Comparison

Capitals vs ShiftFive

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

Head to head
About

Capitals

Engage in strategic multiplayer wordplay to outsmart opponents and capture territory. Sharpen your vocabulary and strategic thinking in turn-based matches. Customize your avatar to express your style.

Highlights
  • Multiplayer wordplay
  • Turn-based matches
  • Strategic territory capture
  • Vocabulary challenges
  • Customizable avatars
Features
Read full description

Challenge your friends and sharpen your mind with Capitals, the addictive multiplayer word game by NimbleBit! Dive into a vibrant world where strategy meets vocabulary skills in an epic battle for dominance. Engaging Multiplayer Action: Invite your friends or match with random opponents from around the globe in turn-based matches. Prove your linguistic prowess and outsmart your rivals to claim victory. Strategic Gameplay: Combine your word knowledge with strategic moves to capture your opponent's territory. Plan your moves carefully to expand your influence and defend your capital. Customizable Avatars: Express yourself with a wide range of avatars and colors. Show off your style and personality as you conquer the capitals.

About

ShiftFive

Engage in a strategic letter elimination game where you guess a five-letter word. Utilize color-coded feedback to eliminate letters and score points. Unlock rewards and themed word packs for extended gameplay.

Highlights
  • Strategic letter elimination
  • Color-coded feedback system
  • Daily Classic and Daily Shift modes
  • Unlockable rewards
  • Themed Word Packs
  • Scoring based on efficiency
Features
Read full description

Shift. Solve. Score. Play daily challenges and unlock rewards! Check out themed Word Packs for a new twist. Welcome to ShiftFive, a game of high-scoring strategic letter elimination. ShiftFive is a fresh take on the daily word puzzle that leaves all those boring Wordle clones and wannabes in the dust. Your job is to guess the target 5-letter word in as few tries as possible and score points while you do it. Spin the letter pickers to enter a 5-letter word and submit your guess. Each letter in the word will light up one of three colors: # Green means the letter is correct and will be locked in. # Red means the target letter comes later in the alphabet, eliminating the guessed letter and all letters before it. # Blue means the target letter is earlier in the alphabet, eliminating the guessed letter and all letters after it. After each guess, you'll see how many possible words are remaining! You're awarded points for efficiently eliminating words, guessing letters correctly, and finding the target word in as few tries as possible. So what are you waiting for? Download today and enjoy 2 different (completely free) daily game modes: > Daily Classic is the original. 5 guesses to solve the target word. Eliminate letters as you go. Use a hint if you get stuck. > Daily Shift spices things up by choosing a random word as your first guess. And what’s this? No access to a hint?! Better hope you’re feeling lucky. Complete both challenges each day to unlock exciting rewards like backgrounds, color themes, and customized logos! But wait, don’t forget about Word Packs!
Still craving more sweet Shifting action? Word Packs are where it all comes together. Unlock a new layer of strategy by guessing the target words for each theme. Enjoy one sample Word Pack for free, with 10 more available for purchase and more to be added in the future. Are you still reading? How have you not downloaded this game yet?? Happy Shifting :-D

Screenshots

Capitals3 screens
ShiftFive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Capitals at none against ShiftFive's 11. Capitals also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs monthly). ShiftFive's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 74%). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. ShiftFive sells 11 one-off in-app purchases. Capitals asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ShiftFive holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Capitals has 183 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Capitals's written reviews are positive against 100% of ShiftFive's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Capitals ships an update weekly, ShiftFive monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Capitals versus ShiftFive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCapitalsShiftFive
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (183 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings183 — better6
Update frequencyWeekly — betterMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB68 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperNimbleBit LLCBraxton Smallwood

Customer experience

Capitals

All ratings182 ratings
Positive88.5%
Neutral6.6%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive73.7%
Neutral18.4%
Negative7.9%

ShiftFive

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Capitals

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • App store message to rate won't go away
  • No way to start game (no vowels/consonants) with no pass/trade option
  • Pop-ups about lost games and long press to delete words
  • Stats menu is empty
  • Game ID not found for random opponents
Show 3 more
  • Reloading app clears all games
  • Dictionary errors out
  • UI button placement can lead to accidental submissions

Requested features

13 requests
  • Stop the app store rating prompt
  • Bring back prewritten comments/words
  • Bring back stats against other players
  • Bring back same phone multiplayer/pass and play
  • More reliable dictionary
Show 8 more
  • Ability to play against a robot opponent
  • More opponent stats (shortest/longest/average rounds)
  • Block certain players
  • Singleplayer/vs. bot mode
  • Design themes (e.g., NEON)
  • 4 player mode
  • Special rules for tough characters like 'QX's'
  • Dark mode

ShiftFive

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Capitals

No in-app purchases

11 purchases

ShiftFive

One-time11
  • It's Spooky Word Pack$0.99
  • Gettin' Swoll Word Pack$0.99
  • Pass the Popcorn Word Pack$0.99
Show 8 more
  • The Feels Word Pack$0.99
  • Nom Nom Word Pack$0.99
  • Feel the Beat Word Pack$0.99
  • To Be Young Word Pack$0.99
  • It's a Zoo Word Pack$0.99
  • On the Go Word Pack$0.99
  • 5 Word Packs + Remove Ads$1.99
  • 10 Word Packs+Unlimited+No Ads$4.99

Questions

Is Capitals free?
Capitals is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ShiftFive free?
ShiftFive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Capitals or ShiftFive?
ShiftFive is rated higher. Capitals averages 4.6 out of 5 from 183 ratings, while ShiftFive averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.
Do Capitals or ShiftFive have ads?
ShiftFive shows ads; Capitals does not.
Which is updated more often, Capitals or ShiftFive?
Capitals ships an update weekly, and ShiftFive monthly. Most recently, Capitals was updated on October 27, 2026 and ShiftFive on October 15, 2026.

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