Golly vs Melldows
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Golly
Explore Conway's Game of Life and various cellular automata with this open-source application. It supports diverse universe types, multiple algorithms, and a wide array of cellular automata rules. Users can import patterns, download from online archives, and utilize unlimited undo/redo functionality.
- Supports bounded and unbounded universes
- Multiple algorithms including hashlife
- Variety of cellular automata types included
- Reads multiple file formats (RLE, macrocell, etc.)
- Extracts patterns and rules from zip files
- Downloads patterns and rules from online archives
- Unlimited undo/redo
Read full descriptionHide full description
Golly is an open source, cross-platform application for exploring Conway's Game of Life and many other types of cellular automata. Key features: Supports bounded and unbounded universes, with cells of up to 256 states. Supports multiple algorithms, including Bill Gosper's super fast hashlife algorithm. Many different types of CA are included: John von Neumann's 29-state CA, Wolfram's 1D rules, WireWorld, Generations, Langton's Loops, Larger than Life, etc. Reads RLE, macrocell, Life 1.05/1.06, dblife, and MCell files. Can extract patterns and rules from zip files. Can download patterns and rules from online archives. Includes a state-of-the-art pattern collection. Unlimited undo/redo. Extensive help, with an integrated Life Lexicon.
Melldows
Design and color your own miniature world in this relaxing sandbox game. Spread forests, create paths, and add structures in a goal-less, creative experience.
- Creative land design
- Goal-less sandbox experience
- Forest and path creation
- Place tents and ruins
- Cozy and carefree gameplay
Read full descriptionHide full description
Melldows is a tiny, cozy world-building toy with no goals, scores, or pressure. Shape a small piece of land into your own peaceful place. Sculpt the terrain, grow forests and flowers, draw winding paths, and build a quiet little village. Watch the world come alive with changing light, gentle wildlife, and seasonal colors. There is nothing to win and no correct way to play. Create a wild garden, a hidden settlement, or simply relax and see where your ideas take you.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Golly at Free against Melldows's $1.99. Golly also leads on ratings volume (47 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 26.0). Melldows's advantage is update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 32 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases 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
Golly is free to download; Melldows costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Melldows holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Golly has 47 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 97% of Golly's written reviews are positive against 100% of Melldows's.
Golly ships an update every 32 months, Melldows every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Golly | Melldows |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (47 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 96.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 47 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 32 months | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 50 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Andrew Trevorrow | Łukasz Cichecki |
Customer experience
Golly
Melldows
In-app purchases
Golly
No in-app purchases
Melldows
No in-app purchases
