Comparison

ArcEmu vs shuffl

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

shuffl

Transform phones into a shared card deck for multiplayer games. Play over 40 games from around the world with friends or AI opponents, even offline. Customize card designs and enjoy a seamless experience with no accounts or ads.

Highlights
  • Shared phone card hands
  • 40+ games from 30 countries
  • Play with friends or bots
  • Offline play supported
  • Customizable card designs
  • House rules support
  • Game statistics
Features
Read full description

Deal everyone in. shuffl turns every phone at the table into a hand of cards. Pick a game, read out a five-letter code, and everybody who hears it sits down. No accounts, no sign-up, no ads. FORTY GAMES FROM THIRTY COUNTRIES Skat, Schnapsen, Scopa, Briscola, Durak, Belote, Jass, Euchre, Spades, Hearts, Truco, Big Two, Tiến Lên, Dou Dizhu, Callbreak, Tarneeb and many more, next to the classics: Crazy Eights, Rummy, Gin Rummy, President, Go Fish, Old Maid, Cheat, Blackjack and Solitaire. The lobby puts the games your country plays first and calls them by the names you know. YOUR FAMILY'S RULES Every game keeps the house rules it genuinely leaves open, so you can play it the way you always have. NOBODY'S MISSING Empty chairs are taken by bots with names, faces and a pace of their own. The easy ones are here for a good time. The hard ones remember every card. MADE FOR THE TABLE • Room for everybody, up to twenty people at Crazy Eights* • Cards you pick up, fan out and play, with a sound and a haptic for every move • Play against bots anywhere, even without a connection • Lost your connection in an online round? Open shuffl again and rejoin where you left off • The round in progress on your Lock Screen • Statistics for every game you play MAKE THE DECK YOURS • Five designs for the faces* • Nine patterns for the backs, in eight colours* • A foil deck that catches the light as you tilt your phone* • Two more app icons for your home screen* Terms of Use: https://www.shufflapp.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.shufflapp.com/privacy * Some of the described features require the Pro version.

Screenshots

ArcEmu4 screens
shuffl4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: shuffl at every 2 days against ArcEmu's every 2 weeks. ArcEmu's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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 shuffl sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ArcEmu ships an update every 2 weeks, shuffl every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
ArcEmu versus shuffl: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArcEmushuffl
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews94.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.3K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size234 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRaffaele D'AmatoHinrich Bomsdorf

Customer experience

ArcEmu

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

shuffl

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

shuffl

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
3 purchases

shuffl

Subscriptions2
  • shuffl Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • shuffl Pro Yearly$17.991 Year
One-time1
  • shuffl Pro Lifetime$34.99

Questions

Is ArcEmu free?
ArcEmu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is shuffl free?
shuffl is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ArcEmu or shuffl have ads?
Neither ArcEmu nor shuffl shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ArcEmu or shuffl?
ArcEmu ships an update every 2 weeks, and shuffl every 2 days. Most recently, ArcEmu was updated on November 8, 2026 and shuffl on October 31, 2026.

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