# Frotz vs A Dark Room

The clearest difference is price: Frotz at Free against A Dark Room's $1.99. A Dark Room's advantage is ratings volume (2.7K vs 251) and chart position (#40 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Frotz is free to download; A Dark Room costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Frotz against 4.8 for A Dark Room. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: A Dark Room has 2.7K ratings behind it against 251, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Frotz's written reviews are positive against 93% of A Dark Room's.

Frotz ships an update every 5 months, A Dark Room every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Frotz | A Dark Room |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $1.99 |
| Rating | [4.8 (251 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/frotz/id287653015/reviews) | [4.8 (2.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-dark-room/id736683061/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 251 | **2.7K** |
| Positive reviews | 90.8% of reviews | **92.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#40** |
| Size | 45 MB | 100 MB |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Craig Smith](https://appshunter.io/developer/287653018) | [Amirali Rajan](https://appshunter.io/developer/736683064) |

## What reviewers say

### Frotz

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/frotz/id287653015)

Experience classic text-based adventure games on your mobile device. Relive the golden age of interactive fiction with hundreds of free titles, supporting various game formats. Perfect for those who enjoy reading, thinking, and typing their way through immersive stories.

**Highlights:** Play hundreds of free interactive fiction games, Supports Z-Machine, glulx, and TADS formats, Relive classic text adventures, Modern interface with high-resolution fonts, Play on iPhone and iPad

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent performance
- 👍 Intuitive interface
- 💡 Vast library of interactive fiction
- 🚀 Seamless game importing
- 👍 Helpful auto-complete and note-taking features

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- 🔧 Limited customization options
- 🔧 Lack of map/note-taking tools for some games
- 🔧 Difficulty browsing and downloading new games

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when trying to resume certain saved games
- Inconsistent behavior when deleting or importing games

**Requested features**

- Add support for more modern interactive fiction formats
- Implement cloud sync and cross-device save support
- Improve game library management and discovery
- Add more customization options for text display


### A Dark Room

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-dark-room/id736683061)

**Currently charting:** #40 Top Paid · Role Playing, #74 Top Paid · Adventure (US App Store)

Awaken in a mysterious world with a throbbing head and blurry vision. Follow the voices' instructions to survive and explore this text-based adventure. Experience a game free from ads, loot boxes, in-app purchases, and tracking, fully playable with VoiceOver.

**Highlights:** Text-based adventure, Survival mechanics, Exploration, Resource management, VoiceOver compatible, No ads or IAP

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Frotz free?

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

### Is A Dark Room free?

A Dark Room costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Frotz or A Dark Room?

Frotz and A Dark Room are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 251 and 2.7K ratings respectively.

### Do Frotz or A Dark Room have ads?

Neither Frotz nor A Dark Room shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Frotz or A Dark Room?

Frotz ships an update every 5 months, and A Dark Room every 2 months. Most recently, Frotz was updated on September 30, 2026 and A Dark Room on October 3, 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.*