# Pine Tar Poker vs Visual Pinball

The clearest difference is price: Visual Pinball at Free against Pine Tar Poker's $3.99. Pine Tar Poker's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 12 months). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Visual Pinball is free to download; Pine Tar Poker costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Pine Tar Poker holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 142 and 74 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Pine Tar Poker's written reviews are positive against 79% of Visual Pinball's.

Pine Tar Poker ships an update every 3 days, Visual Pinball every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pine Tar Poker | Visual Pinball |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $3.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.9 (142 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pine-tar-poker/id1606835767/reviews)** | [4.3 (74 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/visual-pinball/id6547859926/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **142** | 74 |
| Positive reviews | **90.9% of reviews** | 78.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 days** | Every 12 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | **#19** | — |
| Size | 250 MB | 120 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 26.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Bird Cartel LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1532844907) | [Jason Millard](https://appshunter.io/developer/1527911552) |

## What reviewers say

### Pine Tar Poker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pine-tar-poker/id1606835767)

**Currently charting:** #19 Top Paid · Casino, #78 Top Paid · Card (US App Store)

Experience a unique card game with a touch of the supernatural. Gather your deck and paper to learn a new way to play, where a little bit of magic might just tip the scales in your favor and bring a smile to your face.

**Highlights:** Unique card game mechanics, Supernatural elements, Learn to play easily, Focus on entertainment, Potential for magical advantages

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Addictive gameplay loop
- 💡 Unique poker/Yahtzee mechanics
- ✨ Engaging story and atmosphere
- 🎨 Charming art style
- 🎮 High replay value

**What reviewers complain about**

- ⏳ Story is too short
- 🎶 Music can be repetitive
- ❓ Some mechanics unclear
- 📱 No cloud save feature
- 🔥 Device runs hot

**Reported bugs**

- Device overheating on iPad Pro 12.9

**Requested features**

- Add more content (scratch offs, dice, roulette)
- More explanation for items/mechanics
- Option to turn off upgrades/powers
- Cloud save feature
- More story content


### Visual Pinball

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/visual-pinball/id6547859926)

Enjoy a realistic pinball simulation with hundreds of community-created tables. Experience immersive haptic feedback and customize your gameplay with intuitive settings and controller support. Advanced options are available for power users.

**Highlights:** Hundreds of community-developed tables, Haptic feedback for immersive gameplay, Customizable settings and POV adjustments, Game controller support, External DMD and AltColor/AltSound support, Touch overlay and instructions

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Awesome way to play virtual pinball on the go
- 👍 Super easy to set up with minimal file prep time
- 👍 Insane that I can play favorite pins on just my phone
- 👍 Fantastic portable implementation of VPX
- 👍 Fun and exciting to archive the history of pinball

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔧 More ability to adjust table settings needed
- 🔧 Struggling to manage camera angle
- 🔧 No fullscreen on iPad, plunger and outlanes cropped
- 🔧 Some tables don't work or have issues

**Reported bugs**

- Tables don't load for some users
- Certain complex/intensive tables error out or run at low FPS

**Requested features**

- List of most played tables
- Ability to reposition DMD
- Option to skip startup checks for some tables
- Ability to edit table scripts on the app
- Direct link to table depository


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pine Tar Poker free?

Pine Tar Poker costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Visual Pinball free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Pine Tar Poker or Visual Pinball?

Pine Tar Poker is rated higher. Pine Tar Poker averages 4.9 out of 5 from 142 ratings, while Visual Pinball averages 4.3 from 74 ratings.

### Do Pine Tar Poker or Visual Pinball have ads?

Neither Pine Tar Poker nor Visual Pinball shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Pine Tar Poker or Visual Pinball?

Pine Tar Poker ships an update every 3 days, and Visual Pinball every 12 months. Most recently, Pine Tar Poker was updated on October 25, 2026 and Visual Pinball on October 22, 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.*