# The Mancala vs CougarQuest

The clearest difference is ads: CougarQuest at none against The Mancala's shown. CougarQuest also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). The Mancala's advantage is ratings volume (97 vs 2) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

CougarQuest holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Mancala has 97 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

The Mancala ships an update every 8 months, CougarQuest every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Mancala | CougarQuest |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (97 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-mancala/id1543819600/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cougarquest/id6745781066/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **97** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 8 months** | Every 11 months |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | **Free** |
| Size | 207 MB | 30 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [UNBALANCE Corporation](https://appshunter.io/developer/358617691) | [Carter Hammond](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896379290) |

## What reviewers say

### The Mancala

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-mancala/id1543819600)

Experience an ancient board game of strategy and collection. Learn the simple rules with built-in guides and challenge yourself across ten difficulty levels. Enjoy beautiful graphics and customize your game board.

**Highlights:** Learnable rules with help feature, Play against AI or a friend, 10 difficulty levels, Customizable board and stones, Undo and hint options, Game statistics

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### CougarQuest

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cougarquest/id6745781066)

Discover and complete quests across a campus map by taking photos at designated locations. Earn points, compete on a live leaderboard, and track your progress in this interactive game.

**Highlights:** Live quest map, Photo-verified completion, Real-time leaderboard, Campus exploration, Point-based scoring

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Mancala free?

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

### Is CougarQuest free?

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

### Which has better reviews, The Mancala or CougarQuest?

CougarQuest is rated higher. The Mancala averages 4.8 out of 5 from 97 ratings, while CougarQuest averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do The Mancala or CougarQuest have ads?

The Mancala shows ads; CougarQuest does not.

### Which is updated more often, The Mancala or CougarQuest?

The Mancala ships an update every 8 months, and CougarQuest every 11 months. Most recently, The Mancala was updated on November 3, 2026 and CougarQuest on October 30, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*