Ships Squared vs Cardinal Chains
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ships Squared
A logic puzzle game where players deduce the hidden layout of thirteen ships on a 10x10 grid. It offers varying difficulty levels, from casual to intensely challenging, and allows for custom game creation and sharing with friends.
- Deduce hidden ship layouts
- 10x10 grid gameplay
- 12 difficulty levels
- Unlimited custom games
- Design and share own layouts
- Workout for the mind
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Ships Squared (Ships²) is a new game exclusive to the iPhone/iPad/iPod touch. You probably grew out of Battleships a long time ago. Now it's time to grow back in. Because Ships² is for adults, not children. Ships² is addictive. If you let it, it will take over your mind and ruin your life. Thirteen ships are laid out on a 10x10 board according to strict rules. You fire at squares. You get the results. You deduce where the ships are. And you draw them. Unlike traditional Battleships, you don't actually need to sink the ships: it's deducing their layout that is the achievement. There are 12 levels, all using the same basic rules. The lightest ones can be played casually while waiting for the bus. The middling ones take from 5 to 20 minutes of concentrated thought. The heaviest levels demand intense, rigorous, error-free reasoning for half an hour or more. Only a few geniuses will attempt the top level, which takes two hours at least. Ships² is not a game of chance but of reasoning. It's a workout for the mind. Like all workouts, you mustn't overdo it. As it says on the bottle: please think responsibly! Ships² can create an unlimited number of different games for you to play. You can design your own layouts too, and send them to your friends to see how well they do. Full, illustrated instructions are included as part of the game.
Cardinal Chains
A minimalist puzzle game where players link numbers in non-decreasing sequences to fill a monochrome grid with color. It offers a relaxing experience with a handcrafted soundtrack and elegant design, free from timers or ads.
- 500 unique handcrafted puzzles
- Non-decreasing sequence gameplay
- Chill-out soundtrack
- Minimalist design
- Customizable color themes
- Achievements and cloud saves
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Cardinal Chains is a minimalist puzzle game centering on the concept of non-decreasing sequences. Each puzzle begins with a monochrome grid of numbers, plus a few colored cells marked with an X. Starting at these cells, you must link up numbers in non-decreasing order until the whole grid is filled with color. • 500 unique, carefully handcrafted puzzles of varying difficulty, each with a single solution • Beautiful, lengthy chill-out soundtrack created by accomplished professional artists • Minimalist, elegant design without timers, ads, purchases or other hassles - just pure gameplay • Several built-in color themes, including colorblind options. Or... • ...make your own color themes - right from within the game! • Features achievements and cloud saves
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Ships Squared at Free against Cardinal Chains's $2.99. Ships Squared also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 5 months) and iOS requirement (9.3 vs 15.6). Cardinal Chains's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 80%) and ratings volume (24 vs 5). On rating, 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
Ships Squared is free to download; Cardinal Chains costs $2.99 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 — 5.0 for Ships Squared against 4.9 for Cardinal Chains. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 24 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Ships Squared's written reviews are positive against 100% of Cardinal Chains's.
Ships Squared ships an update every 6 weeks, Cardinal Chains every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and July 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ships Squared | Cardinal Chains |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better | 4.9 (24 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 24 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.3 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 101 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Universalis Publishing | Daniel Nora |
Customer experience
Ships Squared
Cardinal Chains
In-app purchases
Ships Squared
No in-app purchases
Cardinal Chains
No in-app purchases






