Star Duster vs Card Kata
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Star Duster
Experience a retro-inspired arcade challenge that harks back to the 80s. Control your character through unique gameplay mechanics, including physical head movements via push-ups, and enjoy an immersive soundscape. Compete for high scores across two distinct game modes.
- Two distinct game modes
- High score lists
- Head control via push-ups (iOS)
- Retro 80s aesthetic
- Immersive soundscape
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***** "A rare Apple Watch game that's actually worth playing" - iMore ***** "A game you’ll return to" - GQ Magazine ***** "Travel back to the 80s" - AppAdvice Star Duster for iPhone and Apple Watch takes handheld games (and you) back to their origins: - Two game modes with different challenges, gameplay and high score lists! - Let's get physical! Get exercise and a new type of challenge by controlling Star Duster with your head through push ups (iOS) - A Beep-boop-ity soundscape that will get stuck on your brain! Star Duster is a prequel to the mobile arcade mayhem that is Star Jolt. Can it explain why the space junk is lined up so neatly?
Card Kata
Engage in a solitary combat card game by matching elemental attacks to play zones. Strategically use defensive cards to block zones and unlock them with special cards. Aim for a perfect workout by playing all cards in your hand across three difficulty levels.
- Solitaire-like gameplay
- Elemental attack matching
- Defensive card mechanics
- Unlockable zones
- Three difficulty levels
- Game timer for challenges
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CARD KATA: PRACTICE DUMMY is a solitaire-like single player game where you match elemental attacks to play zones in the shape of a martial arts practice dummy. Defensive cards will attempt to block your zones! Unlock them with a CHAOS card and play out all of the cards in your hand for a perfect CARD KATA workout! Three levels of difficulty: STUDENT: Fighters can move cards and stacks all over the board, except for BLOCK cards! BASIC: Fighters can move any stack of cards with a JUMP, PUNCH or KICK, all other bets are OFF! MASTER: Fighters are unable to move stacks and must play the cards as they lay! Check out our Game Timer and try to best your time in each category! For more ways to play check out our full game at www.cardkata.com!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Card Kata at Free against Star Duster's $2.99. Card Kata also leads on ratings volume (11 vs 2) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). Star Duster's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 14 months) and chart position (#184 vs unranked). On rating, 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
Card Kata is free to download; Star Duster costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Star Duster against 5.0 for Card Kata. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Card Kata has 11 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Star Duster ships an update every 3 weeks, Card Kata every 14 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | Star Duster | Card Kata |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (11 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 11 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 14 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #184 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 567 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Beardybird AB | Hands-On Games, LLC |
Customer experience
Star Duster
Card Kata
In-app purchases
Star Duster
No in-app purchases
Card Kata
No in-app purchases
