Comparison

ArcEmu vs Cookie Tapper!

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

Head to head
About

ArcEmu

Experience retro gaming on your Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad. This emulator supports Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges. Enjoy features like multiplayer, cheats, and customizable controls.

Highlights
  • Game Boy, GBC, GBA emulation
  • Multiplayer support
  • Cheat codes
  • Customizable on-screen controls
  • Save State sharing
  • iCloud support
Features
Read full description

ArcEmu brings retro game emulation to Apple Watch. It also works on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, delivering a seamless gaming experience across your Apple devices. Supported Consoles - Game Boy (.gb) - Game Boy Color (.gbc) - Game Boy Advance (.gba) - Pokémon Mini (.min) - Nintendo Entertainment System (.nes) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (.sfc and .smc) - Atari 2600 (.a26 and .bin) Main Features - Accurate, high-performance emulation powered by the mGBA and Ares cores - Game Link Cable support with online multiplayer for up to four players* - Cheat-code support with a built-in database of popular codes** - Frame-independent emulation at 30 or 60 FPS - Multi-touch and Digital Crown support on Apple Watch - Support for all screen orientations on iPhone and iPad - Precise, thoughtfully designed on-screen controls - Customizable control position and transparency on iPhone and iPad - Fast-forward at 2×, 4×, or maximum speed - Slow motion at 0.5× speed - Touch-based light gun controls for NES and SNES - Custom color palettes for Game Boy games - Button hold/sustain feature - Accelerometer support - Gyroscope support on iPhone and iPad, with Digital Crown input on Apple Watch - Haptic feedback on iPhone - Game controller support with customizable button mappings - ZIP archive support - Automatic saving - Save-state sharing between devices - iCloud support for ROMs and save states - ROM sharing through iCloud using share codes - Support for Apple Watch devices configured with Family Setup - ROM sorting and search Apple Watch Compatibility - Apple Watch Series 4 or later - Apple Watch SE or later - Apple Watch Ultra or later ArcEmu does not include any games or ROMs. You can import compatible ROM files from your iPhone and store them in iCloud. Your Apple Watch can then download them directly from iCloud. On an Apple Watch configured with Family Setup, ROMs can be downloaded from iCloud using share codes. Games Featured in the Screenshots - Acorn Grove: https://gibbongl.itch.io/acorn-grove - Anguna: https://gauauu.itch.io/anguna - Hauntsfield: https://alliemackie.itch.io/hauntsfield - µCity Advance: https://skylyrac.itch.io/ucity-advance * Requires a Game Center account. ** Cheat codes may cause unexpected behavior or affect game stability and save data. ArcEmu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo. Nintendo and the names of its game systems are trademarks of Nintendo Co., Ltd.

About

Cookie Tapper!

Tap your way to cookie mastery on your wrist. Unlock satisfying animations, purchase numerous upgrades, and customize your cookies with various skins. Compete globally and join a friendly community.

Highlights
  • Satisfying click animations
  • Numerous upgrades
  • Variety of cookie skins
  • Global leaderboard
  • Multi-language support
  • Regular updates
Features
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Cookie Tapper - The iconic cookie-clicking experience, now on your wrist! This super polished and fully optimized for Apple Watch app brings the iconic game to your wrist. Enjoy the following features: - Satisfying click animations - Tons of upgrades to buy - Variety of cookie skins - Global leaderboard - Support for 7 languages - Constant updates and bug fixes - Friendly community Download now and start tapping cookies!

Screenshots

ArcEmu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ArcEmu at none against Cookie Tapper!'s 4. ArcEmu also leads on ratings volume (1.3K vs 10) and device support (5 vs 3). Cookie Tapper!'s advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.5). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ArcEmu costs $1.99 and Cookie Tapper! $2.99 up front. Cookie Tapper! sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. ArcEmu asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for ArcEmu against 5.0 for Cookie Tapper!. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ArcEmu has 1.3K ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of ArcEmu's written reviews are positive against 100% of Cookie Tapper!'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ArcEmu ships an update every 2 weeks, Cookie Tapper! weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ArcEmu versus Cookie Tapper!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArcEmuCookie Tapper!
Price$1.99 — better$2.99
Rating4.9 (1.3K ratings)5.0 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews94.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.3K — better10
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.513.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size172 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRaffaele D'AmatoNils Steffmann

Customer experience

ArcEmu

All ratings1,304 ratings
Positive98.2%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews528 reviews
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.7%

Cookie Tapper!

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

ArcEmu

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional crashes
  • Graphical glitches with certain ROMs
  • Save data not transferring properly between devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add cheat/GameShark support
  • Improve volume controls
  • Implement fast forward/slow motion options
  • Allow multiple save slots per game
  • Improve Game Boy Color support
Show 1 more
  • Add joystick/button support for Apple Watch

Cookie Tapper!

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

ArcEmu

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Cookie Tapper!

One-time4
  • 12 Stars$0.99
  • Cookie Tapper+$1.99
  • 70 Stars$4.99
Show 1 more
  • 250 Stars$14.99

Questions

Is ArcEmu free?
ArcEmu costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cookie Tapper! free?
Cookie Tapper! costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ArcEmu or Cookie Tapper!?
Cookie Tapper! is rated higher. ArcEmu averages 4.9 out of 5 from 1.3K ratings, while Cookie Tapper! averages 5.0 from 10 ratings.
Do ArcEmu or Cookie Tapper! have ads?
Neither ArcEmu nor Cookie Tapper! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ArcEmu or Cookie Tapper!?
ArcEmu ships an update every 2 weeks, and Cookie Tapper! weekly. Most recently, ArcEmu was updated on September 30, 2026 and Cookie Tapper! on September 27, 2026.

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