# Ancient Games vs Mancala

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Ancient Games at 287 against Mancala's 14. Ancient Games also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Ancient Games sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Mancala sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Ancient Games holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ancient Games has 287 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Ancient Games's written reviews are positive against 75% of Mancala's.

Ancient Games ships an update every 3 weeks, Mancala every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Ancient Games | Mancala |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (287 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ancient-games/id1589948658/reviews)** | [4.4 (14 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mancala-stone-and-pit/id6760274286/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **287** | 14 |
| Positive reviews | **78.3% of reviews** | 75.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 5 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 212 MB | 14 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Sullivan Bousiniere](https://appshunter.io/developer/1455653920) | [Esbro Labs LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1883578468) |

## What reviewers say

### Ancient Games

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ancient-games/id1589948658)

Explore and play a collection of ancient board games brought back to life with modern app design. Enjoy offline and online play, collect customizable game pieces, and tackle fun challenges. Save progress across all games with cloud saves.

**Highlights:** Play multiple ancient games in one app, Offline and online multiplayer, AI, friend, and random player matches, Collectible game pieces and boards, Challenges with rule variants, Free cloud saves across games

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AG+ | $3.99 | per month |
| Ancient Artifact | $0.99 | one-time |
| Purchase Game Edition | $1.99 | one-time |
| Dawn of Civilization DLC | $2.99 | one-time |
| Purchase Game Edition | $2.99 | one-time |
| Skeleton Key | $2.99 | one-time |
| Purchase Game Edition | $3.99 | one-time |
| Purchase Game Edition | $10.99 | one-time |
| Royal Pass | $12.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎮 High-quality ancient board games collection
- 🎨 Beautiful graphics and visual design
- 🎵 Appropriate relaxing music and atmosphere
- 👍 Easy to learn gameplay with depth
- 🎯 Multiple difficulty levels and game modes

**What reviewers complain about**

- 📺 Excessive and intrusive advertisements
- 💳 Subscription model for content access
- 🎲 Dice rolls appear non-random or rigged
- 🐛 Frequent freezing and crashing issues
- 🔊 Ads play with sound even when muted

**Reported bugs**

- Game freezes after match completion
- Screen goes dark and becomes unresponsive post-game
- Ad removal purchase only lasts one game
- Paid ad removal still shows advertisements
- Game continues playing after player wins

**Requested features**

- Two-player local multiplayer mode
- Friends list and challenge system
- Leaderboards and ranking system
- Win/loss statistics and game history tracking
- Ability to play offline while waiting for online opponents


### Mancala

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mancala-stone-and-pit/id6760274286)

This app offers a classic Mancala board game experience with adjustable AI difficulty and a built-in strategy coach. Enjoy smooth animations and a distraction-free interface for endless strategic play, playable offline.

**Highlights:** Three AI difficulty levels, AI thinks up to 10 moves deep, Built-in strategy coach, Undo moves and learn, Elegant wooden board design, Offline play

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Ads | $3.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Ancient Games free?

Ancient Games is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Mancala free?

Mancala is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Ancient Games or Mancala?

Ancient Games is rated higher. Ancient Games averages 4.6 out of 5 from 287 ratings, while Mancala averages 4.4 from 14 ratings.

### Do Ancient Games or Mancala have ads?

Both Ancient Games and Mancala show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Ancient Games or Mancala?

Ancient Games ships an update every 3 weeks, and Mancala every 5 weeks. Most recently, Ancient Games was updated on November 3, 2026 and Mancala on November 5, 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.*