Comparison

Scratch Inc. vs Emberwick

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

Head to head
About

Scratch Inc.

An idle incremental game where you build an empire by scratching cards and earning points. Upgrade your cards, unlock automation, and prestige to progress faster. Enjoy endless upgrades, achievements, and global leaderboards with no ads or wait timers.

Highlights
  • Endless Upgrades
  • Prestige for Progress
  • Achievements with Rewards
  • Global Leaderboards
  • Playable Offline
  • No Ads
Features
Read full description

Build an Empire, From Scratch Scratch cards, earn points, and grow your empire in this idle/incremental game. Upgrade your cards, unlock automation, prestige across industries, and climb the leaderboards — all with no ads, ever. • Endless Upgrades – Boost your point gain, match multipliers, grid size, and so much more. • Prestige for Progress – Reset to climb faster across deep progression layers. • Achievements with Rewards – Earn Gold and multipliers by completing fun challenges. • Global Leaderboards – Compete with others across the world across a variety of challenges. • Playable Offline – Play anywhere anytime • No Ads. No Wait Timers. Just Progress and Big Numbers. Made by a solo dev. Built to respect your time. (A reimagining of my first game)

About

Emberwick

Guide a glowing ember down a dark canal to light paper lanterns. Master wind mechanics for precise throws and aim for high scores. Enjoy a daily challenge and unlock new scenic locations with a single purchase.

Highlights
  • One-tap ember flicking
  • Wind-based physics for throws
  • Daily challenges with leaderboards
  • Unlockable scenic locations
  • Offline play
  • No ads or in-app purchases
Features
Read full description

Flick a glowing ember down a dark canal and light the paper lanterns. The wind is shown before every throw, so a miss is always yours to fix. It locks the moment you release and never changes mid-flight. Miss three and the night ends. One thumb, portrait, no sound needed. An attempt takes two to four seconds, which is about the length of a red light — it was built to be played standing up on a moving train, with one hand on the rail. A DAILY CHALLENGE, FREE FOR EVERYONE The same board for everyone, every day: the same lanterns, the same winds, one attempt. It visits a different place each day and you can play it whether or not you own that place. Compare it on the Game Center leaderboard, then come back tomorrow for a new one. FOUR PLACES • Night Canal — paper lanterns on dark water, koi under the surface, a torii gate at the far end. Free, and complete • Orbit — a launch corridor under a gas giant. Beat your best and the vehicle on the pad goes up • Amazonia — a night river in closed forest, lighting rafts adrift among the crocodiles • Midtown — a New York back alley under the Manhattan skyline, with an elevated train crossing the gap at the end One purchase opens Orbit, Amazonia, Midtown and every place added later. WHAT IT DOES NOT DO • No ads. Not between runs, not anywhere • No currency, no upgrades, no energy to wait on • Nothing you buy changes the throw — the physics is identical everywhere • No account and no servers of ours. It has never sent anything anywhere • Works with no signal Chain hits for x2, x3, x5. Beat your best and the place answers: fireworks over the canal, a launch in orbit, a flotilla of lights down the river.

Screenshots

Scratch Inc.4 screens
Emberwick4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Scratch Inc. at 1.9K against Emberwick's 2. Scratch Inc. also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly). Emberwick's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Scratch Inc. sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Emberwick sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Emberwick holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Scratch Inc. has 1.9K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Scratch Inc. ships an update every 6 days, Emberwick fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Scratch Inc. versus Emberwick: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScratch Inc.Emberwick
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.9K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.9K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.016.0
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB2 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMakopaz LLCTom Van De Putte

Customer experience

Scratch Inc.

All ratings1,918 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral3.4%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews466 reviews
Positive93.3%
Neutral4.1%
Negative2.6%

Emberwick

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Scratch Inc.

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Offline rewards rarely triggering
  • Lacking sound effects

Requested features

2 requests
  • More skin tone options for avatar
  • Better variety and more offline rewards

Emberwick

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Scratch Inc.

One-time5
  • 20 Gold$1.99
  • 55 Gold$4.99
  • 120 Gold$9.99
Show 2 more
  • 260 Gold$19.99
  • 750 Gold$49.99
1 purchases

Emberwick

One-time1
  • All Maps$2.99

Questions

Is Scratch Inc. free?
Scratch Inc. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Emberwick free?
Emberwick is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Scratch Inc. or Emberwick?
Emberwick is rated higher. Scratch Inc. averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while Emberwick averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Scratch Inc. or Emberwick have ads?
Neither Scratch Inc. nor Emberwick shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Scratch Inc. or Emberwick?
Scratch Inc. ships an update every 6 days, and Emberwick fortnightly. Most recently, Scratch Inc. was updated on October 30, 2026 and Emberwick on October 15, 2026.

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