The Ancient Ways vs Thread the Bolt
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Ancient Ways
Embark on an adventure across the globe by utilizing ancient stone archways as portals to new destinations. Explore diverse locations, engage in mini-games, collect unique Tarot cards, and uncover mysterious artifacts.
- Portal-based world exploration
- In-game mini-games
- Tarot card collection
- Artifact discovery
- Mystery solving
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Adventure around the world using an Ancient form of travel, stone archways. Each archway is a portal to a faraway destination. Explore, play games, collect Tarot Cards, discover Artifacts, and try to solve the great mysteries of the world.
Thread the Bolt
A strategic puzzle game where players must fit colored blocks into a designated area. Blocks can only be cleared when placed under a matching colored nut, requiring careful planning and color matching to solve each level.
- Color-matching block placement
- Strategic move planning
- Limited space management
- Board clearing puzzles
- Precision fitting challenges
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Thread the Bolt – a puzzle game where strategy meets precision! Your goal is simple: fit the three blocks from below into the designated area. But here's the challenge—every block has a color, and it can only be cleared when placed under a matching-colored nut above. Plan your moves carefully. You'll need to manage the limited space while matching the right colors. One wrong placement could block your way! Think ahead, fit them in, and clear the board. Ready to thread the bolt?
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: The Ancient Ways at 5.0 against Thread the Bolt's 4.1. The Ancient Ways also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Thread the Bolt's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (100 vs 5). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
The Ancient Ways holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Thread the Bolt has 100 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two.
The Ancient Ways ships an update every 2 months, Thread the Bolt fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Ancient Ways | Thread the Bolt |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better | 4.1 (100 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 34.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 100 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 265 MB | 141 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | William Crittenden | RAHMAN BIN ADEN |
Customer experience
The Ancient Ways
Thread the Bolt
In-app purchases
The Ancient Ways
No in-app purchases
Thread the Bolt
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Ancient Ways free?
Is Thread the Bolt free?
Which has better reviews, The Ancient Ways or Thread the Bolt?
Do The Ancient Ways or Thread the Bolt have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Ancient Ways or Thread the Bolt?
Other comparisons
