Comparison

Virtual Cities vs Idle Pickaxe Master

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

Head to head
About

Virtual Cities

A game designed for students to learn about the circular economy. Players manage cities, making them more circular by implementing projects and understanding economic principles. It aims to educate on strategies for increasing global circularity.

Highlights
  • Circular economy simulation
  • Resource management
  • City building
  • Educational gameplay
  • Multiplayer mode
Read full description

Virtual Cities is a game for high school and university students, about circular economy. Groups of 3-5 players play to make their world as circular as possible by following circular economy principles. Each player has a city that spends and generates resources both natural and man-made, in a linear fashion. The goal is to combine different projects to make their city more circular, and contribute the most to the global circularity, enlightening the players on the way. Virtual Cities aims to educate players on circular economy (CE) principles in cities, and to understand how CE principles can be used as strategies to increase circularity.

About

Idle Pickaxe Master

Merge pickaxes to create powerful tools for mining ore deposits. Recruit miner helpers with unique abilities and battle bosses to unlock new depths and rewards. Upgrade your tools and progress further into the mine.

Highlights
  • Merge pickaxes of different rarities
  • Battle powerful bosses
  • Recruit unique miner helpers
  • Upgrade tools and progress
  • Mine rich ore deposits
Features
Read full description

Summon pickaxes, merge them into powerful tools, and smash through rich ore deposits in this addictive idle mining game. Build a collection of rare pickaxes, recruit a team of miner helpers with unique abilities, and battle your way through powerful bosses! ▶ MERGE PICKAXES Summon pickaxes of different rarities and merge identical ones to craft even stronger tools. The higher the level — the faster you mine. ▶ BOSS BATTLES Fight powerful bosses to unlock new depths and earn better rewards. ▶ MINER HELPERS Collect unique miner girls with special abilities that boost your efficiency and resource output. ▶ UPGRADES & PROGRESSION Spend your resources to strengthen your tools and push further into the mine. The richest ore veins are waiting — and so are the bosses guarding them. Download now, merge your first pickaxe, and find out how deep you can really go.

Screenshots

Virtual Cities4 screens
Idle Pickaxe Master4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Virtual Cities at 100% against Idle Pickaxe Master's 0%. Virtual Cities also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ads (none vs shown). Idle Pickaxe Master's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 3.0) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). On price and device support 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. Idle Pickaxe Master sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Virtual Cities asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Idle Pickaxe Master holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Idle Pickaxe Master has 15 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Virtual Cities's written reviews are positive against 0% of Idle Pickaxe Master's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Virtual Cities ships an update every 5 months, Idle Pickaxe Master fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Virtual Cities versus Idle Pickaxe Master: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVirtual CitiesIdle Pickaxe Master
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (2 ratings)4.6 (15 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings215 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size88 MB428 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperSerious Games InteractiveFreeplay LLC

Customer experience

Virtual Cities

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Idle Pickaxe Master

All ratings13 ratings
Positive92.3%
Neutral7.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Virtual Cities

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Idle Pickaxe Master

One-time10
  • Showel Help Pack$0.99
  • Super Manager$4.99
  • Dungeon Keys$4.99
Show 7 more
  • VIP$7.99
  • Weekly Pack I$8.99
  • No Ads$9.99
  • No Rewarded Ads$14.99
  • Weekly Pack II$17.99
  • Weekly Pack III$49.99
  • Weekly Pack IV$99.99

Questions

Is Virtual Cities free?
Virtual Cities is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Idle Pickaxe Master free?
Idle Pickaxe Master is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Virtual Cities or Idle Pickaxe Master?
Idle Pickaxe Master is rated higher. Virtual Cities averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Idle Pickaxe Master averages 4.6 from 15 ratings.
Do Virtual Cities or Idle Pickaxe Master have ads?
Idle Pickaxe Master shows ads; Virtual Cities does not.
Which is updated more often, Virtual Cities or Idle Pickaxe Master?
Virtual Cities ships an update every 5 months, and Idle Pickaxe Master fortnightly. Most recently, Virtual Cities was updated on November 3, 2026 and Idle Pickaxe Master on November 10, 2026.

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