Comparison

Puppet Pals vs Solve the Outbreak

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

Head to head
About

Puppet Pals

Bring your stories to life by creating animated shows in real time. Choose actors and backdrops, then record your movements and voice to produce unique performances. Unleash your creativity with endless storytelling possibilities.

Highlights
  • Real-time animation recording
  • Create actors from photos
  • Use photos as backdrops
  • Zoom and rotate characters
  • Downloadable creative characters
  • Director's Pass for all content
Read full description

Create your own animated shows in real time! Pick your actors and backdrops, drag them onto the stage, and tap record. Your movements and voice are captured live, ready to play back, save, and watch again. Act out a pirate adventure on the high seas, a spooky monster showdown, or a Wild West escape — and mix any characters and scenes however you like. Your shows are only limited by your imagination. FREE FEATURES - A stage full of characters and backdrops to perform with - Turn a photo into a character or a backdrop - Record shows with live animation and audio - Zoom, rotate, and flip characters as you perform - Save shows and watch them anytime CREATIVE CLUB (optional subscription) Join the Creative Club to unlock the full show: - Imagine any character or backdrop, describe it, and watch AI bring it to life - Every character and scene pack included - Record shows up to 10 minutes long - Draw your own characters and backdrops - Export your shows as videos - Widescreen stage and full control over the end-of-show outro Choose your plan, monthly or annual: - Essentials — includes 40 AI creations per month - Unlimited — includes up to 1,000 AI creations per month SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your App Store account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://www.polishedplay.com/puppetpals1/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Puppet Pals is fully usable without a subscription — the Creative Club just adds more magic.

About

Solve the Outbreak

Become a Disease Detective and solve simulated outbreaks by analyzing clues and data. Make critical decisions to contain diseases and save lives, earning badges and climbing ranks. Learn about real-world disease investigation in an engaging, game-like experience.

Highlights
  • Solve simulated outbreaks
  • Analyze clues and data
  • Make critical decisions
  • Earn badges and ranks
  • Learn about diseases
  • Challenge friends
Features
Read full description

Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to get clues and analyze data to solve the outbreak and save lives! In this fun app, you get to be a Disease Detective. Do you quarantine the village? Interview people who are sick? Run more lab tests? The better your answers, the higher your score - and the quicker you’ll climb the ranks to become a decorated Disease Detective. In level 1, you’ll start as a Trainee and earn badges by solving scenarios — with the goal of earning the top rank: Disease Detective. Unlock Level 2 by mastering all the 12 outbreaks of Level 1. Then earn honors by solving new and more challenging scenarios. Earn recognitions like Surveillance and Treatment Honors. New outbreaks happen every day and CDC's Disease Detectives are on the front lines — working 24/7 to save lives and protect people. When a new outbreak occurs, Disease Detectives are sent in to figure out how the outbreak started before it spreads further. In this app, you'll also: • Learn about diseases and outbreaks in an engaging way. • See how CDC's Disease Detectives save lives around the world. • Have the option to post your scores on Facebook or Twitter and challenge your friends to play!

Screenshots

Puppet Pals4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Solve the Outbreak at 4.6 against Puppet Pals's 3.8. Solve the Outbreak also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and review sentiment (96% vs 71%). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Puppet Pals sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Solve the Outbreak asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Solve the Outbreak holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 53 and 61 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Puppet Pals's written reviews are positive against 96% of Solve the Outbreak's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, Solve the Outbreak every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Puppet Pals versus Solve the Outbreak: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPuppet PalsSolve the Outbreak
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (53 ratings)4.6 (61 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.9% of reviews95.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5361 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 5 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPad
Requires iOS17.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB258 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperPolished Play, LLCCenters For Disease Control and Prevention

Customer experience

Puppet Pals

All ratings53 ratings
Positive69.8%
Neutral7.5%
Negative22.6%
Written reviews213 reviews
Positive70.9%
Neutral7.5%
Negative21.6%

Solve the Outbreak

All ratings60 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews141 reviews
Positive95.7%
Neutral0.7%
Negative3.5%

User reviews

Puppet Pals

From 53 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⭐ Great app for classrooms and education
  • 🤩 Lots of fun and creativity
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💯 Awesome for making videos and animations
  • 🎨 Ability to use own photos and characters

Room to improve

  • 💰 Many features require paid upgrade
  • 🤬 Frustrating that you can't use own characters without paying
  • 🐛 Bugs with exporting and saving videos
  • 🙄 Limited free content

Solve the Outbreak

From 61 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Engaging gamification of learning epidemiology
  • 📚 Educational and informative content about diseases
  • 🧩 Excellent problem-solving and critical thinking challenges
  • 👨‍🏫 Great tool for classroom and educational settings
  • 🎯 Realistic case studies based on actual outbreaks

Room to improve

  • ⏱️ Limited replay value due to memorizable answers
  • 📖 Heavy text-based content without visual aids
  • 🖥️ Text too small on mobile devices
  • 🎮 Linear gameplay with no branching outcomes
  • 😴 Can become repetitive after completing cases

Bugs and requests

Puppet Pals

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when trying to export videos
  • Saved videos not playing back properly
  • Issues with using own photos and characters

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more characters, backgrounds, and themes
  • Allow exporting and sharing of videos
  • Improve video editing and recording features
  • Add sound effects and background music options

Solve the Outbreak

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when attempting to reset scores in settings
  • Old scores and progress remain after reset attempt
  • Accidental question selection due to bottom screen placement

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add more outbreak cases and scenarios
  • Create harder difficulty levels for advanced players
  • Include visual aids and images for better understanding
  • Add background music and sound effects
  • Implement branching storylines with different outcomes
Show 5 more
  • Create Level 3 with more complex cases
  • Add ability for users to create custom outbreaks
  • Improve text size and readability on smaller screens
  • Release app on iPhone in addition to iPad
  • Include more historical and special plague scenarios

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Puppet Pals

One-time10
  • Wild West$0.99
  • Political Par-tay$0.99
  • Monsters$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Talk Shows$0.99
  • Pirates$0.99
  • Fairytale$0.99
  • Zombie Attack$0.99
  • On the Farm$0.99
  • Christmas$0.99
  • Director's Pass$3.99
None

Solve the Outbreak

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Puppet Pals free?
Puppet Pals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Solve the Outbreak free?
Solve the Outbreak is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or Solve the Outbreak?
Solve the Outbreak is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 53 ratings, while Solve the Outbreak averages 4.6 from 61 ratings.
Do Puppet Pals or Solve the Outbreak have ads?
Neither Puppet Pals nor Solve the Outbreak shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or Solve the Outbreak?
Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and Solve the Outbreak every 5 months. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on November 1, 2026 and Solve the Outbreak on November 3, 2026.

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