Comparison

Bubble Wars vs Retro Arcade for Watch

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

Head to head
About

Bubble Wars

Engage in a strategic bubble-popping war where you aim and shoot to match three or more same-colored bubbles. Conquer challenging levels by bursting bubbles on a spinning ring, adapting your strategy in real-time to defeat the expanding bubble army.

Highlights
  • Spinning bubble ring mechanics
  • Attack and Defend game modes
  • Match 3+ same-colored bubbles to burst
  • High score tracking
  • Fast-paced arcade gameplay
  • Simple and accurate controls
Features
Read full description

Bubble Wars – Played by over 10 million users across the world, is an epic bubble shooter game featuring amazing bubble busting levels and addictive gameplay with serious bubble shooting and popping fun. Get on a war with the colorful world of bubbles, literally. What’s more? This bubble shooting game is completely FREE! Make a combination of 3 or more bubbles with same color to make them explode! To make it more exciting, the entire army of bubbles sits on a spinning ring full of bubbles. Each time you shoot the bubbles, the bubble ring spins, thus changing the dynamics of your strategy in real time. Challenge your hunger and test your skills to shoot, pop and defeat the army of bubbles in Bubble Wars.. ## Challenging Game Modes ## Attack mode: Shoot colored bubbles at the bubble spinner circle and try to shrink it. If you get 3 or more colors in a row the bubbles burst and are destroyed. Otherwise the circle can grow again. Once it is large enough to hit you, the game ends. Defend modes: Shoot colored bubbles at a bubble spinning ring that surrounds you. If you get 3 or more colors in a row the bubbles burst are destroyed. Otherwise the ring can start shrinking around you. Once it reaches you, the game ends. ## Awesome Features ## -- Exciting Gameplay -- Exploding Bubbles – Just Point and Shoot -- Multiple Bubble Combinations -- High Scores to keep a tab and challenge yourself. -- Fast Paced Arcade Game -- Accurate and Simple controls -- Continuous updates -- And much much more... Original and widely played bubble shooter arcade game is back with serious fun and shooting challenges of course. 
 Thanks for playing Bubble Wars and we would love to hear back from you!

About

Retro Arcade for Watch

Experience a collection of classic arcade action games on your wrist and phone. Enjoy retro graphics, power-ups, and competitive leaderboards. Play for free with credits or unlock unlimited gameplay by purchasing individual titles.

Highlights
  • Collection of classic arcade games
  • Retro graphics and power-ups
  • Intuitive Watch Crown controls
  • Swipe controls for iPhone
  • Game Center leaderboards
  • Short burst gameplay
Features
Read full description

Retro Arcade is a FREE collection of classic arcade games on your wrist and on your phone! Includes the following games: • Kepler Attack - featured in Apple's "Great on watchOS 6" and "Our Favourite Apple Watch Apps" collections! • Asteroid Commando - Touch Arcade's Game of the Week! • Tank Commando - drive a tank, rescue downed WWII pilots. • Red Baron 1917 - battle fleets of enemy planes in this WWI shooter. • Assault Jet - a brand new shooter set above a city as you battle UFOs. • Area 51 - an experimental 3D game for the Watch. This is not a full game, but something we are exploring! NOTE: If you own any of the paid versions of these games, make sure they are installed on your iPhone when launching Retro Arcade and they will unlock so you have unlimited play. Thank you for supporting us! Featuring: • Beautiful retro arcade graphics! • Power-ups include Shield, Triple Shot, Rapid Fire and Smart Bomb! • Intuitive and simple controls using the Crown on the Watch! • Swipe to move on the iPhone! • Compete against the world with Game Center leaderboards! • Short burst gameplay is perfect for the Watch and iPhone! • Play anywhere, anytime! • Play for free using in game Credits. • Or buy the games outright using IAP. NOTE: Owners of the existing paid games will be able to play unlimited games for FREE! Just make sure the existing paid game is installed on your iPhone when launching Retro Arcade. Relive the glory days of the arcade on your Apple Watch and iPhone. Thanks for playing Johnno & Pete

Screenshots

Bubble Wars4 screens
Retro Arcade for Watch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bubble Wars at none against Retro Arcade for Watch's 6. Bubble Wars also leads on rating (4.4 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (559 vs 54). Retro Arcade for Watch's advantage is review sentiment (80% vs 47%) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 5 weeks). On price, 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. Retro Arcade for Watch sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Bubble Wars asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bubble Wars holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bubble Wars has 559 ratings behind it against 54, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 47% of Bubble Wars's written reviews are positive against 80% of Retro Arcade for Watch's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bubble Wars ships an update every 5 weeks, Retro Arcade for Watch every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Bubble Wars versus Retro Arcade for Watch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBubble WarsRetro Arcade for Watch
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (559 ratings) — better4.1 (54 ratings)
Positive reviews47.5% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings559 — better54
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS14.5 — better16.1
Further details — not scored
Size186 MB118 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperModular Dreams IncRed Sprite Studios

Customer experience

Bubble Wars

All ratings559 ratings
Positive84.4%
Neutral6.3%
Negative9.3%
Written reviews158 reviews
Positive47.5%
Neutral13.3%
Negative39.2%

Retro Arcade for Watch

All ratings54 ratings
Positive72.2%
Neutral9.3%
Negative18.5%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative13.3%

Bugs and requests

Bubble Wars

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Bubbles disappearing or passing through other bubbles
  • Game resetting to level 1 after phone calls or app exits
  • Screen going black or app crashing on certain devices
  • Controls becoming unresponsive or inaccurate

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add level saving and progress tracking
  • Provide color-blind accessibility options
  • Implement an ad-free paid version
  • Allow customization of background and visuals

Retro Arcade for Watch

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Bubble Wars

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Retro Arcade for Watch

One-time6
  • Area 51$0.49
  • Tank Commando$0.99
  • Kepler Attack$1.99
Show 3 more
  • Assault Jet$1.99
  • Red Baron$1.99
  • Asteroid!$1.99

Questions

Is Bubble Wars free?
Bubble Wars is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Retro Arcade for Watch free?
Retro Arcade for Watch is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bubble Wars or Retro Arcade for Watch?
Bubble Wars is rated higher. Bubble Wars averages 4.4 out of 5 from 559 ratings, while Retro Arcade for Watch averages 4.1 from 54 ratings.
Do Bubble Wars or Retro Arcade for Watch have ads?
Both Bubble Wars and Retro Arcade for Watch show ads.
Which is updated more often, Bubble Wars or Retro Arcade for Watch?
Bubble Wars ships an update every 5 weeks, and Retro Arcade for Watch every 6 days. Most recently, Bubble Wars was updated on October 15, 2026 and Retro Arcade for Watch on October 13, 2026.

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