Cracker Jack vs Sphero Play
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cracker Jack
Experience the classic Cracker Jack® prize fun with interactive games on your iPhone. Test your skills in a challenging ball navigation game or hit home runs in a baseball simulator.
- Digital Cracker Jack prizes
- CJ Ball game
- CJ Up to Bat game
- Skill and balance challenges
- Baseball simulator
Read full descriptionHide full description
With the Cracker Jack App you can bring all of the fun, excitement and nostalgia of the traditional Cracker Jack® prizes to your iPhone in one fantastic app. CJ Ball and CJ Up to Bat. CJ Ball - A game of skill and balance where you guide the ball(s) though a series obstacles into the holes of each level. CJ Up to Bat - Play ball by hitting homers and avoiding the fielders’ gloves.
Sphero Play
Control and play with various Sphero robots using a single application. Explore multiple drive modes, engage in robot-controlled games, and learn basic programming through a block-based interface.
- Multiple drive modes (joystick, tilt, voice)
- Robot-controlled games
- Block Drive programming
- Sports-themed drive modes
- Voice control
Read full descriptionHide full description
Drive and play games from ONE app with your Sphero Mini, Sphero 2.0, SPRK, SPRK+, BOLT, and BOLT+. Connect and control your robots with several exciting drive modes, use your robot as a controller to play games, or try out Block Drive for an intro to programming with colorful blocks. Features include: DRIVE MODES Drive your robots several ways with the Sphero Play app. Use the joystick and slingshot controls, tilt your device, or use your voice. Our sports-themed drive modes keep things fun with the ability to swing your device to "golf"*, or flick to "kick" your robot. BLOCK DRIVE PROGRAMMING Learn programming basics by controlling your robot with colorful movement and light blocks. GAMES Use your robot as a controller to shoot your way through space, race your vehicle through a tunnel avoiding obstacles and scoring points, or rotate your ball to destroy a polygon of bricks. Need robots? We know a guy. Visit sphero.com and order today. *This mode is not available on iPads.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Sphero Play at 4.8 against Cracker Jack's 2.9. Sphero Play also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 15 months) and review sentiment (69% vs 40%). Cracker Jack's advantage is iOS requirement (5.1.1 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Sphero Play holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sphero Play has 37K ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of Cracker Jack's written reviews are positive against 69% of Sphero Play's.
Cracker Jack ships an update every 15 months, Sphero Play every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cracker Jack | Sphero Play |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.9 (26 ratings) | 4.8 (37K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 40.0% of reviews | 69.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 26 | 37K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 15 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 5.1.1 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 193 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PepsiCo, Inc. | Sphero, Inc. |
Customer experience
Cracker Jack
Sphero Play
Bugs and requests
Cracker Jack
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Sphero Play
Reported bugs
2 issues- Joystick controls not working as expected
- Alignment issues causing unexpected movement
Requested features
4 requests- More games and activities
- Support for additional Sphero products (e.g. Ollie, BB-8)
- Improved aiming and control precision
- Camera integration to see the Sphero's view
In-app purchases
Cracker Jack
No in-app purchases
Sphero Play
No in-app purchases
