Comparison

Train Out vs Dots on Paper

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

Head to head
About

Train Out

Guide trains of matching colors through a grid to pick up passengers. Once full, the train can exit through its tunnel. Plan your moves carefully to solve increasingly complex puzzles.

Highlights
  • Color-matching puzzles
  • Train pathfinding
  • Passenger pickup
  • Grid-based strategy
  • Increasing difficulty
  • Tunnel escape
Features
Read full description

Train Out is a clever and colorful puzzle game where you guide trains through a grid to pick up passengers of the same color. Once a train is full, the matching barrier opens, allowing the train to escape through its tunnel. Drag each train across the grid carefully, avoid getting stuck, and plan your moves wisely. As levels progress, the layouts become more challenging, requiring sharper thinking and smarter strategies.

About

Dots on Paper

Features
Read full description

The game from the last row of desks, exactly as you remember it, only fast. Squared paper, a red pen and a blue one, and an opponent who has already moved. Dots (Kropki) is the classic pen-and-paper game of encirclement: place dots on the grid, close a chain around your opponent's, and the ground inside is yours. The rules take a minute to learn; the depth lasts for years. This version is the blitz that never existed: 60 seconds for the whole match, 10 seconds a move. Whoever sees the board fastest wins. A NOTEBOOK, NOT AN APP Real squared paper with a margin, ballpoint ink, hand-drawn hatching over captured ground. Every move is drawn the way it would be drawn at a school desk. You won't find a glossy button or a particle effect anywhere in it. TEN OPPONENTS From a daydreaming beginner to the Grandmaster of the Notebook. Each one makes mistakes its own way, like a person rather than a throttled machine. King of the Hill: ten wins in a row, and one loss sends you back to the bottom. TOURNAMENT RULES Yes, Dots has a federation and published competition rules. Sport mode plays by them: the starting cross, strict alternation, an Elo rating and real ranks you can lose. PLAYS OFFLINE On a plane, in the subway, at a cabin: all ten opponents, the mountain and free play work with no internet and no account. TWO PLAYERS, ONE PHONE Pass and play: one screen, two pens. Hand the phone across the desk the way you'd hand over the notebook. PLAY WITH PEOPLE Over Game Center: invite a friend, stake a match against a stranger, or enter the weekly tournament. There is no account to create. It's you, an opponent, and the paper. 47 ACHIEVEMENTS From First Win to the Grandmaster title, with a shelf of shame for those who resign. Game Center keeps the score. FAIR BY DESIGN The game is free, and ads play only when you ask for one: watch it, pocket the coins. Nothing you buy affects the match. Pens, watches and manicures change how your hand looks, never how the game plays. There are no hints and no undo: a placed dot is placed. Place a dot. The clock is already running.

Screenshots

Train Out4 screens
Dots on Paper4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Train Out at 13.0 against Dots on Paper's 15.0. On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Train Out ships an update every 11 days, Dots on Paper weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Train Out versus Dots on Paper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrain OutDots on Paper
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (24 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings24 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size126 MB128 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperSamet ErsanIllia Riznyk

In-app purchases

None

Train Out

No in-app purchases

None

Dots on Paper

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Train Out free?
Train Out is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dots on Paper free?
Dots on Paper is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Train Out or Dots on Paper have ads?
Both Train Out and Dots on Paper show ads.
Which is updated more often, Train Out or Dots on Paper?
Train Out ships an update every 11 days, and Dots on Paper weekly. Most recently, Train Out was updated on October 24, 2026 and Dots on Paper on October 16, 2026.

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