Emerald Mine vs Pac.io
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Emerald Mine
Navigate treacherous underground caves as a miner, collecting gems to unlock exit portals. Avoid hazards like exploding bugs, tanks, aliens, and falling debris. Relive a classic Amiga experience with over 6,000 levels.
- Collect gems to open exit portals
- Avoid hazards: bugs, tanks, aliens, acid
- Over 6,000 classic levels
- MFi controller support
- Game Center high scores
- Touchscreen controls
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Emerald Mine for iOS. Based on the Rocks N Diamonds codebase but only includes the Emerald Mine levels. Game Center global high scores. In Emerald Mine you play as a miner trapped deep underground. Your objective is to collect the minimum number of gems to open the exit portals. Explore the caves to find all the gems and try to avoid the hazards which include exploding bugs, tanks, aliens and acid pools. Be careful of falling boulders and debris as they will crush you. Relive the classic Amiga game, Emerald Mine. This is a fan port of the game updated to play on all iOS devices. All classic art and sounds are included as well as the original levels for Emerald Mine 1, 2 and 3 plus some bonus levels from the Emerald Mine archive. In total there are more than 6,000 levels. Swipe on the right half of the screen to move your character. Tap and hold on the left side then swipe on the right side to grab a nearby block. MFi controllers supported
Pac.io
Engage in an addictive grid-battle by swiping to outsmart opponents and dominate the arena. Utilize a variety of power-ups and unlock unique skins to enhance your gameplay and rise through the ranks. Enjoy endless fun offline or online with intuitive controls.
- Swipe controls for movement
- Strategic power-ups
- Unlockable skins
- Offline and online play
- Intuitive gameplay
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Pac.io – Swipe, Power Up, and Dominate the Grid! Dive into the ultimate io grid-battle! Swipe in four directions, outsmart your opponents, and become the King of the grid. Every move counts—strategize, dodge, and strike to stay on top! Unleash Epic Power-Ups Turn the tide of battle with incredible power-ups: Bomb, Ghost, 5x Multiplier, Magnet, Sword, Thunder, Freeze, Laser, and Speed Up. Eat bigger players, escape tricky situations, and crush your enemies with style. Use them wisely—power waits for no one! Unlock Legendary Skins Show off your legendary skins as you rise through the ranks. Each skin makes you look epic and adds extra flair while you dominate the battlefield. Game Highlights • Play anywhere—offline or online, anytime. • Smooth, intuitive swipe controls for lightning-fast moves. • Easy to learn, impossible to put down. • FREE to play with endless battles, power-ups, and epic fun! Swipe, power up, and conquer—become the ultimate legend in Pac.io!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Emerald Mine at none against Pac.io's 10. Emerald Mine also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 13.0). Pac.io's advantage is ratings volume (340 vs 32). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Pac.io sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Emerald Mine asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for Emerald Mine against 4.2 for Pac.io. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pac.io has 340 ratings behind it against 32, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 55% of Emerald Mine's written reviews are positive against 54% of Pac.io's.
Emerald Mine ships an update every 2 weeks, Pac.io fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Emerald Mine | Pac.io |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (32 ratings) | 4.2 (340 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 55.1% of reviews — better | 53.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 32 | 340 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 52 MB | 139 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Les Bird | Nomadic Bear Games |
Customer experience
Emerald Mine
Pac.io
User reviews
Emerald Mine
From 32 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- nostalgic recreation of a classic game
- 👍 Great port of a classic
- 💡 iCade compatible controller support
- ✨ Free to play
- 🌟 Brings back Amiga memories
Room to improve
- 👎 Controls are difficult to master
- 😥 Unresponsive controls
- ⚠️ Swiping controls are not ideal
- ❌ Some levels are impossible
- 😩 Frustrating to control on touchscreens
Pac.io
From 340 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 😍 Highly addictive and engaging gameplay
- 🎮 Fun Pac-Man inspired mechanics
- 👥 Real multiplayer players (not just bots)
- ⚡ Fast-paced and entertaining
- 🏆 Leaderboard and competitive features
Room to improve
- 📺 Excessive ads throughout gameplay
- ⚠️ Ads interrupt and crash the game
- 😤 Unfair difficulty and instant death
- 🎮 Sliding controls instead of D-pad/joystick
- 🤖 Questionable AI behavior and cheating
Bugs and requests
Emerald Mine
Reported bugs
10 issues- Figure doesn't move on iPad
- Snap does not work on iPhone
- Game quits at certain levels
- Level 7 is impossible to beat
- Controls are incomplete
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- World 1 Level 7 bug
- Game doesn't keep prefs on control method
- Controls can be unresponsive or go in wrong direction
- Game crashes at certain levels
- Bottom right wall only visible on start
Requested features
10 requests- Add on-screen gamepad option
- Improve touchscreen controls
- Option to skip difficult levels
- Remove or adjust timer
- Add music to the game's first screen
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- Larger buttons for controls
- Add achievements
- Add music
- More control options
- Instructions for control methods
Pac.io
Reported bugs
7 issues- Ads crash game at end of video
- Game freezes after ad completion
- Pink screen ad that cannot be closed
- Instant death upon spawning
- Players getting stuck behind walls
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- Power pellet duration inconsistencies
- Game glitching and crashing frequently
Requested features
9 requests- Arrow buttons or D-pad controls instead of sliding
- Ad-free premium version for purchase
- Ability to disable ads with WiFi off
- Friend list and private room creation
- Real player names instead of randomized ones
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- Grace period or invincibility after spawn
- Sound effects and audio
- New items, levels, and game updates
- Revert to original 2024 version
In-app purchases
Emerald Mine
No in-app purchases
Pac.io
- Small Coin Pack$0.99
- Medium Coin Pack$4.99
- Magnet$4.99
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- Thunder$4.99
- Sword$4.99
- Big Coin Pack$9.99
- No Ads$9.99
- Large Coin Pack$19.99
- Huge Coin Pack$49.99
- Massive Coin Pack$99.99
