Comparison

Mancala. vs Twice as Clever

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

Head to head
About

Mancala.

Experience Mancala, an ancient strategy board game. Move marbles counter-clockwise, aiming to collect the most in your home hole. Enjoy a classic game of skill and foresight.

Highlights
  • Ancient board game gameplay
  • Counter-clockwise marble movement
  • Strategic home hole collection
  • Simple rules, deep strategy
  • Single-player game
Read full description

Mancala (also known as Kalah) is an ancient board game. Pick up marbles from any of bottom holes and move them counter-clockwise. If your move ends at your home hole (right one) you can move again. The game ends when all six holes on either side are empty. The winner is the player with the most marbles in home hole.

About

Twice as Clever

This digital board game offers new challenges and strategic depth with five new dice categories, bonuses, and a unique Return-Action. Discover countless new possibilities and achievements as you aim for higher scores.

Highlights
  • Five new dice categories
  • New bonuses
  • Return-Action for scoring
  • Use smaller dice with silver dice
  • 18 new achievements
  • Challenge 2 mode
Features
Read full description

If you like "Quite clever", you'll love "Twice as clever". Whether you're a highscore hunter with hundreds of played games or just have played a few occasional games, "Twice as clever" offers you new and exciting challenges to master. Of course, there are five new dice categories and bonuses, which make it tricky to find the best moves. Plus, there's the new Return-Action, which gives you all-new options to score even better! Finally, you can use dice that land on a silver platter again! And that's not all: If you choose the silver dice, you not only use it, but also all the smaller dice that would normally land on the silver platter. You see: Countless new possibilities and 18 exciting new achievements are waiting to be discovered by you. Don't just be "Quite clever", be "Twice as clever". World exclusive you can also try your hand at the "Challenge 2" in the app. A new challenge that offers an exciting new gaming experience with small but subtle changes to the tableau without having to familiarize yourself with large rule changes. You can get "Challenge 2" as inApp purchase.

Screenshots

Mancala.4 screens
Twice as Clever4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Mancala. at Free against Twice as Clever's $3.99. Mancala. also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.4) and review sentiment (80% vs 39%). Twice as Clever's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and chart position 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

Mancala. is free to download; Twice as Clever costs $3.99 up front. Mancala. sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Twice as Clever sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mancala. holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mancala. has 37K ratings behind it against 61, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Mancala.'s written reviews are positive against 39% of Twice as Clever's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mancala. ships an update every 2 months, Twice as Clever every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Mancala. versus Twice as Clever: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMancala.Twice as Clever
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.7 (37K ratings) — better3.4 (61 ratings)
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews — better39.3% of reviews
Number of ratings37K — better61
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#99#46 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.411.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size85 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSergey SkosyrevBrettspielWelt

Customer experience

Mancala.

All ratings36,514 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral4.0%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews549 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral8.6%
Negative11.5%

Twice as Clever

All ratings61 ratings
Positive54.1%
Neutral13.1%
Negative32.8%
Written reviews61 reviews
Positive39.3%
Neutral21.3%
Negative39.3%

User reviews

Mancala.

From 37K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Well-built app
  • 👍 Enjoyable to play
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Great to learn
  • 👍 Fast gameplay for practice

Room to improve

  • 🐛 AI too easy to beat
  • 💰 Paid version required for more features
  • 💰 Hints/diamonds cost money
  • 🤔 Confusing rules and gameplay
  • 🤔 Predictable AI patterns

Twice as Clever

From 61 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great game concept
  • 👍 Fun solo play
  • 👍 Good implementation of board game
  • 👍 Rewarding gameplay
  • 👍 Addictive gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bonuses not triggering
  • 🐛 Game mechanics differ from tabletop
  • 🐛 Automatic number selection
  • 🐛 Poor UI/UX
  • 🐛 Login issues

Bugs and requests

Mancala.

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Hint button not working properly
  • Peg solitaire mode has unsolvable levels

Requested features

5 requests
  • Multiplayer mode
  • Difficulty settings for AI
  • Earn in-game currency through gameplay
  • More single-player modes and puzzles
  • Clearer in-app instructions and rules

Twice as Clever

Reported bugs

21 issues
  • Pink bonuses not triggering
  • Yellow bonus not triggering
  • Blue dice not working
  • Silver area scoring incorrect
  • No way to go back to main menu
Show 16 more
  • No undo option
  • App is permanently offline
  • Game statistics lost after update
  • Game frame shifted after update
  • Sound doesn't work
  • Dice animation timing incorrect
  • Incorrect numbers displayed briefly
  • Challenge 2: roll again automatically taken
  • Challenge 2: silver platter dice selection limited
  • Login system alternates between English and German
  • App thinks it's music on home screen
  • Green 3 on a space requiring 4 or higher
  • Pink die cannot be used in pink row unless result of grey dice action
  • Dice from silver tray not returning
  • Dice selection bug in challenge 2
  • Game allows playing dice against rules

Requested features

15 requests
  • Multiplayer/online play
  • Pass and play mode
  • Undo button
  • AI opponents
  • Sound options
Show 10 more
  • Fix bonus triggering
  • Fix login issues
  • Fix offline issues
  • Fix battery drain
  • Fix UI/UX
  • Add music support
  • Improve instructions
  • Add dark mode
  • Fix challenge 2 bugs
  • Fix silver tray dice return

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Mancala.

One-time10
  • 50 diamonds$1.99
  • 55 diamonds$1.99
  • 90 diamonds$2.99
Show 7 more
  • Advanced Features$4.99
  • 150 diamonds$4.99
  • Avalanche Advanced Features$4.99
  • 145 diamonds$4.99
  • 180 diamonds$6.99
  • 350 diamonds$9.99
  • 750 diamonds$19.99
1 purchases

Twice as Clever

One-time1
  • Twice as Clever - Challenge 2$0.99

Questions

Is Mancala. free?
Mancala. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Twice as Clever free?
Twice as Clever costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mancala. or Twice as Clever?
Mancala. is rated higher. Mancala. averages 4.7 out of 5 from 37K ratings, while Twice as Clever averages 3.4 from 61 ratings.
Do Mancala. or Twice as Clever have ads?
Neither Mancala. nor Twice as Clever shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mancala. or Twice as Clever?
Mancala. ships an update every 2 months, and Twice as Clever every 3 weeks. Most recently, Mancala. was updated on November 6, 2026 and Twice as Clever on November 4, 2026.
Which is more popular, Mancala. or Twice as Clever?
Mancala. currently peaks at #99 in the App Store charts, and Twice as Clever at #46. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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