Dual N vs Pathways
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dual N
This app is a brain game designed to improve working memory and cognitive skills through a challenging memory-training exercise. It offers customizable difficulty, goal setting, and global leaderboards to track progress. An ad-free experience is available via a subscription.
- Working memory training
- Customizable difficulty (N-value, interval, session length)
- Goal setting and reminders
- Global leaderboards
- Multilingual support
- Ad-free Pro version
Read full descriptionHide full description
Dual NBack – Brain Training to Improve Memory Dual NBack is a fun and challenging brain game designed to strengthen your working memory. Set goals, get reminders, and climb the global leaderboards as you sharpen your mind! What Is Dual NBack? Dual NBack is a memory-training game that presents audio (letters) and visual (positions) sequences simultaneously. Research suggests that consistent play may enhance your working memory—the ability to hold and process information briefly—and also boost short-term recall. How to Play The game starts at Level N=2, where you need to remember the position (square) and the sound (letter) from two turns back. If the current position or sound matches what was shown two turns ago, tap the corresponding button. Strong performance automatically raises your level, but you can manually adjust the difficulty whenever you like. Key Features Customizable Settings Tailor your training: tweak the N-value (number of turns to recall), the interval between sounds/blocks, and session length as you see fit. Reminders & Goals Set daily or weekly targets and enable notifications to help you practice consistently. Global Leaderboards Compare your scores with players worldwide and see how you rank as you improve. Share Function Post your results on social media or messaging apps to challenge your friends and family. Multilingual Support Currently offered in English and Japanese, with more languages on the way. Why Train Your Working Memory? Working memory stores information for a few seconds to minutes, enabling you to make decisions, perform calculations, or tackle other cognitive tasks. Playing Dual NBack regularly can help strengthen this mental capacity, potentially improving focus, concentration, and overall brain agility. Ad-Free Experience with Dual NBack Pro Enjoy a 3-day free trial of Dual NBack Pro to train with no ads or interruptions. If you choose to purchase Dual NBack Pro, the payment is charged to your iTunes account. Renewal fees are charged within 24 hours before the current subscription period ends. You can cancel your subscription anytime: Go to Settings → tap your name → Subscriptions → locate and cancel the subscription you want to end. If you don’t cancel before the trial ends, the paid subscription automatically starts. Privacy Policy: https://goukakuappli.co.jp/privacy End User License Agreement (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Summary Strengthen Your Mind: Give your working memory a proven workout. Adapt the Difficulty: Start at N=2 or set your preferred challenge level. Stay Motivated: Leverage reminders, goals, and leaderboards to keep pushing your limits. Go Pro for No Ads: Take advantage of a 3-day free trial and upgrade to an ad-free training experience. Download Dual NBack now and take your cognitive performance to a new level!
Pathways
A minimalist logic puzzle game where players guide a dot to its home space by drawing colored paths. It offers increasing difficulty levels and daily challenges, with an option for advanced features like custom level creation.
- Draw colored paths to guide a dot
- Solve spatial reasoning puzzles
- Progress through increasing grid sizes
- Daily timed puzzles with score sharing
- Create and share custom levels
- No ads, playable offline
Read full descriptionHide full description
Pathways is a spatial reasoning logic puzzle with a clean, minimalist design. The goal is simple: move the dot home! How it works: -Each grid has one dot, and one home space -The dot can only move to colored spaces -Use tabs on the side of the grid to draw paths of color -Retract and redraw paths as necessary -Move that dot home! Easy to learn, difficult to master -Start with 3x4 grids to learn the ropes -Up the challenge with 4x4 grids -Put yourself to the real test with 4x5 grids Daily Puzzles -Timed puzzles, share your score with friends -Puzzles increase in difficulty throughout the week -Build your streak! Pathways PRO -Access all packs (375 puzzles + future packs) -Access Daily Puzzle archive to play old puzzles (100+ Daily Puzzles) -Create your own levels, share with friends and/or submit to Pathways to be featured Why Pathways? -Clean, minimalistic design -Simple rules, yet challenging solutions -No ads, no wifi required Up for the challenge? Download Pathways today!
Screenshots
Verdict
Dual N and Pathways both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 90% of Pathways's written reviews are positive against 51% of Dual N's. Pathways also leads on ads (none vs shown). Dual N's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (375 vs 27). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Dual N sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Pathways sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Pathways holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dual N has 375 ratings behind it against 27, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of Dual N's written reviews are positive against 90% of Pathways's.
Dual N ships an update fortnightly, Pathways every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Dual N | Pathways |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (375 ratings) | 4.8 (27 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.9% of reviews | 90.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 375 — better | 27 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 199 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | GOKAKU SUPPLI, LIMITED LIABILITY CO. | William Arbuckle |
Customer experience
Dual N
Pathways
In-app purchases
Dual N
- NBack Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Lifetime Pass$12.99
Pathways
- Support Developpment$0.99
- Support Developpment$1.99
- Support Developpment$4.99
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Pathways PRO$7.99
- Support Developpment$7.99
- Support Developpment$9.99
- Support Developpment$14.99
- Support Developpment$19.99
- Support Developpment$29.99









