Tricky Gems vs X
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tricky Gems
A fast-paced tile-matching puzzle game where you guide falling gem columns to create matches of three or more. Clear the board, build combos, and climb the leaderboards. Special bomb columns and power-ups add strategic depth to the escalating challenge.
- Tile-matching puzzle gameplay
- Match lines or diagonals of three or more gems
- Score points and build combos
- Escalating difficulty with faster falling columns
- Special bomb column power-up
- Unlock 23 achievements
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Tricky Gems is a fast-paced tile-matching puzzle game for iOS and macOS that will challenge your reflexes and strategic thinking from the very first drop. Guide columns of three gems as they fall into the playing field and match lines or diagonals of three or more to score points. Clear the board efficiently, rack up combos, and climb the leaderboard as high as you can. Every level brings a new challenge — the columns fall faster, the pressure builds, and the background shifts to keep things fresh. At the end of each level, a special bomb column sweeps the field, destroying every gem that matches its color. You can also trigger this power move manually once your Power-up Bar is full. Run out of space and the game ends in a spectacular explosion of bombs. Prove your skills by unlocking all 23 Achievements — some require true mastery of the game. You will need sharp focus, quick reflexes, and a solid strategy to earn the ultimate title: Gem Legend. Good luck!
X
Experience a classic block-dropping puzzle game with expanded shapes and challenges. Compete globally on leaderboards and enjoy multiple game modes with an ever-increasing number of pieces.
- Classic Tetrominos mode
- Pentominos mode with 18 shapes
- Hexominos mode with 60 shapes
- X-minos combined mode with 85 polyminos
- Worldwide leaderboards for score competition
- Multiple challenging game modes
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GAME INTRO ---------------- Bring back tetrominos classic game that you played in your childhood but even more fun and challenge with pentominoes, hexominos. The game has 4 different modes: + TETROMINOS: total 7 classic tetrominos. + PENTOMINOS: total 18 pentominos. + HEXOMINOS: total 60 hexominos + X-MINOS: all-minos combined with total 85 polyminos. You can compete your score with other playes via leaderboard worldwide. Now go for it and have fun! CREDIT ------------------ + Sounds generated from Bfxr. FAN PAGE ------------------ + Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/qastudiosapps
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: X at 5.0 against Tricky Gems's 4.2. X also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). Tricky Gems's advantage is ratings volume (48 vs 1). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement 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. Tricky Gems sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. X asks for nothing beyond the download.
X holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tricky Gems has 48 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tricky Gems | X |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (48 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 48 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 46 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Miroslav Otsedarski | Quang Duc Vu |
In-app purchases
Tricky Gems
- Pro Levels and Remove Ads$1.99
X
No in-app purchases









