Comparison

ArcEmu vs Puzzle Parlor

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

Turn your Apple Watch into a retro game console. Play Game Boy, NES, SNES, Genesis, and more on your wrist, with multi-touch controls and the Digital Crown. ArcEmu also runs on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. ▸ SUPPORTED CONSOLES Included for free: - Game Boy - Game Boy Color - Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Available through in-app purchases: - Game Boy Advance - Pokémon Mini - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) - Atari 2600 - Sega Mega Drive / Genesis - Sega Master System - Sega Game Gear - Sega SG-1000 ▸ MULTIPLAYER AND LINK CABLE Play home-console games online and locally with friends, or link Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games over the internet. Game Link Cable supports up to four players in compatible games. Online play requires a Game Center account. ▸ SHARE ROMs WITH A CODE Import your ROMs on iPhone, keep them in iCloud, and download them directly to Apple Watch or Apple TV. Share them through iCloud using a code, including with an Apple Watch configured with Family Setup. ▸ SCREEN AND CONTROLS Move and resize the game screen, choose an LCD or CRT filter, and set up the controls the way you like them. On Apple Watch, use multi-touch controls, customize the control layout, and assign actions to the Digital Crown. On iPhone and iPad, adjust button positions and transparency, and play in any orientation. Connect a controller and customize its button mappings, or use a second controller on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. ArcEmu also supports iPhone Duo. ▸ MORE FEATURES - Accurate, high-performance emulation - Fast-forward at 2×, 4×, or maximum speed - Slow motion at 0.5× speed - Cheat codes with a built-in database of popular codes - Touch-based light gun controls for NES and SNES - Custom Game Boy color palettes - Button hold/sustain - Accelerometer support - Gyroscope support on iPhone and iPad, with Digital Crown input on Apple Watch - Haptic feedback on iPhone ▸ YOUR ROMs AND SAVES Keep your collection organized with per-console folders, sorting, and search. Import ROMs from ZIP and 7-Zip archives, use automatic saving, and share save states between devices. Both ROMs and save states can be stored in iCloud. ▸ 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. ▸ GAMES FEATURED IN THE SCREENSHOTS - Acorn Grove: https://gibbongl.itch.io/acorn-grove - Big2Small: https://mdsteele.itch.io/big2small - Hauntsfield: https://alliemackie.itch.io/hauntsfield - µCity Advance: https://skylyrac.itch.io/ucity-advance Cheat codes may cause unexpected behavior or affect game stability and save data. ArcEmu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo, Sega, or Atari. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.

About

Puzzle Parlor

Enjoy a curated collection of daily and classic puzzle games without ads or in-app purchases. Track your progress with streaks and sync across devices. A simple, family-made experience for puzzle enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Daily new puzzles
  • Classic puzzle games
  • No ads or dark patterns
  • Streak tracking
  • Optional cloud sync
  • Dark mode
Features
Read full description

Puzzle Parlor is a small, lovingly-curated collection of puzzle games - a few new dailies each morning, a stack of classics for whenever you want to keep going, and exactly zero ads, dark patterns, or "buy unlimited hints" buttons. DAILY PUZZLES (NEW EVERY DAY) - Fiver - five guesses, five letters - Crossjam - trace letters, build words - Sudoku - classic 9x9, easy / medium / hard rotation through the week - Cypherly - crack a daily quote, one letter at a time CLASSICS (ALWAYS AVAILABLE) - 2048 - Solitaire - Minesweeper - Match - the memory / concentration game NICETIES - Streaks per game - Solve any classic without signing in - Optional cloud sync if you want the same progress on phone and tablet - Daily email digest (optional, one tap to subscribe) - Dark mode OPTIONAL SUPPORTER SUBSCRIPTION If the app's brought you a few good mornings, you can chip in with a $14.99/year Supporter subscription. You'll get a small sun emblem next to your name. Nothing in the app is paywalled - Supporter is a tip-jar, not a content gate. More thank-yous as the project grows. Subscription auto-renews yearly at $14.99 until cancelled. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Manage or cancel anytime in your device Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions; no refunds for the unused portion of a term. Privacy Policy: https://puzzleparlor.fun/#/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Built by a family for our own family - we play it, the kids help pick the puzzles, and we keep it simple because that's why we wanted it in the first place. Privacy-respecting by default: no ads, no third-party tracking, no data brokers. Email is collected only if you sign in (magic-link, no password) or subscribe to the daily digest, and we never share it. Site: https://puzzleparlor.fun Made by: Lazybrains

Screenshots

ArcEmu4 screens
Puzzle Parlor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: ArcEmu at free against Puzzle Parlor's freemium. ArcEmu also leads on ratings volume (1.3K vs 4) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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

Both are free to download. ArcEmu sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Puzzle Parlor sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $14.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

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 Puzzle Parlor. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ArcEmu has 1.3K ratings behind it against 4, 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 Puzzle Parlor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ArcEmu ships an update every 2 weeks, Puzzle Parlor every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
ArcEmu versus Puzzle Parlor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArcEmuPuzzle Parlor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (1.3K ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews94.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.3K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.016.0
Further details — not scored
Size234 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRaffaele D'AmatoDAVID ISAAC SCHUSTER

Customer experience

ArcEmu

All ratings1,333 ratings
Positive98.3%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews533 reviews
Positive94.6%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.6%

Puzzle Parlor

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 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

Puzzle Parlor

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

ArcEmu

One-time10
  • Unlock All (Upgrade 4)$0.99
  • Game Boy Advance$0.99
  • SNES$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Pokémon Mini$0.99
  • Atari 2600$0.99
  • Mega Drive / Genesis$0.99
  • Game Gear$0.99
  • Master System$0.99
  • SG-1000$0.99
  • Unlock All (Upgrade 3)$1.99
1 purchases

Puzzle Parlor

Subscriptions1
  • Puzzle Parlor Supporter$14.991 Year

Questions

Is ArcEmu free?
ArcEmu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Puzzle Parlor free?
Puzzle Parlor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ArcEmu or Puzzle Parlor?
Puzzle Parlor is rated higher. ArcEmu averages 4.9 out of 5 from 1.3K ratings, while Puzzle Parlor averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do ArcEmu or Puzzle Parlor have ads?
Neither ArcEmu nor Puzzle Parlor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ArcEmu or Puzzle Parlor?
ArcEmu ships an update every 2 weeks, and Puzzle Parlor every 3 weeks. Most recently, ArcEmu was updated on October 27, 2026 and Puzzle Parlor on October 24, 2026.

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