Virtual Villagers 3 vs Potion Permit
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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!
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
Virtual Villagers 3 ships an update every 11 months, Potion Permit every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 18, 2026.
| Parameter | Virtual Villagers 3 | Potion Permit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 — better | $6.99 |
| Rating | 4.1 (229 ratings) | 4.4 (519 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.3% of reviews — better | 40.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 229 | 519 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #28 — better | #95 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 55 MB | 477 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | LDW Software, LLC | Playdigious |
Customer experience
Virtual Villagers 3
Potion Permit
User reviews
Virtual Villagers 3
From 229 App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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
Virtual Villagers 3
No in-app purchases
Potion Permit
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Virtual Villagers 3 free?
Is Potion Permit free?
Which has better reviews, Virtual Villagers 3 or Potion Permit?
Do Virtual Villagers 3 or Potion Permit have ads?
Which is updated more often, Virtual Villagers 3 or Potion Permit?
Which is more popular, Virtual Villagers 3 or Potion Permit?
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