Comparison

Maya Bul vs Gaia Project

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

Head to head
About

Maya Bul

Experience a traditional Mesoamerican running-fight game. Capture your opponent's pieces by landing on their space and bring them back to your base to win. Uses dice rolls to determine movement across a divided playing area.

Highlights
  • Running-fight gameplay
  • Dice-based movement
  • Piece capture mechanics
  • Two-player strategy
  • Return captured pieces to base
Features
Read full description

Bul, also called Buul, Boolik or Puluc, is a running-fight game originating in Mesoamerica, and is known particularly among several of the Maya peoples of the Guatemalan highlands. It is uncertain whether this specific game dates back to the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, or whether instead it developed in the post-colonial era after the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores. It is impossible to know when exactly the game was developed or what the original rules were as very few records survived the invasion by the conquistadors (between the 15th and 17th centuries). Rules for two players The overall objective is to capture and subsequently kill the playing pieces of the opposition, so the game is in essence a war game. The playing area is divided up into equal spaces using rods, placed parallel to each other. The two players have control of a base at either end of the play area. The players take five stones or figurines, yellow for the first player and red for the second one, initially placed in their respective bases. The movement of the stones is determined by the roll of four dice or 'bul' (corn kernels). These are painted black on one half so that they land showing either a yellow or black face. The number of faces showing determines how many spaces a stone can move: 1 yellow - 1 space 2 yellow - 2 spaces 3 yellow - 3 spaces 4 yellow - 4 spaces 0 yellow (all black) - 5 spaces Taking it in turns, players roll the bul, pushing a colored button and move any of their stones the corresponding number of spaces toward the enemy base. A stone cannot move to a space where there is already a friendly stone. If there is no other option but to do this, a player must pass, pressing the Pass button. When a stone lands on the same space as an enemy stone, the enemy stone is captured and is no longer controlled by the enemy player. The enemy stone is placed beneath the capturing stone to reflect its captured state. Every time the capturing stone moves, its prisoners are moved with it. If a stone lands on an enemy stone which already has prisoners, it captures that stone and its prisoners, and these are placed beneath it. When a stone captures an enemy stone, it immediately reverses direction and begins heading back to the home base. Once a stone and its prisoners reach home, any enemy stones are removed from the game, or killed. Friendly stones are liberated or returned back to the set of stones which can be played. Once a player has killed every enemy stone, he wins.

About

Gaia Project

Embark on a strategic journey to colonize the galaxy by mastering terraforming. Each of the 14 unique factions has distinct environmental needs, driving the need to adapt planets for survival. This is the official digital adaptation of the acclaimed board game.

Highlights
  • 14 unique factions
  • Peaceful galactic colonization
  • Terraforming mechanics
  • Adaptable environmental needs
  • Official digital board game adaptation
Features
Read full description

In Gaia Project, each player controls one of 14 factions striving to peacefully colonize the Terra Mystica galaxy. Each faction has different environmental needs to survive on a planet. These needs have led the factions to master terraforming, enabling them to make different planet types habitable for themselves. This is the official digital version of the board game Gaia Project by Feuerland Verlag. Minimum RAM: 3 GB Recommended RAM: 4 GB Gaia Project is a graphics-heavy board game with advanced AI opponents. Your gameplay speed and AI strength may be limited with older devices.

Screenshots

Gaia Project4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Maya Bul at $0.99 against Gaia Project's $9.99. Maya Bul also leads on iOS requirement (12.4 vs 14.0). Gaia Project's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 44 months) and ratings volume (38 vs 1). On rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Maya Bul costs $0.99 and Gaia Project $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for Maya Bul against 4.0 for Gaia Project. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Gaia Project has 38 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Maya Bul ships an update every 44 months, Gaia Project monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Maya Bul versus Gaia Project: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMaya BulGaia Project
Price$0.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.0 (1 ratings)4.0 (38 ratings)
Positive reviews—59.1% of reviews
Number of ratings138 — better
Update frequencyEvery 44 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.4 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB371 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperLuigi FontiDIGIDICED

Customer experience

Maya Bul

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Gaia Project

All ratings39 ratings
Positive71.8%
Neutral10.3%
Negative17.9%
Written reviews44 reviews
Positive59.1%
Neutral15.9%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

None

Maya Bul

No in-app purchases

None

Gaia Project

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Maya Bul free?
Maya Bul costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Gaia Project free?
Gaia Project costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Maya Bul or Gaia Project?
Maya Bul and Gaia Project are both rated 4.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 38 ratings respectively.
Do Maya Bul or Gaia Project have ads?
Neither Maya Bul nor Gaia Project shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Maya Bul or Gaia Project?
Maya Bul ships an update every 44 months, and Gaia Project monthly. Most recently, Maya Bul was updated on November 1, 2026 and Gaia Project on November 7, 2026.

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