is to divide the Dots into M groups by encircling Dots so that Lines cannot be connected to them from Dots in the other groups. M starts at 1 and increases as the players draw Lines that encircle Dots to form additional groups. Note that each time a Line is drawn, it fills two connections on preexisting Dots and it creates a new Dot that has one additional connection so the total number of connections is decreased by one (i.e. -2 + 1 = -1) for each new Line drawn. Note also that the last Line drawn in each encircled group will always generate a new Dot with one unfilled connection. If the game starts with N Dots that represents 3*N unfilled connections and there can therefore be 3*N Lines drawn minus one Line for each of the M groups formed during the game. This number will be even if N-M is even (2*N is always even) and odd if N-M is odd. To be the last player to draw a Line, the player who plays first will want to form M groups such that N-M is odd while the player who plays second will want to form M' groups such that N-M' is even. The app allows you to play with 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 Dots. Two Dot games are unlimited. Other games require a Token. The game comes with 20 Tokens. Additional Tokens can be purchased through an IAP: 25 Tokens for $1, 100 Tokens for $2 (approximately). The game can be played on one device or on two connected devices connected through local WiFi or the Game Center. Using the Game Center you can invite friends and use SharePlay to incorporate a FaceTime window and voice communication. Alternatively you can play with a random player at a matching skill level.

Screenshots

Caldera Tropics3 screens
Sprouts+4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Sprouts+ at 5.0 against Caldera Tropics's 1.7. Sprouts+ also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 26 months). Caldera Tropics's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (12 vs 1). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Sprouts+ sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Caldera Tropics asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sprouts+ holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Caldera Tropics has 12 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Caldera Tropics ships an update every 26 months, Sprouts+ every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Caldera Tropics versus Sprouts+: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCaldera TropicsSprouts+
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.7 (12 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews13.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings12 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 26 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size89 MB7 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperKen HerndonPeter Kramer

Customer experience

Caldera Tropics

All ratings12 ratings
Positive16.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative75.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive13.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative80.0%

Sprouts+

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Caldera Tropics

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Sprouts+

One-time2
  • Package of 25 Tokens$0.99
  • Package of 100 Tokens$1.99

Questions

Is Caldera Tropics free?
Caldera Tropics is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sprouts+ free?
Sprouts+ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Caldera Tropics or Sprouts+?
Sprouts+ is rated higher. Caldera Tropics averages 1.7 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while Sprouts+ averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Caldera Tropics or Sprouts+ have ads?
Caldera Tropics shows ads; Sprouts+ does not.
Which is updated more often, Caldera Tropics or Sprouts+?
Caldera Tropics ships an update every 26 months, and Sprouts+ every 3 weeks. Most recently, Caldera Tropics was updated on October 24, 2026 and Sprouts+ on October 8, 2026.

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