Comparison

Virtual Villagers 3 vs Potion Permit

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Virtual Villagers 3

Nurture a tribe of people by teaching them survival skills. Manage their food, housing, research, and health as your village grows. Explore a ruined city and uncover its secrets in real time.

Highlights
  • Real-time weather and gameplay
  • Village management and survival
  • Research and technology development
  • Explore and rebuild a ruined city
  • Craft unique potions
  • Raise and age villagers
Features
Read full description

Villagers: The Secret City is the third chapter in the award-winning Virtual Villagers series from the creators of Fish Tycoon and Virtual Families. This is the same game that became a best-selling Windows and Mac sensation! Care for and nurture a tribe of little people by teaching them the basics of survival. Grow a small village in your iPhone: your little villagers have food needs, housing needs, technologies to research and diseases to fight! As the tribe grows and prospers, the villagers become curious about the ruined city they have discovered and the secrets it holds. The game continues to progress in true real time, even when your iPhone is turned off, so don’t forget to check in regularly to care for your tribe, help them gain skills and technology, and enable them to discover the secrets that lay waiting for them. How will you lead your tribe? More about Virtual Villagers: The Secret City: * Real-time weather! Clouds, fog, and sudden downpours that drench your tribe. * Real-time game play, with new surprises every time you turn on the game! * Discover who among your tribe is destined to become Chief! * Investigate and rebuild the remains of a ruined city! * Find new sources of food for your villagers! * Help your villagers make a variety of unique potions from hidden herbs, many with unpredictable effects. * Dozens of new collectibles for children to retrieve. * Raise children who resemble their parents. * Watch your villagers thrive, and then grow old, slow and grey. * Help your villagers unravel the mysteries of Isola! Virtual Villagers have been awarded with: * Sim Game of the Year – Game Tunnel * The Zeebys – Gamezebo * Parents Choice Recommended Award * iParenting Media Award Recommended for people who enjoy casual sims and adventure stories like the Lost TV series and Survivor! Visit our Official Virtual Villagers site at www.VirtualVillagers.com for instructions, strategy guides, and much more!

About

Potion Permit

Step into the role of a chemist tasked with healing a town that distrusts modern medicine. Diagnose illnesses, gather ingredients, and brew potions to cure the townsfolk. Build relationships, upgrade the town, and live the life of an apothecary in a charming, colorful world.

Highlights
  • Diagnose and cure illnesses
  • Gather ingredients and brew potions
  • Upgrade buildings and expand areas
  • Build relationships with townsfolk
  • Find love with a sweetheart
  • Team up with a loyal dog
Read full description

The town of Moonbury has always been wary of the outside world's medical advances, preferring to rely on its traditional healing methods. However, when the mayor's daughter falls ill and the local witch doctor can do nothing to help her, they are forced to look outside their small community for help. The Medical Association decides to send their most accomplished chemist - you - to help cure the mayor's daughter and convince the residents of Moonbury of the wonders of modern alchemy. Gain their trust and tend to each person when they fall ill in this open-ended sim RPG! FEATURES - Take care of Moonbury’s inhabitants: diagnose their illnesses, gather ingredients and brew potions to cure them. - Heal the town : Upgrade buildings, expand your gathering area and transform the townsfolk’ lives in many ways. - Build relationships with Moonbury’s inhabitants, earn their trust and eventually find love with your chosen sweetheart! - Team up with your loyal dog that follows you wherever you go and helps you in your work. - Relax in a wholesome, colourful world and live the apothecary life you want! CAREFULLY REDESIGNED FOR MOBILE - Revamped interface - Game Center achievements - Cloud Save – Share your progress between iOS devices - Compatible with MFi controllers - iPhone 15 Optimization (including pro max) If you run into a problem, please contact us at https://playdigious.helpshift.com/hc/en/12-playdigious/ with as much information as possible on the issue.

Screenshots

Virtual Villagers 34 screens
Potion Permit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Potion Permit at every 3 weeks against Virtual Villagers 3's every 11 months. Potion Permit also leads on rating (4.4 vs 4.1). Virtual Villagers 3's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $6.99) and review sentiment (66% vs 40%). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Virtual Villagers 3 costs $0.99 and Potion Permit $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Potion Permit holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 229 and 519 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 66% of Virtual Villagers 3's written reviews are positive against 40% of Potion Permit's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Virtual Villagers 3 ships an update every 11 months, Potion Permit every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 18, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Virtual Villagers 3 versus Potion Permit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVirtual Villagers 3Potion Permit
Price$0.99 — better$6.99
Rating4.1 (229 ratings)4.4 (519 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.3% of reviews — better40.1% of reviews
Number of ratings229519 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#28 — better#95
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB477 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperLDW Software, LLCPlaydigious

Customer experience

Virtual Villagers 3

All ratings229 ratings
Positive75.5%
Neutral10.0%
Negative14.4%
Written reviews255 reviews
Positive66.3%
Neutral14.1%
Negative19.6%

Potion Permit

All ratings519 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral4.8%
Negative9.4%
Written reviews401 reviews
Positive40.1%
Neutral16.7%
Negative43.1%

User reviews

Virtual Villagers 3

From 229 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Addictive and fun gameplay
  • 🚀 Interesting puzzles and challenges
  • 💡 Unique island setting and story
  • 👍 Enjoyable virtual villager experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔋 Food sources run out too quickly
  • 🐛 Glitches with statue and lift
  • 🐛 Villagers randomly dying of starvation

Potion Permit

From 519 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💎 Great atmosphere and relaxing gameplay
  • 👍 Cute and charming visuals
  • 🎨 Enjoyable story and characters

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 🔍 UI/UX problems on mobile devices
  • ⏱️ Lack of frequent autosave

Bugs and requests

Virtual Villagers 3

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Game crashes when accessing details screen
  • Villagers get stuck at top of statue hill
  • Gems/resources disappear or become inaccessible
  • Villagers refuse to perform certain tasks
  • Inconsistent villager aging and reproduction

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to pause or freeze game time
  • More food sources and ways to produce food
  • Larger and more detailed villager sprites
  • Ability to name and customize villagers
  • More puzzles and content to extend gameplay

Potion Permit

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to exit certain menus
  • Fishing mini-game not functioning properly
  • Potion quests not triggering correctly

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add more customization options for player character
  • Implement a manual save feature
  • Improve performance and reduce crashes

In-app purchases

None

Virtual Villagers 3

No in-app purchases

None

Potion Permit

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Virtual Villagers 3 free?
Virtual Villagers 3 costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Potion Permit free?
Potion Permit costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Virtual Villagers 3 or Potion Permit?
Potion Permit is rated higher. Virtual Villagers 3 averages 4.1 out of 5 from 229 ratings, while Potion Permit averages 4.4 from 519 ratings.
Do Virtual Villagers 3 or Potion Permit have ads?
Neither Virtual Villagers 3 nor Potion Permit shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Virtual Villagers 3 or Potion Permit?
Virtual Villagers 3 ships an update every 11 months, and Potion Permit every 3 weeks. Most recently, Virtual Villagers 3 was updated on October 18, 2026 and Potion Permit on October 18, 2026.
Which is more popular, Virtual Villagers 3 or Potion Permit?
Virtual Villagers 3 currently peaks at #28 in the App Store charts, and Potion Permit at #95. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons