Virtual Cities vs Idle Pickaxe Master
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Circular economy simulation
- Resource management
- City building
- Educational gameplay
- Multiplayer mode
Read full descriptionHide 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.
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.
- Merge pickaxes of different rarities
- Battle powerful bosses
- Recruit unique miner helpers
- Upgrade tools and progress
- Mine rich ore deposits
Read full descriptionHide 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
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. Idle Pickaxe Master sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Virtual Cities asks for nothing beyond the download.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Virtual Cities | Idle Pickaxe Master |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) | 4.6 (15 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 15 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 88 MB | 428 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Serious Games Interactive | Freeplay LLC |
Customer experience
Virtual Cities
Idle Pickaxe Master
In-app purchases
Virtual Cities
No in-app purchases
Idle Pickaxe Master
- Showel Help Pack$0.99
- Super Manager$4.99
- Dungeon Keys$4.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- 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?
Is Idle Pickaxe Master free?
Which has better reviews, Virtual Cities or Idle Pickaxe Master?
Do Virtual Cities or Idle Pickaxe Master have ads?
Which is updated more often, Virtual Cities or Idle Pickaxe Master?
Other comparisons















