Comparison

Colony vs Reactor Idle Tycoon

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

Head to head
About

Colony

Engage in addictive puzzling strategy across 50 levels. Place triangular pieces to fill hexagons, trigger chain reactions, and colonize the board. Compete against your device or another player in this turn-based tactical challenge.

Highlights
  • 50 challenging levels
  • 1-player and 2-player modes
  • Chain reaction bonuses
  • Special bonus hexagons
  • Resume saved games
  • Progressive difficulty
Read full description

50 levels of addictive puzzling strategy fun! Play against your device or another player, taking it in turns to place triangular pieces on the board to fill up hexagons. When a hexagon has as many pieces within it as it has hexagons touching it, it explodes and sends its pieces to those hexagons, 'colonising' them and making them your own. Gain bonuses by setting off chain reactions of explosions! Once you've colonised the required percentage of hexagons for that level, you win and advance to the next level. Plan your game wisely, as one wrong move can really turn the tables! Features: - 1-player and 2-player modes - 50 levels! - Hi-scores - Special bonus hexagons - Random boards - Levels grow in difficulty - Resume a saved game - Start at any level you've previously reached in a 1-player game

About

Reactor Idle Tycoon

Build and manage your own energy empire, from wind turbines to advanced reactors. Generate electricity, manage heat, and sell power for profit in this engaging idle strategy game. Unlock new maps and technologies to maximize your earnings.

Highlights
  • Build various power generation facilities
  • Manage heat and stability of reactors
  • Idle mechanic for offline earnings
  • Unlockable maps and upgrades
  • Complex strategy with easy learning curve
  • Research system for advancements
Features
Read full description

Do you want to create your own reactor and generate energy for an entire country? Or maybe you want to harness the electric power and sell it for a profit? Reactor allows you to do that and so much more in one of the most intense and one of a kind strategy games that you have ever played. The premise in Reactor is very simple, you have to create power plants and generate as much electricity and heat as possible all while keeping everything under control and converting it into a lot of money. You will have to start off easy, with the help of small wind turbines that will generate a little electricity, enough to get your business going. Then you have to focus on getting stuff like offices and more turbines, solar panels, generators, coal burners, and in the end you will have the ability to create your own reactor, be it a nuclear, thermonuclear or fusion reactor, something that is very important to keep an eye on. Reactors are by far the best if you want a great return on investment but they are also the less stable and you have to manage heat as they can easily become unstable. With more than 10 maps to unlock and play, you will always have your hands full as you will try to figure out the best way to make insane profits and obtain a stellar result. You can play it safe and run a business that brings less but stable amounts of money, or you can check out alternative methods that are riskier but with a better return on investment. Reactor is an astounding idle game, one that manages to bring in front extraordinary gameplay moments and stunning opportunities. It’s very fun to play and you can easily use it as an idle game, because resource production will take place even as you go away, which is even more exciting. In Reactor you have all the power in your hands and it all comes down to you to make the right choice and take this one of a kind gameplay mechanic to new heights. With incredibly fun gameplay, nice mechanics and interesting choices, Reactor is the ultimate game that you want to play. A sheer combination of strategy, idle gaming and perfect unlock system, Reactor will help you spend your time wisely with amazing moments and a stellar outcome. Features: • Multiple buildings to choose from • A complex game that’s easy to learn and hard to master • Idling mechanic that allows you to earn resources even if you are offline • You have the first map for free, the others need to be unlocked • Multiple upgrades to choose from • Interesting gameplay mechanics that you have to keep an eye on at all costs • Stellar research system

Screenshots

Colony4 screens
Reactor Idle Tycoon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Reactor Idle Tycoon at Free against Colony's $0.99. Reactor Idle Tycoon also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.7) and ratings volume (7.6K vs 95). Colony's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement 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

Reactor Idle Tycoon is free to download; Colony costs $0.99 up front. Reactor Idle Tycoon sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Colony asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Reactor Idle Tycoon holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Reactor Idle Tycoon has 7.6K ratings behind it against 95, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of Colony's written reviews are positive against 78% of Reactor Idle Tycoon's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Colony ships an update every 5 months, Reactor Idle Tycoon every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Colony versus Reactor Idle Tycoon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterColonyReactor Idle Tycoon
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating2.7 (95 ratings)4.7 (7.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews — better77.8% of reviews
Number of ratings957.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB131 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChris HaynesRobert Grzybek

Customer experience

Colony

All ratings95 ratings
Positive28.4%
Neutral23.2%
Negative48.4%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%

Reactor Idle Tycoon

All ratings7,617 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral3.8%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews652 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral7.4%
Negative14.9%

Bugs and requests

Colony

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Reactor Idle Tycoon

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Money resets to zero
  • Research points not properly calculated
  • Inconsistent ad rewards

Requested features

4 requests
  • More content and upgrades
  • Ability to upgrade existing buildings
  • Faster removal of trees and mountains
  • Offline progress improvements

In-app purchases

None

Colony

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Reactor Idle Tycoon

One-time10
  • Unlock Area$1.99
  • Unlock Area 1$2.99
  • Unlock Area 2$2.99
Show 7 more
  • 20x Tools$2.99
  • Unlock Area 3$3.99
  • Buy Research Points$3.99
  • Unlock Area 7$5.99
  • 50x Tools$5.99
  • Unlock Special Map!$9.99
  • Remove banner and get 100% bonus!$9.99

Questions

Is Colony free?
Colony costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Reactor Idle Tycoon free?
Reactor Idle Tycoon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Colony or Reactor Idle Tycoon?
Reactor Idle Tycoon is rated higher. Colony averages 2.7 out of 5 from 95 ratings, while Reactor Idle Tycoon averages 4.7 from 7.6K ratings.
Do Colony or Reactor Idle Tycoon have ads?
Reactor Idle Tycoon shows ads; Colony does not.
Which is updated more often, Colony or Reactor Idle Tycoon?
Colony ships an update every 5 months, and Reactor Idle Tycoon every 4 months. Most recently, Colony was updated on October 20, 2026 and Reactor Idle Tycoon on November 1, 2026.

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