Comparison

Grid Games vs Eldershyft

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Grid Games

Features
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The Grid Games app contains five puzzle games: Sudoku, Leaf Sweeper, Squares, Pairs, and Where's WCAG? The app explores how traditional puzzle apps can provide an accessible experience as possible for all players. Particular attention has been paid to the screen reader experience when playing the games, and the source code for the app is publicly available for all software developers to review at https://github.com/gbarkerz/GridGames. Details for developers on how the game was built are at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/considerations-around-building-accessible-app-guy-barker, and a video showing the Microsoft .NET MAUI team discussing some of the accessibility-related code in the app is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbxE2p9o1fI. Details on how to play the Sudoku and Leaf Sweeper games are available in the app's help content. The Pairs Game is based on a traditional card matching game, where face-down cards are turned over in order to find pairs of cards. When the game is run, a 4 by 4 grid of blank squares appears, each square representing a card. When a card is tapped, an image is shown on the card. When another card is clicked, an image is also shown on that second card. If the two images are the same, then the cards are considered to be matched, and will not change again for the rest of the game. If the images do not match, then the cards are considered to be unmatched, and cards must be turned back over by tapping on any card. These steps are to be repeated until all matching images have been found, and a "Congratulations" window appears. The Squares Game is based on a square sliding puzzle, where squares in a grid of squares are rearranged by the player to form an ordered sequence in the grid. When the game is run, a 4 by 4 grid of squares appears, with fifteen of those squares occupied with a movable element, and one square being empty. When a square is tapped, if it is adjacent to the empty square, the tapped square moves into the empty square. The space where the tapped square was then becomes the empty square. The aim is to arrange all the squares in a sorted order, leaving the empty square in the bottom right corner of the grid. Once all the squares are ordered, a "Congratulations" window appears. When the game first runs, the setting to have numbers shown on squares is on, and the settings to have pictures shown on the squares is off. This means a number is shown in the top left corner of the squares. When the squares are sorted, the square showing number 1 is at the top left of the grid, and the numbers increase from left to right then top to bottom. When the game setting to have a picture shown on the squares is on, then a single picture is shown across all the squares. The sections of the picture will appear jumbled until the squares are arranged in their sorted order. The Where's WCAG? game help players remember the grouping of some of the Web Content Accessibility Standards (WCAG).

About

Eldershyft

A unique match-3 puzzle game where you move entire paths on a hexagonal board to create cascades and combos. Build a mystical island, tame beasts, and choose your strategy to achieve high scores or complete challenges.

Highlights
  • Hexagonal board path movement
  • Cascading matches and combos
  • Endless and Challenge modes
  • Beast management and island building
  • Stackable bonuses and abilities
  • Full VoiceOver support
  • Color-blind and high contrast settings
Features
Read full description

Eldershyft is a match-3 puzzle game with unique gameplay. Instead of swapping individual tiles, you move entire paths across a hexagonal board in 6 directions, opening up cascades, combos, and strategies. Set before the days of Eldermyth, you take control of the Curator of Lands to build the mystical Island whilst trying to tame the Beasts that have followed you from your realm. 

As you grow stronger, will you choose to focus your powers on board manipulation, Beast management or score multipliers? Or, maybe a combination of them all! Two ways to play - Endless Mode: Push for the highest score on the world leaderboard. Survive as long as possible as enemy pressure escalates and the Island becomes more complex - Challenge Mode: Settle the Island by reaching level 5 on each land type in the least amount of turns possible. Each turn counts even more in this mode Deep strategy. Pure puzzle - Cascading matches and board refill from 6 directions reward planning and positional awareness - Ever changing board from multiple different mechanics at play - A rich progression system with stackable bonuses, passive and consumable abilities, and permanent multipliers - No timers. No pay-to-win. Pure strategic depth Fully accessible - Complete VoiceOver support with full gameplay narration, accessible drag-and-drop path building, as well as colour-blind and high contrast settings Try for free before purchasing the full game!

Screenshots

Grid Games4 screens
Eldershyft4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Grid Games at none against Eldershyft's 2. Grid Games also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.7 vs 18.6). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Eldershyft sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Grid Games asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Grid Games ships an update weekly, Eldershyft every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Grid Games versus Eldershyft: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrid GamesEldershyft
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—8 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.7 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB7 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperGuy BarkerKIERAN HARTNETT

In-app purchases

None

Grid Games

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Eldershyft

One-time2
  • Rival Curators$1.99
  • Full base game unlock$2.99

Questions

Is Grid Games free?
Grid Games is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Eldershyft free?
Eldershyft is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Grid Games or Eldershyft have ads?
Neither Grid Games nor Eldershyft shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Grid Games or Eldershyft?
Grid Games ships an update weekly, and Eldershyft every 3 weeks. Most recently, Grid Games was updated on September 19, 2026 and Eldershyft on September 7, 2026.

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