PiKuBo vs Shift II
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PiKuBo
This app offers a unique 3D twist on classic nonogram puzzles. Players reveal hidden shapes by strategically removing blocks from a cube. It features over 400 puzzles, adaptive controls, and a logic-based gameplay experience.
- Over 400 3D puzzles
- Logic-based gameplay
- Adaptive one-handed controls
- Save progress
- Customizable markers
- Portrait and landscape modes
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Dive into the delightful world of PiKuBo, a captivating puzzle game that brings the excitement of cubic nonograms to your iOS device. With a unique twist on a beloved classic, PiKuBo challenges you to carve out shapes from a larger cube by removing unnecessary blocks. You can think of it as a 3D Minesweeper. • Interactive Puzzle Fun: Engage with over 400 puzzles, each offering a cute shape to uncover. • Adaptive Controls: Whether you’re right-handed or left-handed, our controls are designed for easy, one-handed play. • Progress at Your Pace: Save your progress effortlessly and return to solve puzzles whenever it suits you. • No Guesswork Needed: All puzzles are solvable through logic alone—perfect for puzzle purists! • Customizable Markers: Use up to four paint colors to mark and manage your strategy without losing track of your solution. • Immersive Experience: Enjoy soothing bossa nova tunes that enhance your puzzle-solving ambiance, whether at home or on the go. • Flexible Viewing: Choose between portrait or landscape modes to suit your play style. • Shared Fun: Purchase level packs once and share them with your entire family group. • Visual Rewards: Relish the thumbnails of completed puzzles, a colorful testament to your puzzle prowess. Whether you have a few minutes or a few hours, PiKuBo is the perfect game to relax and test your brain. Start solving today! NOTE: The first pack, which consists of 31 puzzles and 5 tutorials, is provided for free. The rest of the packs are available as in-app purchases within the game.
Shift II
A challenging puzzle game with three distinct modes: managing energy, maintaining streaks, or beating a timer. Upgrade and downgrade tiles to achieve high scores and compete on online leaderboards. Enjoy a meditative experience, except for the frantic mode.
- Three gameplay modes (Calm, Frantic, Tactical)
- Online leaderboards
- Tile upgrading and downgrading
- Streak management
- Timed challenges
- Color themes
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“The Hyperspatial Directive Node has been upgraded to a subdermal implant. All of its original functionality remains in place, quite literally at your fingertips. Please report any itching, spontaneous combustion or redness to your supervisor immediately.” A sequel to 2022's award nominated puzzle game for the Playdate, Shift II takes the familiar and adds all new mechanics, strategy and ways to play, and now on your phone! And sort of in color! Featuring three game play modes, The Calm tasks you with managing your energy supply, The Tactical only cares about your ability to maintain a streak, while The Frantic pits you against a thirty second countdown timer and was specifically designed for those of you who were disappointed that the original game wasn't stressful enough. Keeping up your streak count, upgrading and downgrading tiles and making the most efficient moves as possible are all critical to your high score chances. No ads and no in-app purchases. It won't even harass you to rate it (Though it would be nice if you did)! Just a super fun, meditative puzzle game. Well, except for The Frantic, that's not really very meditative. Features: - Three game play modes; The Calm, The Frantic & The Tactical - Online leader boards for all three modes. - Four color themes to choose from. - The same music and sound effects you loved in the Playdate version. - Again: No in app purchases, no ads, no tracking. -- "This sequel is as fun as the first game! Shift II adds a twist to the original, with more shapes to match and more modes. Our favorite new mode is The Tactical, where you must maintain your streak to keep playing!" -- Panic Staff Pick
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: PiKuBo at Free against Shift II's $4.99. PiKuBo also leads on ratings volume (95 vs 3) and device support (3 vs 1). Shift II's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On ads 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
PiKuBo is free to download; Shift II costs $4.99 up front. PiKuBo sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Shift II asks for nothing beyond the download.
Shift II holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PiKuBo has 95 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of PiKuBo's written reviews are positive against 100% of Shift II's.
PiKuBo ships an update monthly, Shift II every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PiKuBo | Shift II |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (95 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 86.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 95 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 119 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Daniel Benito | Scenic Route Software |
Customer experience
PiKuBo
Shift II
Bugs and requests
PiKuBo
Reported bugs
7 issues- In-app purchase error preventing pack purchases
- Purchase not received after payment
- Support email bouncing back
- Color contrast issue in Pack 12 (blue on blue)
- Inability to expose enough blocks at certain angles for decision-making
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- Mark/delete button deactivates when rotating puzzle
- Cooldown timer on mark/delete buttons causes frustration
Requested features
15 requests- More puzzle packs released more frequently
- Undo button for accidental moves
- Save progress mid-puzzle
- Ability to move puzzle around (pan feature)
- Full 360-degree rotation capability
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- Bundle purchase option for all puzzle packs at discount
- Larger puzzles optimized for iPad
- Difficulty-specific puzzle packs (all expert level)
- Remove or improve timer system
- Remove or improve heart/lives system
- Persistent mark/delete selection across rotations
- Three-state axis selector for slider control
- Double-tap to start puzzle instead of GO button
- Flatten rate option to purchase all future content
- Webpage explaining all settings and features
Shift II
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PiKuBo
- Puzzle Pack 02$0.99
- Puzzle Pack 03$0.99
- Puzzle Pack 14$0.99
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- Puzzle Pack 13$0.99
- Puzzle Pack 12$0.99
- Puzzle Pack 11$0.99
- Puzzle Pack 10$0.99
- Puzzle Pack 09$0.99
- Puzzle Pack 08$0.99
- Puzzle Pack 07$0.99
- Puzzle Pack 06$0.99
- Puzzle Pack 05$0.99
- Puzzle Pack 04$0.99
Shift II
No in-app purchases









