Comparison

Patolli vs Ancient Games

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

Head to head
About

Patolli

Experience an ancient board game with roots in Aztec and Mayan cultures. Play against AI, friends locally, or challenge players online with text chat. Discover a game rich in history and religious symbolism.

Highlights
  • Play against computer AI
  • Local head-to-head play
  • Online multiplayer
  • Online score comparison
  • Text chat with opponents
Features
Read full description

Patolli is one of the oldest games in the Americas, reportedly having been played by both the ancient Aztecs and the Mayans. Montezuma himself has been said to have played it. At the time of the Spanish Conquest, it was outlawed. The design is said to have close ties to ancient calendars as well has have religious meaning. -Play against the computer. -Play against friends or family head to head. (on one device) -Play others ONLINE, add/compare scores with other players. * -Text chat with your online opponents! * *For these features, your device must be connected to the internet

About

Ancient Games

Explore and play a collection of ancient board games brought back to life with modern app design. Enjoy offline and online play, collect customizable game pieces, and tackle fun challenges. Save progress across all games with cloud saves.

Highlights
  • Play multiple ancient games in one app
  • Offline and online multiplayer
  • AI, friend, and random player matches
  • Collectible game pieces and boards
  • Challenges with rule variants
  • Free cloud saves across games
Features
Read full description

/!\ If you play more than one of my Ancient Games, I suggest you delete the individual apps and install this one. It will allow you to play them all and save disk storage. /!\ -Languages : English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, Spanish, German, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian, Turkish. The past is full of fascinating games that haves been mostly forgotten. The Ancient Games collection aims to resurrect them as a meticulously crafted mix between what a player wants from an historical game and what he/she expects of a modern application. Features : -Play against the IA, friends and random players from around the world (Coming back soon) -Play Online & Offline. -Multiple collectibles : boards, game pieces, dice, nameplates, etc. -Challenges (Fun rule variants) -Free cloudsave across the collection : your progress in one game is available in all the others. -Much more features to come! Currently, the collection is comprised of four games : the Royal Game of Ur, Senet, XII Scripta and Puluc, but 40 games are in the works! You can see the roadmap here : https://trello.com/b/QYtOXwJi/ancient-games-roadmap Each game will be added to the Ancient Games app and will have its own individual app as well. The privacy policy has been updated in accordance to the latest data protection laws.

Screenshots

Patolli4 screens
Ancient Games3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Ancient Games at 4.6 against Patolli's 4.0. Ancient Games also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 43%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Patolli's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 12.0). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. Patolli sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Ancient Games sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ancient Games holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ancient Games has 287 ratings behind it against 19, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of Patolli's written reviews are positive against 78% of Ancient Games's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Patolli ships an update every 2 months, Ancient Games every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Patolli versus Ancient Games: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPatolliAncient Games
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (19 ratings)4.6 (287 ratings) — better
Positive reviews42.9% of reviews78.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings19287 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB212 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperRandom5 LLCSullivan Bousiniere

Customer experience

Patolli

All ratings19 ratings
Positive73.7%
Neutral5.3%
Negative21.1%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative50.0%

Ancient Games

All ratings262 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral3.4%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews69 reviews
Positive78.3%
Neutral7.2%
Negative14.5%

Bugs and requests

Patolli

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Ancient Games

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • Game freezes after match completion
  • Screen goes dark and becomes unresponsive post-game
  • Ad removal purchase only lasts one game
  • Paid ad removal still shows advertisements
  • Game continues playing after player wins
Show 6 more
  • Cannot make legal moves despite availability
  • XII Scripta piece stacking rules not enforced correctly
  • Purchased board content inaccessible due to subscription requirement
  • Report button links to Mail app instead of App Store
  • Text rendering issues making content hard to read
  • Online play frequently unavailable or non-functional

Requested features

10 requests
  • Two-player local multiplayer mode
  • Friends list and challenge system
  • Leaderboards and ranking system
  • Win/loss statistics and game history tracking
  • Ability to play offline while waiting for online opponents
Show 5 more
  • Permanent one-time purchase option instead of subscription
  • More ancient games added to collection
  • Harder difficulty levels beyond current maximum
  • Better XP progression for unlocking boards
  • Improved customer support contact options

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Patolli

One-time2
  • Gold Level$0.99
  • Gem Level$1.99
10 purchases

Ancient Games

Subscriptions1
  • AG+$3.991 Month
One-time9
  • Ancient Artifact$0.99
  • Purchase Game Edition2 variants$1.99
  • Dawn of Civilization DLC$2.99
Show 6 more
  • Purchase Game Edition$2.99
  • Skeleton Key$2.99
  • Ur Divine Edition$3.99
  • Purchase Game Edition$3.99
  • Purchase Game Edition$10.99
  • Royal Pass$12.99

Questions

Is Patolli free?
Patolli is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ancient Games free?
Ancient Games is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Patolli or Ancient Games?
Ancient Games is rated higher. Patolli averages 4.0 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while Ancient Games averages 4.6 from 287 ratings.
Do Patolli or Ancient Games have ads?
Ancient Games shows ads; Patolli does not.
Which is updated more often, Patolli or Ancient Games?
Patolli ships an update every 2 months, and Ancient Games every 3 weeks. Most recently, Patolli was updated on October 14, 2026 and Ancient Games on October 24, 2026.

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