Tile Slider vs ArcEmu
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tile Slider
Engage in a timed sliding tile puzzle challenge with adjustable difficulty. Customize your game with numbered tiles or personal photos, and even flip pieces for added complexity. Enjoy a leisurely pace by disabling the timer or play a quick game on your Apple Watch.
- Multiple difficulty levels
- Use custom photos as tiles
- Flip pieces for extra challenge
- Optional timer for relaxed play
- Apple Watch compatibility
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Race against the clock to complete a sliding tile puzzle. • Five difficulty levels/puzzle sizes, suitable for all ages and skill levels (larger sizes require an in-app purchase). • Play with classic numbered tiles, or use images from your camera/photo library. • For an extra challenge, enable the Flip Pieces setting so pieces can be flipped over. • Turn off the timer for a more leisurely game! • Play a 3×3 puzzle on Apple Watch. Tile Slider is available for iOS and Mac. It is free to download and play 3×3 and 4×4 puzzles. A single in-app purchase unlocks 5×5, 6×6 and 7×7 puzzles on both platforms. For more information see https://hacknicity.com/tileslider or email me at support@hacknicity.com
ArcEmu
Experience retro gaming on your Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad. This emulator supports Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges. Enjoy features like multiplayer, cheats, and customizable controls.
- Game Boy, GBC, GBA emulation
- Multiplayer support
- Cheat codes
- Customizable on-screen controls
- Save State sharing
- iCloud support
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ArcEmu brings retro game emulation to Apple Watch. It also works on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, delivering a seamless gaming experience across your Apple devices. Supported Consoles - Game Boy (.gb) - Game Boy Color (.gbc) - Game Boy Advance (.gba) - Pokémon Mini (.min) - Nintendo Entertainment System (.nes) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (.sfc and .smc) - Atari 2600 (.a26 and .bin) Main Features - Accurate, high-performance emulation powered by the mGBA and Ares cores - Game Link Cable support with online multiplayer for up to four players* - Cheat-code support with a built-in database of popular codes** - Frame-independent emulation at 30 or 60 FPS - Multi-touch and Digital Crown support on Apple Watch - Support for all screen orientations on iPhone and iPad - Precise, thoughtfully designed on-screen controls - Customizable control position and transparency on iPhone and iPad - Fast-forward at 2×, 4×, or maximum speed - Slow motion at 0.5× speed - Touch-based light gun controls for NES and SNES - Custom color palettes for Game Boy games - Button hold/sustain feature - Accelerometer support - Gyroscope support on iPhone and iPad, with Digital Crown input on Apple Watch - Haptic feedback on iPhone - Game controller support with customizable button mappings - ZIP archive support - Automatic saving - Save-state sharing between devices - iCloud support for ROMs and save states - ROM sharing through iCloud using share codes - Support for Apple Watch devices configured with Family Setup - ROM sorting and search Apple Watch Compatibility - Apple Watch Series 4 or later - Apple Watch SE or later - Apple Watch Ultra or later ArcEmu does not include any games or ROMs. You can import compatible ROM files from your iPhone and store them in iCloud. Your Apple Watch can then download them directly from iCloud. On an Apple Watch configured with Family Setup, ROMs can be downloaded from iCloud using share codes. Games Featured in the Screenshots - Acorn Grove: https://gibbongl.itch.io/acorn-grove - Anguna: https://gauauu.itch.io/anguna - Hauntsfield: https://alliemackie.itch.io/hauntsfield - µCity Advance: https://skylyrac.itch.io/ucity-advance * Requires a Game Center account. ** Cheat codes may cause unexpected behavior or affect game stability and save data. ArcEmu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo. Nintendo and the names of its game systems are trademarks of Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Tile Slider at Free against ArcEmu's $1.99. Tile Slider also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.5). ArcEmu's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months). On rating, review sentiment, ads 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
Tile Slider is free to download; ArcEmu costs $1.99 up front. Tile Slider sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ArcEmu asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Tile Slider against 4.9 for ArcEmu. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ArcEmu has 1.3K ratings behind it against 233, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 98% of Tile Slider's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's.
Tile Slider ships an update every 3 months, ArcEmu every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tile Slider | ArcEmu |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (233 ratings) | 4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 97.6% of reviews — better | 94.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 233 | 1.3K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 172 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Geoff Hackworth | Raffaele D'Amato |
Customer experience
Tile Slider
ArcEmu
User reviews
Tile Slider
From 233 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Simple and straightforward gameplay
- 👍 No annoying ads (in basic version)
- 👍 Nostalgic feel, like childhood toys
- 👍 Can use own photos for puzzles
- 👍 Addictive and challenging
Room to improve
- 👎 Basic version limited in tile count
- 👎 Requires payment to increase tile count
- 👎 Tiles slide slowly, requires multiple swipes
- 👎 Cannot move a whole row at once
- 👎 UI is a bit drab
ArcEmu
From 1.3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fully functional
- 🚀 Impressive emulation on Apple Watch
- 👍 Great emulator for both phone and watch
- 👍 Seamless save state transfer between devices
- 👍 Customizable controls and layout
Room to improve
- 🐛 Compatibility issues with some games
- 🐛 Audio quality problems on certain games
- 👎 Limited functionality on Apple Watch
- 👎 Difficult controls for action-heavy games on watch
Bugs and requests
Tile Slider
Reported bugs
1 issue- Game Center leader board shows impossible times for easy mode
Requested features
5 requests- Make highlighted correct spot toggle-able
- Remove hard mode and crazy mode
- Remove flip tile
- Fix Game Center leader board (easy mode solve time)
- Allow single taps to move tiles
ArcEmu
Reported bugs
3 issues- Occasional crashes
- Graphical glitches with certain ROMs
- Save data not transferring properly between devices
Requested features
6 requests- Add cheat/GameShark support
- Improve volume controls
- Implement fast forward/slow motion options
- Allow multiple save slots per game
- Improve Game Boy Color support
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- Add joystick/button support for Apple Watch
In-app purchases
Tile Slider
- Upgrade to Full Version$1.99
ArcEmu
No in-app purchases









