Doodle Dots vs The Mancala
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Doodle Dots
Recreate the classic pencil and paper game of connecting dots to complete squares. Compete against friends or AI on various board sizes and difficulty levels. Enjoy a doodle-style aesthetic and save your progress.
- Connect dots to complete squares
- Play against AI or another player
- Multiple board sizes
- Adjustable difficulty levels
- Game state saved
- Highlighted last move
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Doodle Dots (Now FREE!!) Now you can play the classic pencil and paper game Dots (Boxes, Squares, Paddocks, Square-it, Dots and Dashes, Smart Dots) without having to hand draw all of those stinking dots by hand! The object of the game is to complete more squares, by connecting the dots, than your opponent. The player with the most square filled in with their color wins! Three different board sizes and difficulty levels makes this game challenging for all ages. Features in 1.4 - Game now saved when application exits - Lines are now colored red or blue - Last Move is highlighted Features in 1.3: - Bug Fixes Features in 1.2: - All gameplay options from paid version are now available in free version! - Minor bug fixes - Removed timer from promotion screen - Ads added to game screens Features in 1.1: - Minor bug fixes - Ad supported free version - Option to toggle sound on/off Features in 1.0: - Hand drawn doodle graphics - Two board sizes and difficulty levels - Use your own word or the extensive word dictionary - Support for two players - Play against your iPhone or iPod Touch A classic pencil and paper game done in “doodle” style. Doodle Dots is one of the five mini games (Hangman, Battleship, Tic Tac Toe and Word Search) found in Doodle Games. If you like Doodle Dots, check out Doodle Games in the AppStore! Doodle Games is a collection of some of your favorite pencil and paper games, brought to life on the iPhone. This is the perfect game for your next road trip, boring meeting, or family gathering. Play DoodleGames on your iPhone and save a tree!
The Mancala
Experience an ancient board game of strategy and collection. Learn the simple rules with built-in guides and challenge yourself across ten difficulty levels. Enjoy beautiful graphics and customize your game board.
- Learnable rules with help feature
- Play against AI or a friend
- 10 difficulty levels
- Customizable board and stones
- Undo and hint options
- Game statistics
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Enjoy the world's most ancient board game for free with The Mancala! Everyone can enjoy the game, we have provided a help feature to understand the rules. ■Mancala, Kalah Mancala, also known as Kalah is an ancient board game enjoyed by players all over the world. The object is to collect more stones than your opponent, and the rules are very simple. ■ How to Play We have provided a rule description for beginners. You can learn the rules easily, so everyone can start enjoying Mancala right now! ■ 2 Game Modes You can play against the computer, and also play against your friends sharing a device. ■ 10 Levels of Game Play There are 10 levels for games against the computer. The lower levels are perfect to learn the game, the higher levels will be tough even for advanced players! ■ Beautiful graphics There are three types of Board and Stones. Choose your favorite board and let's start playing. ■Other features - Undo - Hint - Statistics of games against the computer - 2 types of game music - Playing speed adjustment (Fast/Normal/Slow)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: The Mancala at 100% against Doodle Dots's 35%. The Mancala also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and rating (4.8 vs 3.3). Doodle Dots's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 8 months). On in-app purchases 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
The Mancala is free to download; Doodle Dots costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
The Mancala holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Doodle Dots has 1.1K ratings behind it against 97, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 35% of Doodle Dots's written reviews are positive against 100% of The Mancala's.
Doodle Dots ships an update every 6 weeks, The Mancala every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Doodle Dots | The Mancala |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.3 (1.1K ratings) | 4.8 (97 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 35.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | 97 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 207 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Big River Games | UNBALANCE Corporation |
Customer experience
Doodle Dots
The Mancala
Bugs and requests
Doodle Dots
Reported bugs
3 issues- Lines not appearing where tapped
- Incompatibility with certain devices
- Frequent crashes and app exits
Requested features
4 requests- Undo button
- Slower opponent mode
- Instructions or tutorial
- Ability to choose line type
The Mancala
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Doodle Dots
No in-app purchases
The Mancala
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Doodle Dots free?
Is The Mancala free?
Which has better reviews, Doodle Dots or The Mancala?
Do Doodle Dots or The Mancala have ads?
Which is updated more often, Doodle Dots or The Mancala?
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