# Defend Your Castle vs Digger Machine

The clearest difference is price: Digger Machine at Free against Defend Your Castle's $0.99. Digger Machine also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.9) and ratings volume (351 vs 31). Defend Your Castle's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment and device support there is nothing between them.

Digger Machine is free to download; Defend Your Castle costs $0.99 up front. Digger Machine sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Defend Your Castle asks for nothing beyond the download.

Digger Machine holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Digger Machine has 351 ratings behind it against 31, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Defend Your Castle's written reviews are positive against 79% of Digger Machine's.

Defend Your Castle ships an update every 3 weeks, Digger Machine every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Defend Your Castle | Digger Machine |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [3.9 (31 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/defend-your-castle/id311436961/reviews) | **[4.5 (351 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/digger-machine-dig-minerals/id996857258/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 31 | **351** |
| Positive reviews | 76.3% of reviews | **79.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 69 MB | 104 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.3** | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [XGen Studios](https://appshunter.io/developer/311436964) | [Dariusz Mazur](https://appshunter.io/developer/829907063) |

## What reviewers say

### Defend Your Castle

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/defend-your-castle/id311436961)

Defend your castle from waves of crayon invaders by strategically upgrading defenses and deploying various troop types. Utilize powerful spells and unlock achievements as you face unlimited levels of challenging gameplay.

**Highlights:** Battle diverse enemy invaders, Upgrade castle defenses, Convert and assign soldiers, Cast powerful spells, Earn achievements, Unlimited levels

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Addictive gameplay
- 👍 Charming and creative visuals
- 🕹️ Responsive touch controls
- 💰 Great value for money
- 🕹️ Faithful port of the original game

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and save issues
- 🔁 Repetitive gameplay at higher levels
- 🔍 Lack of new enemy types and spells
- 🔇 No option to play own music
- 🤕 Can be tiring on the fingers

**Reported bugs**

- Achievements not tracking correctly
- Saved games not loading properly
- Archers not functioning as expected

**Requested features**

- More enemy variety and difficulty scaling
- Ability to assign converted units to towers
- Endurance/endless mode
- Game Center integration for leaderboards and achievements
- Option to use original game graphics


### Digger Machine

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/digger-machine-dig-minerals/id996857258)

Embark on an arcade adventure to unearth valuable minerals like gold and diamonds. Upgrade your digging machine, build bases, and navigate treacherous mines filled with traps and bosses. Collect and sell 50 types of minerals to enhance your equipment and become the ultimate miner.

**Highlights:** Dig for 50 types of minerals, Upgrade digging machine, Build bases, Navigate 3 underground mines, Complete missions, Use 6 special actions

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Diamond Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Remove Ads | $1.99 | one-time |
| Diamond Pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| Time limited custom pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| Good and valuable starter pack | $3.99 | one-time |
| Big Diamond Pack | $5.99 | one-time |
| 50% off - Best available sale! | $6.99 | one-time |
| Golden Diamond Pack | $11.99 | one-time |
| Mega Diamond Pack | $13.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎮 Highly addictive and engaging gameplay
- 👍 Faithful recreation of classic Motherload game
- 📱 Works well on mobile devices
- ⏱️ Great time-killer/casual entertainment
- 💰 Reasonable monetization with minimal ads

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Pay-to-win mechanics after initial hours
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
- 💾 Progress deletion on death or app closure
- 📺 Ad-related issues (black screens, fake X buttons)
- ⚠️ Game-breaking gem loss bug

**Reported bugs**

- Game crashes when typing feedback
- Progress deleted on death despite save system
- Black screen after watching ads for revival
- Gems consumed without unlocking base
- Player stuck in rocks with no escape

**Requested features**

- Character customization options
- Ability to dig upward
- More levels/content
- Map feature
- Confirmation dialog for restart button


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Defend Your Castle free?

Defend Your Castle costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Digger Machine free?

Digger Machine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Defend Your Castle or Digger Machine?

Digger Machine is rated higher. Defend Your Castle averages 3.9 out of 5 from 31 ratings, while Digger Machine averages 4.5 from 351 ratings.

### Do Defend Your Castle or Digger Machine have ads?

Digger Machine shows ads; Defend Your Castle does not.

### Which is updated more often, Defend Your Castle or Digger Machine?

Defend Your Castle ships an update every 3 weeks, and Digger Machine every 3 months. Most recently, Defend Your Castle was updated on October 31, 2026 and Digger Machine on October 24, 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.*