MicroWars vs Mates
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MicroWars
Engage in strategic microscopic battles where you command cells to conquer opponents. Collect resources, upgrade your units, and devise invasion plans to capture enemy bases and expand your territory. Outwit your rivals by building defenses and launching timely offensives.
- Microscopic battleground gameplay
- Command and conquer cells
- Resource collection and upgrades
- Strategic invasion planning
- Defensive and offensive tactics
- Board-based conquest
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Experience the thrill of a microscopic battleground with Microwars! In this action-packed mobile strategy game, players take on the role of a microscopic organism and send cells to conquer their opponent’s cells on a board. The objective is to take control of all the cells on the board and defeat the opponent. Collect resources, upgrade your cells, and strategize your attacks to gain an advantage. Microwars is a puzzle strategy game, where you need to find the best tactic to capture the enemy base. Here, brains over brawn is the rule! Create new invasion plans and put them into action in each level. Bit by bit, conquer the whole universe as your nodes expand and capture the enemies. Your expansion can only match the greatness of your strategic skills. But beware! keep an eye on your enemy’s strategy as they will try to overtake you while you are conducting your own offensives. You will have to build your defense and prepare your attacks in the same time, in order not to get defeated. Will you manage to elaborate the best strategy to take over the world? Prove it now by downloading Microwars!
Mates
Draw paths to connect matching creatures and score points. Avoid collisions between different colors to keep the game going. This vibrant puzzle game offers simple controls and challenging gameplay for quick sessions or extended play.
- Draw paths to connect matching creatures
- Avoid collisions between different colors
- Simple, intuitive drag-and-draw controls
- Challenging time and space management
- Vibrant, minimalist visuals
- Suitable for all ages
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In the colorful world of Mates, every creature is looking for its match. Your job? Draw the paths that bring them together. It’s a test of fast fingers and quick wits—if different colors collide, the spark is gone and you'll lose a heart. Simple to learn, but fun to master! How to Play: Form connections: Draw paths between matching creatures to have them meet and score points. Avoid collisions: Don't let two different colored creatures collide! Draw paths to keep different colored creatures apart. Master the Flow: As the screen fills up, you'll need to plan your paths carefully while remaining nimble in order to manage the chaos. Key Features: Simple, Intuitive Controls: Just drag your finger to draw—perfect for gamers of all ages. Challenging time and space management: Put your spatial skills and reflexes to the test as the pace picks up and new creatures join the fray. Vibrant Visuals: Meet a cast of colorful characters in a clean, minimalist world that’s easy on the eyes. Whether you have two minutes in line or an hour on the couch, Mates is the perfect companion to keep your brain sharp and your fingers moving. Download Mates today!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Mates at 100% against MicroWars's 34%. Mates also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). MicroWars's advantage is ratings volume (10K vs 16). On price, ads, 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. MicroWars sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Mates asks for nothing beyond the download.
Mates holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MicroWars has 10K ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of MicroWars's written reviews are positive against 100% of Mates's.
MicroWars ships an update every 2 months, Mates every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MicroWars | Mates |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (10K ratings) | 5.0 (16 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 34.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 10K — better | 16 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 94 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Benoit Freslon | Jordan Naftolin |
Customer experience
MicroWars
Mates
Bugs and requests
MicroWars
Reported bugs
3 issues- Game resets progress on restart
- Impossible level 40 and 130
- Ads play over gameplay
Requested features
5 requests- More challenging AI opponents
- Ability to reinforce controlled cells
- Disable timer option
- More unique levels and characters
- Improved memory mini-game
Mates
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
MicroWars
- No ads$3.99
Mates
No in-app purchases









