Comparison

POOLS™ vs PEST POKER

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

Head to head
About

POOLS™

This app offers a slow, reflective, and immersive experience focused on exploration and atmosphere. It evokes feelings of unease and curiosity through its unique environments, inspired by liminal spaces and internet phenomena. Discover changing worlds and subtle narratives without traditional gameplay mechanics.

Highlights
  • Slow, reflective exploration
  • Atmospheric and immersive environments
  • Inspired by liminal spaces
  • Unfolding narrative through exploration
  • Six distinct chapters
  • Unique sound design
Features
Read full description

Explore, admire and listen. That’s it. Uncanny. Relaxing. Unnerving. Eerie. Immersive. POOLS isn’t a traditional game. it’s slow, reflective, and intentionally uneventful, perhaps a bit like virtual museum. So take your time. Breathe. POOLS unfolds slowly, rewarding patience and quiet attention. No monsters chasing you or jumping at your screen. Yet it can feel oppressive at times by invoking quiet fears of getting lost, the dark, tight spaces and the strange beauty of liminal space architecture. There's no typical story. But as you explore and advance further, you start to notice that the game's world changes around you, deeper you go… Rooms look and feel… different. Base game features six chapters, each lasting 10-30 minutes. Inspired by the internet phenomena Liminal spaces, Found footage and The Backrooms, especially the Poolrooms concept. One of the original artists behind the Poolrooms concept is Jared Pike.

About

PEST POKER

Features
Read full description

【遊び方・ルール概要】 『PEST POKER(ペストポーカー)』は、1台のスマホをみんなで回して遊ぶ、嘘つき心理戦ゲームです。 嫌な生物カードを相手に押し付け合い、たった1人の敗者を決定します。 ■ ゲームの流れ 出題者は、手札から生物カードを1枚選び、裏向きで相手に渡します。 この時、「これはコウモリです」のように生き物の名前を宣言します。この宣言は、本当のことを言っても、嘘をついても構いません。 カードを渡された人(回答者)は、以下のどちらかを選択します。 A. 判定する(勝負!) 宣言が「本当」か「嘘」かを見破ります。 ・あなたの予想が正解なら、出題者がカードを引き取ります(出題者の負け)。 ・予想が外れたら、あなたがカードを引き取ります(あなたの負け)。 B. パスする(回避) 勝負を避けて、カードをこっそり確認し、別の人へ回します。 この時、新しい宣言をして(嘘でもOK)、次の相手に心理戦を仕掛けます。 ■ 敗北条件 以下のどちらかを満たしたプレイヤーの負けです。 ・同じ種類の生物が4枚揃う ・全8種類の生物が各1枚ずつ揃う ポーカーフェイスで嘘をつき通すか、相手の嘘を見抜くか。 スリリングな心理戦をお楽しみください!

Screenshots

POOLS™4 screens
PEST POKER4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PEST POKER at none against POOLS™'s 1. PEST POKER also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months). On price, ads, 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. POOLS™ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. PEST POKER asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

POOLS™ ships an update every 2 months, PEST POKER every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
POOLS™ versus PEST POKER: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPOOLS™PEST POKER
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (1.6K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews79.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.6K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.9 GB100 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperTensoriKoya Kuriyama

Bugs and requests

POOLS™

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Unable to move on iPad Pro
  • Glitches reported

Requested features

3 requests
  • Expand to different Backrooms-inspired themes
  • Add a multiplayer mode
  • Introduce more interactive elements (e.g., monsters, items to discover)

PEST POKER

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

POOLS™

One-time1
  • POOLS: Full Game$9.99
None

PEST POKER

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is POOLS™ free?
POOLS™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PEST POKER free?
PEST POKER is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do POOLS™ or PEST POKER have ads?
Neither POOLS™ nor PEST POKER shows ads.
Which is updated more often, POOLS™ or PEST POKER?
POOLS™ ships an update every 2 months, and PEST POKER every 10 days. Most recently, POOLS™ was updated on October 17, 2026 and PEST POKER on September 28, 2026.

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