Comparison

Tetranea vs Protocol 4

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

Head to head
About

Tetranea

This puzzle game combines roguelike deckbuilding with tile-placement mechanics on a 9x9 grid. Build a unique deck each run to alter gameplay, with over 200 cards to discover and modify. Enjoy short or long runs with increasing difficulty and multiple scoring methods.

Highlights
  • Roguelike deckbuilding
  • Tile placement on 9x9 grid
  • 200+ discoverable cards
  • Card modification
  • Boss battles
  • Row and column chaining
  • Multiple scoring methods
Read full description

I built this game to combine two of my great loves in gaming: simple abstract spatial strategy, and deep, complex card deck builders. You can play it for a few minutes at a time, or really get into it and go down the rabbit hole of nearly 100 special cards with special powers. It looks kind of like one of the gazillion tetromino-placing games — pretty simple, usually full of ads, and not much more than making sure you lose after some arbitrary amount of time so they can show you more ads. This one is different. There's tetromino (and pentomino) placement to score points, but the whole game rests on your own deck of cards: shape cards you play on the board, and special cards with special powers. You play runs - series of boards that get harder and harder. Each board needs more points to beat, and some boards have bosses that do all kinds of crazy things. You can play short runs, long runs, and even infinite runs. Each run you get to add new cards to your deck and modify (or delete) existing ones. I've been working on this game for two years now, and I keep adding to it and polishing it. It's become a labor of love. I play it myself often, and friends I've introduced it to generally get hooked. The full game is free to try. There's just one single purchase that unlocks some of the run types. Supported languages: 日本語, 한국어, 简体中文, Français, Deutsch, Español

About

Protocol 4

Features
Read full description

Crack the code before your rival does. Protocol 4 is a hacker game of pure deduction. Every guess gives you signal readings; you break the passcode with logic, not luck. Play solo, take on the Daily Operation, or duel another operator in real time. REAL-TIME PvP DUELS Race: one passcode, two operators. First one through wins. Standoff: each of you sets the code the other must break. Two codes, one clock, and you watch them close in on yours. Outsmart your rival and claim the reward. DAILY OPERATION A new code every day, the same for everyone. Crack it, climb the daily leaderboard and earn double XP. BUILD YOUR EMPIRE Assemble mining rigs, expand your vault, and run overclocks. Your network keeps earning credits while you are away. SYNDICATES AND TERRITORY Join one of three syndicates, claim territory on the map, and take your share of the pot that every raid feeds. RAIDS Break into a rival operator's grid and take what they left unguarded, then set your own defenses before they come for you. GLOBAL LEADERBOARD Earn XP and climb fifteen ranks to become the ultimate Server King. MORE WAYS TO PLAY Quick Hacks for fast action, Training to sharpen your deduction, and 18 career contracts plus fresh daily missions. ARSENAL OF TOOLS Oracle Scan, Double XP and more hacking tools to gain the upper hand when a code will not give. Play in English, Turkish, Spanish, French, German or Portuguese, on iPhone and iPad. Are you ready to initiate Protocol 4?

Screenshots

Tetranea4 screens
Protocol 44 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Tetranea at none against Protocol 4's shown. Tetranea also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 months). On price, in-app purchases, 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. Tetranea sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Protocol 4 sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tetranea ships an update every 4 days, Protocol 4 every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Tetranea versus Protocol 4: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTetraneaProtocol 4
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNathanael BoxerHAKAN OZGER

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Tetranea

One-time2
  • Tetranea Full Game$2.99
  • Tetranea Full Game$4.99
7 purchases

Protocol 4

One-time7
  • Pocket Change$0.99
  • Starter Kit$1.99
  • Agent License$2.99
Show 4 more
  • Hacker's Stash$4.99
  • Pro Kit$4.99
  • Trust Fund$9.99
  • Master Kit$9.99

Questions

Is Tetranea free?
Tetranea is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Protocol 4 free?
Protocol 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Tetranea or Protocol 4 have ads?
Protocol 4 shows ads; Tetranea does not.
Which is updated more often, Tetranea or Protocol 4?
Tetranea ships an update every 4 days, and Protocol 4 every 3 months. Most recently, Tetranea was updated on October 14, 2026 and Protocol 4 on October 8, 2026.

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