Comparison

Arimaa Trainer vs Root Down

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

Head to head
About

Arimaa Trainer

Learn and master a deep strategy board game with simple rules suitable for all ages. Explore millions of unique game possibilities and challenge yourself with increasing AI difficulty levels. Features include a video tutorial, score tracking, and the ability to save and replay games.

Highlights
  • Video tutorial for learning rules
  • Multiple difficulty levels
  • Handicap game support
  • High score and rating tracking
  • Pass and play mode
  • Load, save, and email games
  • Replay games from any position
Features
Read full description

Arimaa is one of the fastest growing modern strategy games. Rules are simple and intuitive enough for kids to play easily, yet there is more than enough strategic depth to satisfy the most demanding gamer. If you enjoy challenging games like Chess, Checkers, Go, or Shogi, discover Arimaa and see why it was chosen in the Discovery Channel's list of the Top 10 Mind-bending Strategy Games and also recommended by Scientific American MIND magazine. “The rules are simple enough for kids to learn, and the game was creative and engaging.” —Frederik Joelving; Scientific American Mind magazine With millions of opening setups to choose from, every game requires creative thinking right from the beginning and no need to memorize openings. It's a never ending puzzle, each game is different. In just the first 10 moves of Arimaa there's more possible games than there are atoms in our universe. “Because the number of possible moves in an Arimaa position (roughly 20,000) is much higher than in chess (about 30 or so), even the fastest computers will not be able to search very far into the tree of possibilities.” —R. Wayne Schmittberger; GAMES magazine This Arimaa app includes a video tutorial to teach the rules of the game making it easy to get started. There are increasing levels of difficulty to help you build your skill, and a score to let you know how well you played. Try beating the AI faster or by losing fewer pieces to top your high score. The app is loaded with features and settings to help you learn this addictive new game. Features: • video tutorial to teach the rules • several difficulty levels • ability to play handicap games • keep track of high scores • keep track of ratings • mode to pass and play with a friend • option to auto-rotate the board between moves • option to auto-rotate the game between moves • option to pause between moves • option to play rated games • option to use a move timer • ability to load and save games • ability to email the game • ability to replay a game from any position • dedicated full screen mode for iPad Awards and Recognition: • Scientific American MIND magazine: Brainy gift recommendation • Discovery Channel's HowStuffWorks: Selected as 3rd most mind-bending game • Parents Choice: Approved award • Creative Child magazine: 2010 Game of the Year This app is provided in compliance with Section 2 of the Arimaa Public License. License #100520.

About

Root Down

An original abstract strategy game for two players with unique movement rules. Figure out how to move your pieces to capture your opponent's and win. Offers AI play and pass-and-play modes with variable setups.

Highlights
  • Abstract strategy gameplay
  • Unique piece movement rules
  • AI opponent
  • Pass-and-play mode
  • Variable game setups
Features
Read full description

Root Down is an original abstract strategy game designed by Martin Grider for 2-players. It's rules about which pieces you can move are a little quirky, but once you figure it out, it's very quick to play, and has some interesting gameplay mechanics. In Root Down, you have two types of pieces. There are "kicker" pieces that must be next to a "root" piece to move. (Root pieces cannot move.) Kickers can only move exactly as far as the number of kickers next to the root. After a kicker moves, it "kicks" all of the neighboring pieces, then settles down into a new "root" piece. If you kick one of your own root pieces, it becomes another "kicker"! Kicking an opponent's root does the same, and if you kick it again before it has a chance to move, you'll to capture it! The game features an AI player, as well as pass-and-play options. There are several variable setups to chose from. Each one plays slightly different. Please use the "send feedback" button to send me your input, or email me: rootdown@abstractpuzzle.com

Screenshots

Arimaa Trainer4 screens
Root Down4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Root Down at Free against Arimaa Trainer's $0.99. Root Down also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 73%). Arimaa Trainer's advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 27 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.4). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

Root Down is free to download; Arimaa Trainer costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.1 for Arimaa Trainer against 4.0 for Root Down. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 3 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 73% of Arimaa Trainer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Root Down's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Arimaa Trainer ships an update every 4 months, Root Down every 27 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Arimaa Trainer versus Root Down: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArimaa TrainerRoot Down
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.1 (8 ratings) — better4.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews73.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 27 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.4
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMartti JuotasniemiMartin Grider

Customer experience

Arimaa Trainer

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive73.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative20.0%

Root Down

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Arimaa Trainer

No in-app purchases

None

Root Down

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Arimaa Trainer free?
Arimaa Trainer costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Root Down free?
Root Down is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Arimaa Trainer or Root Down?
Arimaa Trainer is rated higher. Arimaa Trainer averages 4.1 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Root Down averages 4.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Arimaa Trainer or Root Down have ads?
Neither Arimaa Trainer nor Root Down shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Arimaa Trainer or Root Down?
Arimaa Trainer ships an update every 4 months, and Root Down every 27 months. Most recently, Arimaa Trainer was updated on October 3, 2026 and Root Down on October 12, 2026.

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