Comparison

PLAYED vs Thought Patterns

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

Head to head

PLAYED

Score political ad tricks

Free

📚 Education

★ 3.73 ratingsView app →

A pocket reference

About

PLAYED

Learn to identify 5 common political ad manipulation tactics. Play this educational game to test your emotional responses and improve your critical thinking skills. The aim is to encourage informed voting without falling for deceptive advertising.

Highlights

Identify 5 political ad manipulation tricks
Learn about emotional manipulation in ads
Play like a video game
Check your score
Understand how ads influence voters
Encourages informed voting

Features

Read full description

Using current and historical ads, you feel fear, anger, hope, and pride while you learn 5 tricks political ads use to manipulate your emotions and win your support. Play this app like a video game, check your score, and see for yourself if you get played. The goal: Do vote, but don’t get played!

About

Thought Patterns

Features

Read full description

A small, simple reference containing tools to help us navigate the complicated world.

Screenshots

PLAYED4 screens

Thought Patterns3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Thought Patterns at every 7 months against PLAYED's every 19 months. PLAYED's advantage is iOS requirement (12.4 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PLAYED ships an update every 19 months, Thought Patterns every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level

PLAYED versus Thought Patterns: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter	PLAYED	Thought Patterns
Price	Free	Free
Rating	3.7 (3 ratings) — better	—
Number of ratings	3 — better	—
Update frequency	Every 19 months	Every 7 months — better
Ads	No	No
In-app purchases	No	No
Monetization	Free	—
Devices	iPhone, iPod — better	iPhone
Requires iOS	12.4 — better	18.0
Further details — not scored
Size	21 MB	1 MB
Age rating	4+	4+
Developer	Honest Ads Inc	Raphael DeFranco

In-app purchases

None

PLAYED

No in-app purchases

None

Thought Patterns

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PLAYED free?

PLAYED is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

Is Thought Patterns free?

Thought Patterns is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

Do PLAYED or Thought Patterns have ads?

Neither PLAYED nor Thought Patterns shows ads.

Which is updated more often, PLAYED or Thought Patterns?

PLAYED ships an update every 19 months, and Thought Patterns every 7 months. Most recently, PLAYED was updated on September 16, 2026 and Thought Patterns on September 29, 2026.