First News vs Patch's Games
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
First News
This app provides children with a balanced and truthful view of world events, written by award-winning journalists. It offers interactive articles, daily curated news, puzzles, games, and a video platform with news explainers to foster curiosity and critical thinking.
- Weekly 28-page interactive newspaper edition
- Searchable archive of past issues
- Hundreds of news explainer videos
- Weekly topical quiz with avatar and leaderboard
- Interactive puzzles linked to current news
- Daily news feed with age-appropriate articles
- Weekly polls and competitions
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For 20 years, First News has provided trusted & impartial age-appropriate news to kids around the world. Our award-winning weekly newspaper is jam-packed with headlines, sport, entertainment, world news and more. App features: READ: weekly 28-page edition of First News with interactive features, plus a searchable archive. WATCH: hundreds of videos, including news explainers presented by children for children. CHALLENGE: play interactive word and number puzzles. Subscribers can also play the weekly news quiz, based on the latest issue of the paper. STAY AHEAD: read or listen to 3 daily news articles from the UK and around the world. SHARE YOUR OPINION: weekly polls encouraging children to form their own opinions and get their voices heard. Terms of use: https://www.firstnews.co.uk/terms/
Patch's Games
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Join Patch the cat for 24 learning and fun games, made for children aged around 5 to 11 and the grown-ups who play with them. LEARN WITH PATCH • Dictionary Game: read a meaning and guess the word, with over 5,000 words for three age groups • Mystery Word, Word Scramble, Word Search, Crossword, Word Ladder, Word Wheel and Patch's Secret Word • Times Table Game and Beat the Clock, with a big, easy number pad • Clock Game, Roman Numerals and Capital Cities PLAY WITH PATCH • Patch's Adventure: run and jump through nine levels, from the garden to home at night • Chess (against Patch or a friend), Sudoku, Maze and Wool Puzzle • Patch's Run, Naughty Patch!, Patch Pong, Air Hockey, Patch the Snake and Patch's Cat Stack MADE FOR FAMILIES • 12 games are free. Unlock the other 12 with one small purchase, yours to keep forever, and shared with your family through Family Sharing • Purchases are protected by a grown-up check • No adverts, no accounts, and no data collected • Works fully offline, perfect for car journeys and holidays • UK spellings throughout, with tap-friendly controls and an on-screen keyboard • Sound effects and original music, which you can switch off
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Patch's Games at every 3 days against First News's every 6 months. Patch's Games also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). 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
Both are free to download. First News sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $5.49 per month and Patch's Games sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
First News ships an update every 6 months, Patch's Games every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | First News | Patch's Games |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (22 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 73.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 22 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | First News | TIMOTHY NIMAL GONZAGA |
In-app purchases
First News
- 1 Month Subscription$5.491 Month
- 1-month subscription$9.991 Month
- 3 Month Subscription$24.493 Months
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- 3-month subscription$28.493 Months
- 6 Month subscription$43.996 Months
- 6-month subscription$53.996 Months
- 1 Year Subscription$79.991 Year
Patch's Games
- Unlock all games$0.99









