CrushStations vs kaboomee
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CrushStations
This game trains working memory, a key executive function, by challenging players to remember creature colors and types to rescue them from an octopus. It's designed to improve cognitive skills linked to academic success.
- Working memory training
- Executive function development
- Creature memory challenges
- Educational game design
- Research-backed gameplay
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CrushStations is a game designed to train working memory, a subskill of executive functions. Working memory involves holding information in mind and mentally working with it (Diamond, 2013). Players need to remember the color and type of creatures to free them and keep them out of reach of the hungry octopus. How does this support learning? Executive functions refer to a set of top-down, goal-oriented cognitive processes that enable people to control, monitor and plan behaviors and emotions. Miyake and Friedman’s model supports a unity-and-diversity view of EF in that it incorporates the three distinct but related components of EF: inhibitory control, task-switching and updating (Miyake et al., 2000). What is the research evidence? Our research suggests that CrushStations is an effective way to train working memory. The study supporting this claim will be published soon. Research has found that EF is related to performance in literacy and math along with long-term gains in school performance and academic readiness (Blair & Razza, 2007; Brock, Rimm-Kaufman, Nathanson, & Grimm, 2009; St Clair-Thompson & Gathercole, 2006; Welsh, Nix, Blair, Bierman, & Nelson, 2010) and that disparities in EF among preschool children from low-income versus high-income homes may contribute to the achievement gap (Blair & Razza, 2007; Noble, McCandliss, & Farah, 2007). This game is part of the Smart Suite, created by New York University’s CREATE lab in collaboration with the University of California, Santa Barbara, and The Graduate Center, CUNY. The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A150417 to the University of California, Santa Barbara. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.
kaboomee
Control a small bomb with a lit fuse in an endless runner. Tap to jump, collect items to extend your fuse, and defeat enemies. Customize your character with hats that offer unique abilities.
- One-tap gameplay
- Fuse management mechanic
- Diverse running environments
- Enemy stomping and bomb throwing
- Power-ups for score and survival
- Unlockable characters and hats
- Leaderboard integration
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Kaboomee is a little bomb with a big heart and a lit fuse. When the Sky Factory falls into chaos, the tiny hero of Boom City has exactly one job: keep running. Tap to jump. Grab wrenches. Stomp anything that moves. And never, ever let the fuse burn out. ONE TAP, NO MERCY A pick-up-and-play endless runner built around a single rule: your fuse is always burning. Wrenches, black bombs and clean stomps buy you time. Standing still does not. BOOM CITY NEVER STOPS Sprint through steel girders, neon skylines, thunderstorms and moonlit rooftops. Bouncing blue platforms, live yellow shock plates, speed strips and slow zones all change how you move - learn them or lose to them. WATCH OUT FOR THE STOMPER Now and then a mechanical stomper marches in. Then it grows. Kick black bombs into it, dodge what it throws, and take it down before your fuse takes you. POWER-UPS Freeze the fuse. Raise a shield. Double your score. Magnet every wrench on screen. Slow the whole world down, or grab a second jump in mid-air. DRESS THE BOMB Spend your wrenches in the store on characters and hats - and the hats are not just for looks. The Fire Chief hoses enemies off the screen. The Detective bends time. Four of the best hats cannot be bought at all. You have to earn them. GAME CENTER Post your best run to the leaderboard and find out how far you really got. Free to play, with optional ads and in-app purchases.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: kaboomee at 100% against CrushStations's 50%. kaboomee also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 13 months). CrushStations's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On price and ratings volume 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. kaboomee sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. CrushStations asks for nothing beyond the download.
kaboomee holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of CrushStations's written reviews are positive against 100% of kaboomee's.
CrushStations ships an update every 13 months, kaboomee every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CrushStations | kaboomee |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (11 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 13 months | Every 3 days — 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 |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 294 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | New York University | Logikal Mayhem LLC |
Customer experience
CrushStations
kaboomee
In-app purchases
CrushStations
No in-app purchases
kaboomee
- 5 Gold Wrenches$0.99
- Remove Ads$1.99
- 20 Gold Wrenches$2.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- 60 Gold Wrenches$6.99
Questions
Is CrushStations free?
Is kaboomee free?
Which has better reviews, CrushStations or kaboomee?
Do CrushStations or kaboomee have ads?
Which is updated more often, CrushStations or kaboomee?
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