Comparison

Pearl Diver HD vs Design Thinking

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

Head to head
About

Pearl Diver HD

Dive into the ocean depths to master the number line, including fractions and decimals, by collecting pearls. This game is designed by educators to align with Common Core standards for grades 3-8.

Highlights
  • Number line mastery
  • Fractions and decimals
  • Common Core standards alignment
  • Progress tracking
  • Educational game design
  • Pearl collection gameplay
Features
Read full description

Throw on your diving helmet, and head into the depths of the sea! Master the number line, including fractions and decimals, while gathering beautiful pearls. Will you find the elusive black pearl? • Ideal for elementary and middle school students, grades 3-8. Developed by mathematics educators, researchers, and game developers at the Learning Games Lab at New Mexico State University. Games developed by the Learning Games Lab undergo a rigorous instructional design process, extensive user testing, and input from learners, teachers, and researchers. Pearl Diver addresses Common Core standards relevant to the number line and properties of numbers, including: • Understanding numbers, ways of representing numbers, and number systems. • Understanding and representing commonly used fractions. • Understanding fractions as part of unit wholes and as locations on number lines. • Comparing and ordering fractions, and finding their approximate locations on the number line. For information about learning effectiveness, see the Math Snacks Research Summary: http://mathsnacks.com/research.html For information about the NMSU Learning Games Lab, visit http://learninggameslab.org. Developed as part of the "Math Snacks" initiative. Other free animations, activities, and games are available through the Math Snacks web site at http://mathsnacks.org. Math Snack materials were developed with support from the National Science Foundation (0918794). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Some materials were originally prototyped or discussed as part of a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Education (U295A050004).

About

Design Thinking

This app provides a structured approach to the design thinking process, guiding users through understanding user needs, generating ideas, prototyping, and testing. It serves as a tool for designers to enhance their brainstorming sessions and refine their creative thinking.

Highlights
  • Four-stage design thinking process
  • Brainstorming guidance
  • Inspiration for originality
  • Multiple language support
  • Planning and design workflow aid
Features
Read full description

The design thinking cards are one of the designer’s hand card series. The technological processes and development procedures of design thinking are divided into four stages in total, including: understanding (understanding user demands), ideation(developing creative concepts), prototyping(designing concept prototypes), and testing (assessing user experience). While the designer carries out the design working, brainstorming plays a very important role. The designer’s method card can guide the designer’s thinking processand remind the designer of relevant design methods, as well as being conducive to inspiring the designer’soriginality and good thinking in brainstorming meetings. Dear designers, We are very happy to inform you that this version is support to multiple languages include English, Japanese, Korean, & Chinese. We hope this card deck could help you doing a better planning and design works. Try it now!

Screenshots

Pearl Diver HD4 screens
Design Thinking4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Design Thinking at 3.0 against Pearl Diver HD's 1.5. Design Thinking also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 71%) and update cadence (every 5 months vs every 20 months). Pearl Diver HD's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, ratings volume, ads 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

Both are free to download. Design Thinking sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pearl Diver HD asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Design Thinking holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 1.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Pearl Diver HD's written reviews are positive against 100% of Design Thinking's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pearl Diver HD ships an update every 20 months, Design Thinking every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Pearl Diver HD versus Design Thinking: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPearl Diver HDDesign Thinking
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.5 (2 ratings)3.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings25 — better
Update frequencyEvery 20 monthsEvery 5 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.66.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB132 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNew Mexico State University Board of RegentsPURPLEFISH LAB LTD.

Customer experience

Pearl Diver HD

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%

Design Thinking

All ratings5 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Pearl Diver HD

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Design Thinking

One-time1
  • Upgrade to Full Version$5.99

Questions

Is Pearl Diver HD free?
Pearl Diver HD is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Design Thinking free?
Design Thinking is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pearl Diver HD or Design Thinking?
Design Thinking is rated higher. Pearl Diver HD averages 1.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Design Thinking averages 3.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Pearl Diver HD or Design Thinking have ads?
Neither Pearl Diver HD nor Design Thinking shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pearl Diver HD or Design Thinking?
Pearl Diver HD ships an update every 20 months, and Design Thinking every 5 months. Most recently, Pearl Diver HD was updated on November 1, 2026 and Design Thinking on November 6, 2026.

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