Comparison

Puppet Pals vs Pattern Shapes, by MLC

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

Pattern Shapes, by MLC

This app allows students to explore geometry and fractions through interactive shape manipulation. Users can create designs, fill outlines, measure angles, and annotate their work. It's an open-ended educational tool for learning mathematical concepts.

Highlights
  • Explore geometry and fractions
  • Create custom designs
  • Measure angles with protractor
  • Duplicate, resize, and recolor shapes
  • Fill built-in outlines
  • Annotate work with drawing tools
  • Share creations via image or code
Features
Read full description

Students use Pattern Shapes to explore geometry and fractions, creating their own designs, or filling in outlines. As they work with the shapes students explore geometric relationships, think about angles, investigate symmetry, and compose and decompose larger shapes. Many of these explorations lead naturally to thinking about fractions as parts of a whole. This virtual version of pattern blocks is an open-ended educational tool, ideal for elementary classrooms and other learning environments that use iPads. Pattern blocks are a key model used in Bridges in Mathematics, second edition. Online preview available at: www.mathlearningcenter.org/bridges FEATURES • Rotate shapes in increments of 15 degrees. • Measure angles with the protractor tool. • Duplicate and change the color and size of shapes. • Fill the built-in outlines with shapes or create your own to share with others. • Choose between a triangular or square grid, or a blank background. • Hide and reveal work with resizable covers to create your own problems and model strategies. • Use the drawing tools to annotate work and show understanding. • Add equations, expressions, and descriptions with the math text and writing tools. • Share your work by saving an image or providing a share code to others. ABOUT US This resource is brought to you by The Math Learning Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to K-12 education since 1976. Our mission is to inspire and enable individuals to discover and develop their mathematical confidence and ability. www.mathlearningcenter.org This app was crafted by Clarity Innovations. We help improve teaching and learning by creating solutions that match promising technologies with the needs of education. Visit us: www.clarity-innovations.com

Screenshots

Puppet Pals4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pattern Shapes, by MLC at none against Puppet Pals's 10. Pattern Shapes, by MLC also leads on rating (4.2 vs 3.8) and iOS requirement (14.7 vs 17.0). Puppet Pals's advantage is update cadence (every 6 months vs every 26 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume 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. Pattern Shapes, by MLC asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pattern Shapes, by MLC holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 50 and 17 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 71% and 70% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, Pattern Shapes, by MLC every 26 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and June 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Puppet Pals versus Pattern Shapes, by MLC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPuppet PalsPattern Shapes, by MLC
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (50 ratings)4.2 (17 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.0% of reviews — better70.0% of reviews
Number of ratings50 — better17
Update frequencyEvery 6 months — betterEvery 26 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPad
Requires iOS17.014.7 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPolished Play, LLCThe Math Learning Center

Customer experience

Puppet Pals

All ratings50 ratings
Positive68.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative24.0%
Written reviews210 reviews
Positive71.0%
Neutral7.6%
Negative21.4%

Pattern Shapes, by MLC

All ratings17 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral5.9%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive70.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative10.0%

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

Pattern Shapes, by MLC

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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

Pattern Shapes, by MLC

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Puppet Pals free?
Puppet Pals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pattern Shapes, by MLC free?
Pattern Shapes, by MLC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or Pattern Shapes, by MLC?
Pattern Shapes, by MLC is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 50 ratings, while Pattern Shapes, by MLC averages 4.2 from 17 ratings.
Do Puppet Pals or Pattern Shapes, by MLC have ads?
Neither Puppet Pals nor Pattern Shapes, by MLC shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or Pattern Shapes, by MLC?
Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and Pattern Shapes, by MLC every 26 months. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on September 27, 2026 and Pattern Shapes, by MLC on June 2, 2026.

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