Comparison

Desert Bus vs CTMayor

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

Head to head
About

Desert Bus

Experience the ultimate test of endurance in a hyper-realistic bus simulation. Drive 360 miles across a desolate desert, facing the raw struggle between man and nature. This unique game offers an unparalleled, mind-numbing challenge.

Highlights
  • 360-mile desert drive
  • Realistic simulation
  • Endurance challenge
  • Man vs. nature theme
  • Unique gameplay experience
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

One man. One Bus. Three hundred and sixty miles of simulated post-apocalyptic desert, and the endless struggle between man and nature personified. Desert Bus. The most realistic verisimilitude reality game ever created by man or beast or man-beast is here at last. So real in action, you’ll think you were really the driver of a bus crossing a Desert. No way out, no way home but the long way - by tow truck. Desert Bus puts you, the player, to the ultimate test of endurance in this mind-numbing blowout experience. There is no other game quite like Desert Bus. Originally conceived by Penn, Teller, and Eddie Gorodetsky, this game was made in support of the annual Desert Bus for Hope charity fundraiser for Child's Play, hosted by the crew from LoadingReadyRun.

About

CTMayor

Engage in three unique city simulation experiences: govern an ancient Roman province, manage a modern metropolis with zoning and infrastructure, or build a sprawling 20th-century transport network. Each mode offers distinct challenges and objectives for aspiring city builders.

Highlights
  • Ancient Rome city-building
  • Modern city management
  • Transport network simulation
  • Disaster and unrest response
  • Economic balancing
  • Infrastructure development
Features
Read full description

CTMayor offers three distinct simulation modes, each focusing on a different era and style of city management: • Ancient Rome Mode Rule as a provincial governor of the Roman Empire. Plan and grow prosperous cities, satisfy citizens’ needs, and respond to disasters, divine unrest, and hostile forces. Inspired by classic Roman city-building simulations. • Classic City Mode Design and manage a modern city by zoning residential, commercial, and industrial areas, building infrastructure, and collecting taxes to support expansion. Maintain quality of life, balance the economy, and monitor environmental health to prevent decline or bankruptcy. Inspired by early city-building classics. • Transport Company Mode Create and operate a comprehensive transport network using trucks, buses, trains, aircraft, and ships. Connect towns and industries, deliver cargo efficiently, and reinvest profits to expand your network. Spanning 1950–2050, your objective is to achieve the highest performance rating. For information about how the app works and how your data is handled, please review our policies: Service Terms: https://drwjf.github.io/ctm/ctm-terms.html Privacy Policy: https://drwjf.github.io/ctm/ctm-privacy.html

Screenshots

Desert Bus3 screens
CTMayor3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: CTMayor at Free against Desert Bus's $0.99. CTMayor also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 49 months). Desert Bus's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.8) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ratings volume 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

CTMayor is free to download; Desert Bus costs $0.99 up front. CTMayor sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per year. Desert Bus asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Desert Bus holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 54 and 41 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Desert Bus's written reviews are positive against 47% of CTMayor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Desert Bus ships an update every 49 months, CTMayor every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Desert Bus versus CTMayor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDesert BusCTMayor
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (54 ratings) — better3.8 (41 ratings)
Positive reviews70.3% of reviews — better46.7% of reviews
Number of ratings54 — better41
Update frequencyEvery 49 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#134 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS6.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB384 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAmateur PixelsJianfeng Wu

Customer experience

Desert Bus

All ratings54 ratings
Positive81.5%
Neutral3.7%
Negative14.8%
Written reviews175 reviews
Positive70.3%
Neutral4.6%
Negative25.1%

CTMayor

All ratings41 ratings
Positive58.5%
Neutral24.4%
Negative17.1%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive46.7%
Neutral20.0%
Negative33.3%

User reviews

Desert Bus

From 54 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Realistic driving experience
  • 🚀 Immersive gameplay
  • 💡 Innovative concept
  • 👍 True to the original game
  • 👍 Enjoyable for fans

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and compatibility issues
  • 🕰️ Extremely long and monotonous gameplay
  • 🕹️ Confusing or unresponsive controls
  • 🙄 Deliberately boring and pointless

CTMayor

From 41 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Faithful recreation of classic games
  • 👍 Enjoyable city simulation
  • 👍 Good approximation of originals
  • 👍 Fun to play
  • 👍 Great for kids' strategy

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Ads block menu/buttons
  • 🐛 Barely playable due to ads
  • 🐛 Mouse cursor offset
  • 🐛 Extremely slow and crashing
  • 🐛 Lagging and unplayable

Bugs and requests

Desert Bus

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game crashes on launch or during play
  • Inability to steer or control the bus
  • Issues with iOS 9 and newer updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more gameplay elements and variety
  • Improve controls and responsiveness
  • Provide a pause/save function
  • Include more visual/audio stimuli

CTMayor

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Ads block menu
  • Ads block building buttons
  • Mouse cursor offset
  • Game crashes
  • Game lags
Show 8 more
  • Unable to quit game
  • Power not working
  • Budget screen sliders have no effect
  • Game not saving progress
  • Police and fire systems not covering city
  • Pollution levels too high
  • Game progression is too slow
  • Directional menu for tracks is confusing

Requested features

16 requests
  • Auto budget on city simulator
  • Add AI and multiplayer
  • Add sandbox mode
  • Add colony survival mode
  • Add trams
Show 11 more
  • Add more airplane and train options
  • Add bonus buildings (casinos, parks, etc.)
  • Add street view mode
  • Add rescue center
  • Improve graphics and settings
  • Add download/temp download feature for GRFS
  • Make all directions for trains/roads possible
  • Add zoom in and zoom out feature
  • Make time fluid (speed up/pause)
  • Add headquarters for police stations
  • Translate comments from other languages

In-app purchases

None

Desert Bus

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

CTMayor

Subscriptions1
  • Sponsorship Yearly$0.991 Year

Questions

Is Desert Bus free?
Desert Bus costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is CTMayor free?
CTMayor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Desert Bus or CTMayor?
Desert Bus is rated higher. Desert Bus averages 4.3 out of 5 from 54 ratings, while CTMayor averages 3.8 from 41 ratings.
Do Desert Bus or CTMayor have ads?
CTMayor shows ads; Desert Bus does not.
Which is updated more often, Desert Bus or CTMayor?
Desert Bus ships an update every 49 months, and CTMayor every 2 weeks. Most recently, Desert Bus was updated on October 29, 2026 and CTMayor on October 22, 2026.

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