Comparison

Idle Anomaly vs Change up!

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

Head to head
About

Idle Anomaly

Build a research station to uncover the secrets of a mysterious alien Obelisk. Manage employees, defend your base from alien invaders, and upgrade heroes. Progress continues even when you're offline.

Highlights
  • Build and upgrade research station
  • Manage employees and monitor health
  • Defend base from alien attacks
  • Upgrade space heroes
  • Study UFOs and collect resources
  • Offline progress and idle earnings
Features
Read full description

"Build a research station around the mysterious Obelisk area and uncover all its secrets with moon pioneer in this idle clicker explore game! A group of space researchers recently came across a strange structure in the Arctic. It looks like an alien roller coaster or alien starship from the UFO theme park. This Obelisk was clearly not of our planet. In the process of building explorer home base, something strange gait of a zombie appears in the territory. But it isn´t a zombie, it is alien! They will try to attack and to interfere with the Obelisk research and building of your clicker Empire! Find the alien and hold defense idle home base with galaxy gun! Progress outside the game Your employees work tirelessly and earn money in your business simulator incremental game even when you are not playing. Just collect an idle resources when you return to the tap game! Manage a research station Click to build and upgrade equipment, hire employees and monitor their health. Moon pioneer helps you! Rational management is the key to success in research and to big profits in tycoon life! Upgrade your space heroes Exploring anomalies is dangerous area! You need experienced operatives who can protect your employees from invasion of the mysterious moon or mars creatures that guard the Obelisk. Study UFOs Find the alien, catch monsters, send them to infectonator isolation and explore the Obelisk to get resources. Join forces with the secret Ministry and discover the forbidden side of our idle world that it hides from the common people. Alien isolation You don't know what planet the monsters came from. From the Moon or Mars... But you need to click to control UFO space invasion and attack them back! Send aliens in infectonator isolation and now their planet life has become useful for the Earth. If you like Tycoon games, idle games, building games and the atmosphere of the unknown, then Anomalies Research Tycoon is for you! Make strategic decisions for development and make a profit. Unravel the secrets of the Obelisks and gain their power! Your business simulator adventure incremental game is started! ~~~~~~ Rate us in the app store and join our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Idle-Anomalies-Research-Tycoon-105602148433539 Join our Discord community! We'll be happy to receive your feedback: https://discord.gg/bep3sN89hc

About

Change up!

Features
Read full description

The cashier is waiting. Make the exact change with the fewest coins and notes possible before the register clock runs out. Change Up! is a fast, minimalist arcade game about the one skill every person needs: making optimal change under pressure. Every round hands you a transaction price and a wallet of coins and notes. Get the right pieces onto the tray, hand over payment, and take back change. The smaller the pile, the higher your score. FEATURES Two ways to play — CLASSIC is 20 timed transactions building to a final score; ENDLESS keeps the register open until the clock finally beats you. A real pressure timer — the window shortens as your streak grows, with green/yellow/red zones and a timing bonus for staying sharp. Real-world currencies to master — start in the one you know and unlock the rest by playing well; every currency has its own coins, notes and change-making logic. Score = optimality — you're graded on how close your change is to the mathematically optimal answer, not just on speed, with combo streaks for consecutive optimal transactions. No account, ever — nothing to sign in to. Progress and in-progress rounds save automatically to your device; only the leaderboard (which you can switch off), rewarded ads and the optional purchase below need a connection. Online leaderboard: runs started online post automatically under a random name like LUCKY PENNY (re-roll it any time; you never type a name) and you can compare against global and regional boards. Turn POST MY SCORES off and nothing is ever sent; the game is complete without it. Watch a short optional ad for a burst of Change Tokens, or skip ads entirely — every currency is also earnable through play alone. No forced or interstitial ads interrupt a round. One optional one-time purchase (Unlock All) for players who'd rather skip the grind; everything it unlocks is also earnable for free. Change Up! is built for short, sharp sessions — the kind of round you can finish while the kettle boils, and the kind of high score you'll come back to beat.

Screenshots

Idle Anomaly4 screens
Change up!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Change up! at every 2 weeks against Idle Anomaly's every 5 weeks. Idle Anomaly's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Idle Anomaly sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Change up! sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Idle Anomaly ships an update every 5 weeks, Change up! every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Idle Anomaly versus Change up!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIdle AnomalyChange up!
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (364 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews37.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings364 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size249 MB31 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperHot SiberiansHeng Sheng Lee

Bugs and requests

Idle Anomaly

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • Reset all data
  • No ads upgrade not working
  • Beginner pack not received
  • In-app purchases not credited
  • Game keeps locking up
Show 13 more
  • Ads appear after paying to remove them
  • Paid for additional researcher, didn't work
  • Game won't load
  • Game freezes on loading screen
  • Unwanted blackouts
  • Misses payouts, especially in paraenergies
  • Advertising paid to turn off, not getting bonuses
  • Ad reveals later game content
  • Pulled operator, never received
  • Cannot go past close 1 ruptures
  • Game has stopped working
  • Won't load anymore
  • Constant ad interruptions

Requested features

3 requests
  • Fix game issues or refund
  • Add more content to the game
  • Improve developer communication for future plans

Change up!

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Idle Anomaly

One-time10
  • 80 Gems$0.99
  • Helicopter.$4.99
  • 500 Gems$4.99
Show 7 more
  • Researcher$4.99
  • Starter pack$9.99
  • Researcher$9.99
  • 1200 Gems$9.99
  • No ads$13.99
  • Neat Pack$19.99
  • All Inclusive Pack$35.99
1 purchases

Change up!

One-time1
  • Unlock All Currencies$4.99

Questions

Is Idle Anomaly free?
Idle Anomaly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Change up! free?
Change up! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Idle Anomaly or Change up! have ads?
Both Idle Anomaly and Change up! show ads.
Which is updated more often, Idle Anomaly or Change up!?
Idle Anomaly ships an update every 5 weeks, and Change up! every 2 weeks. Most recently, Idle Anomaly was updated on November 3, 2026 and Change up! on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons