Pente for iMessage vs Zapverse
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pente for iMessage
Engage in a classic strategy board game directly within your messaging app. Challenge friends and family by placing stones to form five in a row or capture opponent pieces. Enjoy simple rules with deep strategic possibilities, all without leaving your conversations.
- Play directly in iMessage
- Classic Pente gameplay
- Five-in-a-row objective
- Stone capture mechanics
- Automatic move validation
- Game state saved in history
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Bring the excitement of Pente to your conversations! This classic strategy board game lets you challenge friends and family right in Messages. HOW TO PLAY: • Place stones on the board to get five in a row • Capture opponent pairs by surrounding them • Win by getting five in a row OR capturing 10 stones • Simple rules, deep strategy FEATURES: • Play directly in iMessage conversations • Beautiful, clean game board • Automatic move validation • Game state saved in message history • Works on iPhone and iPad Perfect for quick games during conversations or longer strategic battles. No separate app needed - everything happens right in Messages! Pente combines the simplicity of tic-tac-toe with the depth of Go. Easy to learn, challenging to master.
Zapverse
Engage in turn-based multiplayer games directly within your messaging app. Challenge friends to a variety of quick games, or solve daily puzzles. Play asynchronously without needing to be online simultaneously.
- Nine two-player games playable in chat
- Turn-based asynchronous gameplay
- Eight daily puzzles with streaks
- No accounts or lobbies required
- Playable directly within messages
- Connect Four, Dots & Boxes, Word Duel, and more
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Zapverse turns any conversation into a game. Ten two-player games live right inside Messages. Send a challenge, and it appears in the chat as a playable card. Your friend taps it, takes their turn, and it comes back to you. No accounts, no lobbies, no waiting around — just messages going back and forth like they always do. PLAY TOGETHER • Connect Four — drop discs and line up four. Pick a board from 4 to 10 wide. • Dots & Boxes — close a square to claim it and go again. Boards up to 10x10. • Word Duel — you each pick a secret word and guess each other's, letter by letter. • Number War — hide a number, take turns closing in with higher and lower. • Emoji Pictionary — send emoji clues and dare them to work out the phrase. • Higher or Lower — bet on the next number across ten rounds. • Would You Rather — pick A or B in secret and see whether you match. • Two Truths and a Lie — write up to five sets and see how many they catch. • Frog Hop — a turn-based race to swap your frogs across the board. EIGHT PUZZLES EVERY DAY A fresh set arrives daily, with a streak to keep going: • Connections — sort sixteen words into four hidden groups • Daily Riddle — a visual word puzzle • Riddle Me — a classic riddle • Emoji Challenge — work out the phrase from emoji • Emoji Story — name the film, song or story • Word Scramble — unscramble the word • Anagram — rearrange a scrambled phrase • Daily Cipher — crack the code, with a new key every day BUILT FOR MESSAGES Games are turn-based and asynchronous, so nobody has to be online at the same time. Play a move now, come back to it tomorrow. Everything is carried in the message itself. No accounts. No adverts. No in-app purchases. Nothing is collected about you.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Zapverse at every 3 weeks against Pente for iMessage's every 2 months. Pente for iMessage's advantage is ratings volume (5 vs 1). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Pente for iMessage against 5.0 for Zapverse. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pente for iMessage has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Pente for iMessage ships an update every 2 months, Zapverse every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pente for iMessage | Zapverse |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.5 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cole Bart Madden | Atomdev Labs |
Customer experience
Pente for iMessage
Zapverse
In-app purchases
Pente for iMessage
No in-app purchases
Zapverse
No in-app purchases









