Comparison

Genius Mechanic vs Contraptor

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

Head to head
About

Genius Mechanic

Create anything you can imagine in this mobile sandbox. Build complex vehicles like monorails or tracked all-terrain vehicles without limitations. This developing project welcomes user suggestions.

Highlights
  • Build anything
  • No restrictions
  • Monorail construction
  • Tracked vehicle creation
  • Open to suggestions
Features
Read full description

New sandbox from our team. Now you can build anything. No restrictions, whether it is a monorail or tracked all-terrain vehicle. The project is still developing. We are open to suggestions.

About

Contraptor

Create intricate machines to solve physics-based puzzles. Design your own challenges, share them with the community, and compete on leaderboards. Learn physics principles through hands-on tutorials.

Highlights
  • Build with real 2D physics
  • Solve community challenges
  • Design and share custom puzzles
  • Climb leaderboards
  • Hands-on tutorials
  • Universal app for iPhone and iPad
Features
Read full description

Contraptor is a Rube Goldberg physics playground where you build machines to solve hand-crafted puzzles. Drop in rods, wheels, pins, motors, and welds, wire up a contraption, hit Play, and let real physics decide how it works. NEW TO BUILDING? START WITH PLAY. Thirty short levels teach the whole game one trick at a time. Your first level hands you a single oval. Thirty levels later you're wiring motors, bracing with ghost rods, and threading payloads through wormholes. Every level keeps the machine you built to beat it, so you can come back and watch it run. Beat them all and you earn a Certificate of Completion with your name on it. THEN TAKE ON THE COMMUNITY. Every challenge is a puzzle: get the payload (or many payloads) to the target(s) using whatever that challenge allows. Some let you shove pieces around, some ration your parts with Twists, some bend the rules with wormholes. Solve it and you've earned bragging rights. Then flip it around: design your own challenge, prove it's solvable if you like, and dare everyone to crack it. • Build with real 2D physics — mass, gravity, momentum, friction, bounce, damping, and motors • Arrange tools to flip, align, and evenly space your pieces • 30 hand-built levels that teach all the core tools, plus a certificate at the top • A growing library of community challenges, with search • Design your own, prove they're solvable if you want to, and post them • Share any challenge or solution with a link and a short video of it running; friends open it right in the app • Twists: cap the parts, cap the speed, or hand solvers exactly the toolbox you choose • Win rules: all at once, hold-to-capture, or a Grand Tour of every Target • Wormholes, slow-motion zones, and other rule-benders • Rate and follow other builders • Hands-on tutorials for the core tools with more coming • Universal — iPhone and iPad Seeing a solution isn't the same as building one. That skill gap is the whole game. Free. No ads. Contraptor uses your iCloud account for community features (posting, rating, following, usernames). You can play every level, follow the tutorials, and browse and play everything in the Community without iCloud — it's only needed to post or interact. iCloud is free. Designed by JohnCowMilk · Built in Xcode with Apple's Coding Intelligence and Claude · Physics by Box2D

Screenshots

Genius Mechanic4 screens
Contraptor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Contraptor at 100% against Genius Mechanic's 64%. Contraptor also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). Genius Mechanic's advantage is ratings volume (150 vs 4) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). 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. Genius Mechanic sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Contraptor asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Contraptor holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Genius Mechanic has 150 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Genius Mechanic's written reviews are positive against 100% of Contraptor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Genius Mechanic ships an update every 6 months, Contraptor every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Genius Mechanic versus Contraptor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGenius MechanicContraptor
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (150 ratings)4.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings150 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size166 MB41 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperDarya VladislavovnaJohn Coumerilh

Customer experience

Genius Mechanic

All ratings148 ratings
Positive64.9%
Neutral6.1%
Negative29.1%
Written reviews73 reviews
Positive64.4%
Neutral8.2%
Negative27.4%

Contraptor

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Genius Mechanic

One-time3
  • Pay $1$0.99
  • Pay $3$2.99
  • Pay $10$9.99
None

Contraptor

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Genius Mechanic free?
Genius Mechanic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Contraptor free?
Contraptor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Genius Mechanic or Contraptor?
Contraptor is rated higher. Genius Mechanic averages 3.7 out of 5 from 150 ratings, while Contraptor averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Genius Mechanic or Contraptor have ads?
Genius Mechanic shows ads; Contraptor does not.
Which is updated more often, Genius Mechanic or Contraptor?
Genius Mechanic ships an update every 6 months, and Contraptor every 5 days. Most recently, Genius Mechanic was updated on October 23, 2026 and Contraptor on October 22, 2026.

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