PuzzleManiak vs Pocket8
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PuzzleManiak
Engage your mind with a vast collection of 24 unique logic puzzles, each generated on-the-fly for endless replayability. Compete with players worldwide through daily challenges and online leagues, with adjustable difficulty levels and detailed statistics to track your progress.
- 24 unique logic puzzle games
- On-the-fly puzzle generation
- Multiple difficulty levels
- Detailed statistics tracking
- Daily challenges
- Online leagues and rankings
Read full descriptionHide full description
PuzzleManiak is a collection of 24 puzzle games: Sudoku, Pattern (Picross like), Bridges, Dominosa, Filling, Galaxies, Loopy, LightUp, Mines, Net, Rectangles, Slant, Tents, Unequal, Untangle, Blackbox, SameGame, Pegs, Mastermind, Map, Magnets, Singles, Range and Netslide. All games are generated on-the-fly with a unique solution, thus you’ll never play the same puzzle twice. All games offer multiple levels from easy to hard. Statistics are maintained for each game, and each level of difficulty. For each game, a daily challenge is available: in this mode, everyday, all players play the same puzzle and compare their scores with other players. Another online mode is available: the Online League. After any (local) game, you can submit it to the website, so that every other players can play it and thus you can compare your scores to other ones. An overall ranking is available, and ranking are also available for each game. All online features are now available with Auto-renewable subscriptions only: • You can choose between 3 subscriptions: - 1 month subscription: $1.49 - 6 months subscription: $7.49 - 1 year subscription: $12.99 • There is a trial period of 2 weeks for all types of subscriptions. • Your subscription will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase and will automatically renew (at the duration selected) unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal • Current subscription may not be cancelled during the active subscription period; however, you can manage your subscription and/or turn off auto-renewal by visiting your iTunes Account Settings after purchase. • Terms of use: http://puzzlemaniak.com/termsofuse.html • Privacy Policy: http://puzzlemaniak.com/policy.html
Pocket8
This app brings the PICO-8 fantasy console experience to your mobile device, offering access to thousands of community-made games. Enjoy customizable touch controls or gamepad support, and never lose progress with an instant save system.
- Browse and play community-made PICO-8 games
- Customizable touch controls and gamepad support
- Instant save states for unlimited progress saving
- Portrait and landscape orientation support
- Locked 60FPS gameplay
Read full descriptionHide full description
Experience PICO-8 Anywhere: Pocket8 brings the magic of the PICO-8 fantasy console to your pocket. Whether you’re on a commute or relaxing at home, thousands of indie games are a single tap away. A Massive Library in Your Pocket: Discover thousands of community-made games with integrated BBS exploration. From challenging platformers to relaxing puzzles, there’s always something new to play. Download your favorites and build a personal collection that goes offline wherever you do. Controls That Feel Right: Gaming on a touch screen can be a struggle. Pocket8 features high-precision controls that feel as good as a real handheld. Choose between a classic D-pad or virtual joystick, or swap the face buttons positioning to match your playstyle. Wanna go touch-less? Connect a controller and play with a bluetooth gamepad or keyboard. Play Without Interruption: Instant save system lets you freeze time and jump back in to the exact pixel where you left off. Manage an infinite amount of save states per cartridge. Features: Browse & Play: Explore the Lexaloffle BBS to find and download new games instantly. Pro-Style Controls: Fluid movement and adaptive controls. Gamepad and Keyboard support included. Portrait & Landscape: Play comfortably in any orientation. Save Anywhere: Never lose your progress with instant state saves. Pure Performance: Locked 60FPS gameplay for the ultimate retro experience.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Pocket8 at Free against PuzzleManiak's $0.99. Pocket8 also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). On review sentiment, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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
Pocket8 is free to download; PuzzleManiak costs $0.99 up front. PuzzleManiak sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Pocket8 asks for nothing beyond the download.
Pocket8 holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 23 and 40 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 67% and 67% positive.
PuzzleManiak ships an update every 2 days, Pocket8 daily. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PuzzleManiak | Pocket8 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.1 (23 ratings) | 4.5 (40 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 67.4% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 23 | 40 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Alexandre Minard | Jevon Lipsey |
Customer experience
PuzzleManiak
Pocket8
Bugs and requests
PuzzleManiak
Reported bugs
17 issues- Tangled game sizing issue on iPhone 14 Pro Max
- MasterMind guesses misaligned with background grid
- Pattern game elements remain small after update
- Tents game off-center positioning
- Untangle nodes have limited range of motion
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Sudoku numbers too small to read
- Control buttons positioned under system UI bars
- Game crashes when tabbing out of app
- Online game crashes and network errors
- Scores and statistics not saving
- Mines sometimes generate off-screen
- Minesweeper high scores only showing 1 entry
- Map game color distinction issues
- BlackBox game functionality broken
- Pattern numbers misaligned with boxes
- Puzzle boards and icons much smaller than before
- Touch precision issues requiring multiple attempts
Requested features
13 requests- Screen zoom functionality
- Dark mode or customizable color themes
- Sound effects and audio feedback
- Better game instructions and tutorials
- iPad native resolution support
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Undo button for all puzzle types
- Auto screen lock disable for long games
- Chess game addition
- Kakuro puzzle type
- Better color contrast for colorblind players
- Save game state when switching apps
- Wiki with solving hints
- Improved touch target sizes for small puzzles
Pocket8
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PuzzleManiak
- One Month Subscription14 Days trial$3.991 Month
- 6 Month Subscription14 Days trial$17.996 Months
- One Year Subscription14 Days trial$24.991 Year
Pocket8
No in-app purchases









