N vs Napkin Dōjō
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
N
This app offers a scientifically validated cognitive training program designed to enhance intelligence. It uses the dual n-back method to improve learning, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. Track progress, compete with friends, and customize your experience to boost cognitive abilities.
- Dual n-back cognitive training
- IQ enhancement
- Progress tracking and streaks
- Social competition and leaderboards
- Customizable voices and settings
- Weekly habit option
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The N-Back Challenge provides a special type of cognitive training, “dual n-back,” that helps you raise your IQ in just a few minutes per day. Sounds implausible? The N-Back Challenge is based on a decade’s worth of scientific studies, published in top peer-reviewed journals, including Nature. (For more details, see https://nbackchallenge.com/science.) The catch? It’s no fun at all! Indeed, the training is designed to be maximally exhausting. If you are determined enough to make it through 20 sessions, however, science suggests that you stand to reap powerful benefits. Intelligence is the ultimate cognitive ability: You need it to learn, reason, solve novel problems, and see connections. Higher IQs have been linked to improved academic achievement, professional success, and even better health. Since it will take you just 7 hours, in total, to complete the N-Back Challenge, not much more than the length of a single school day, it may prove to be the best investment of time you’ve ever made! ------------------------------ SCIENTIFICALLY SOUND: Not only has the dual n-back paradigm been validated in top peer-reviewed journals, but our two founders – both PhDs, one with a focus on neuroscience, the other with a focus on higher education – have taken particular care to thoroughly align the app with the prevailing scientific research. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS: In order to help you stay motivated, the N-Back Challenge allows you to visually monitor your progress over time, build up “streaks,” and compare yourself against other learners across various stats. COMPETE AGAINST YOUR FRIENDS: Perhaps the most powerful way of making sure you remain motivated to complete the Challenge is to tackle it together with friends or colleagues. To make it more fun, we’ve provided leaderboards that allow you to compete based on who has completed the most sessions, racked up the longest streak, and more. CUSTOMIZE YOUR EXPERIENCE: The N-Back Challenge allows you to choose between different voices across multiple languages, turn on notifications, and customize their timing and style. There are advanced settings for turning on instant button feedback, controlling the n-back level, and tweaking the game speed. And if you are too busy to complete one session every day, you may switch to the Weekly Habit, which gives you a full week to complete each session. ------------------------------ ARE YOU… … A PARENT? Give your children an edge at school or university by nudging them to complete the N-Back Challenge. Indeed, why not tackle the Challenge together as a family? … A GRANDCHILD? Help your grandparents (and other older relatives) fight cognitive decline by introducing them to dual n-back. (See https://nbackchallenge.com/decline.) … A KNOWLEDGE WORKER? Share the N-Back Challenge with your HR department. Dual n-back may well be the single most cost-effective way of making knowledge workers more productive. (See https://nbackchallenge.com/work.) … A TEACHER? Use dual n-back to enhance students' problem-solving skills. You can have a big impact, with a minimal investment of time! (See https://nbackchallenge.com/class.) ------------------------------ HOW IT WORKS: The N-Back Challenge is free as long as you stick to the program. When you miss or delay a session, we ask you to support us with a “coffee,” which you can buy in-app or earn — for example, by using the Share link in the Settings to invite friends. (Each of you will receive a free coffee.) You can also unlock unlimited free breaks by becoming a premium subscriber. CUSTOMER SUPPORT: Do you have any questions or suggestions? Like to say hello? We’re happy to hear from you! Just drop us a note at support@nbackchallenge.com. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: To learn more about dual n-back and the N-Back Challenge, browse our repository of articles at https://nbackchallenge.com/articles. Privacy Policy: https://nbackchallenge.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://nbackchallenge.com/terms-of-use
Napkin Dōjō
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A dojo is where you go to train. You show up with intention, you practice something real, and you leave a little sharper than when you came in. That is the spirit of this app. Napkin Dojo is for the ideas no one teaches you in school. The concepts that keep turning up in the best books and the most interesting conversations - the ones you half-know but can never quite pin down. The vocabulary of craft and cities and design. The words other languages have for feelings yours cannot name. The mental models of people building things at the edge of what is possible. The trade language you need to hold your own in rooms that matter. Each idea is a card: what it means, how it shows up in the real world, and a question that tests whether it actually landed. Rate yourself - Known, Heard of, or Don't know - and Dojo brings it back at the right moment, until the idea stops being something you recognise and becomes something you carry. Current decks: - Japan Mind: 113 Japanese concepts, from kaizen to yugen to ikigai - Lost in Translation: words other languages have for feelings English leaves unnamed - First Principles: how the teams building at the edge of what's possible actually think - City Makers: how great architects and urbanists think about the places we live - Design Eye: the vocabulary of how things are designed well - Cloth and Thread: the language of fine cotton and linen for the discerning buyer New decks added as the world gets more interesting. No account. No algorithm deciding what you should care about. No noise. Just the ideas you have decided are worth knowing, practiced until they are genuinely yours.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Napkin Dōjō at none against N's 7. Napkin Dōjō also leads on update cadence (daily vs monthly) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and ads 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. N sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Napkin Dōjō asks for nothing beyond the download.
N ships an update monthly, Napkin Dōjō daily. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | N | Napkin Dōjō |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (239 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 82.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 239 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 72 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rivuspurus | Bharat Khandelwal |
Bugs and requests
N
Reported bugs
10 issues- Mid-session freezing and soft locks (most common)
- Sound not generating for letters during gameplay
- Buttons greyed out preventing interaction
- App crashes when accessing stats
- Double coffee charge on streak breaks
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- Sound disabled when button pressed simultaneously with letter
- App crashes on startup
- Sync failures between iPad and iPhone
- Game freezing on specific levels (Level 2, 4)
- Countdown ends but first tile/letter doesn't appear
Requested features
10 requests- Single n-back and quad n-back modes
- Lock screen widgets for streak reminders
- Color-position dual n-back mode
- More granular settings (interference, probability, trial count)
- Penalty system for incorrect answers
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- Game Center leaderboard integration
- iPad and desktop versions with synced accounts
- Offline gameplay capability
- Data export for personal analysis
- Extended play duration at higher levels
Napkin Dōjō
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
N
- Premium (monthly)$8.991 Month
- Premium (annual)$54.991 Year
- 1 cup of coffee$1.99
- 4 cups of coffee$5.99
- Pizza$7.99
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- 7 cups of coffee$8.99
- 10 cups of coffee$10.99
Napkin Dōjō
No in-app purchases









