TapTapBlocks vs Pattern Shapes, by MLC
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TapTapBlocks
Build and design with colorful 3D blocks limited only by your imagination. Easily add, remove, and rotate blocks with intuitive touch controls. Save and share your unique creations with friends.
- Unlimited colorful building block combinations
- Single tap to add or remove blocks
- One-finger 3D rotation
- Pinch and zoom for detailed views
- Save and email creations
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TapTapBlocks brings colorful building blocks to life in 3D! Limited only by your imagination, simply tap any block to add a new block at that spot, rotate the blocks in 3D with just one finger. Features: • Create unlimited combinations with colorful building blocks • Add or remove blocks with a single tap • Drag one finger to rotate the blocks in 3D • Pinch and Zoom for a better view • Spin your blocks on the screen to show off your creation in 3D • Save pictures of your creations • Email pictures of your blocks to your friends
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: TapTapBlocks at every 4 months against Pattern Shapes, by MLC's every 26 months. TapTapBlocks also leads on ratings volume (90 vs 17) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for TapTapBlocks against 4.2 for Pattern Shapes, by MLC. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TapTapBlocks has 90 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of TapTapBlocks's written reviews are positive against 70% of Pattern Shapes, by MLC's.
TapTapBlocks ships an update every 4 months, Pattern Shapes, by MLC every 26 months. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TapTapBlocks | Pattern Shapes, by MLC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (90 ratings) — better | 4.2 (17 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 68.8% of reviews | 70.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 90 — better | 17 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 26 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 14.7 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Paul Hangas | The Math Learning Center |
Customer experience
TapTapBlocks
Pattern Shapes, by MLC
In-app purchases
TapTapBlocks
No in-app purchases
Pattern Shapes, by MLC
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is TapTapBlocks free?
Is Pattern Shapes, by MLC free?
Which has better reviews, TapTapBlocks or Pattern Shapes, by MLC?
Do TapTapBlocks or Pattern Shapes, by MLC have ads?
Which is updated more often, TapTapBlocks or Pattern Shapes, by MLC?
Other comparisons
