Comparison

Boxy Pals vs Screw Machine

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

Head to head
About

Boxy Pals

Guide snakes across a grid, matching colors to clear them. Plan your moves carefully to escape each level without filling the rotating bar.

Highlights
  • Snake matching mechanic
  • Grid escape puzzles
  • Hundreds of handcrafted levels
  • No timers or stress
  • Offline play
  • Smart hints
Features
Read full description

A crowd of pals is waiting, and every one of them belongs somewhere. Boxy Pals is a color-matching queue game with a twist: the boxes you fill are the picture. Tap a line and the pals at its front march into the waiting room. Send every pal into a box of their own color, fill the open boxes from the ground up, and watch the mural above you come apart one box at a time. Empty the last box and the level is yours. HOW TO PLAY - Tap a line to send its front color group marching. - Only a few box colors are open at any moment. - Match every pal to a box of the same color. - Empty the boxes below to reach the ones above. - Leave breathing room for the colors still to come. - Stuck? Rescue pulls your pals back into a line. WHY PLAYERS KEEP TAPPING - One thumb, one tap, no tutorial needed - Every line you open changes your next ten moves - Crowds that shuffle, shove and squeeze into place - A picture that takes itself apart, box by box - No timer, no move limit — think as long as you like - Bright, chunky 3D worlds One wrong line and the room fills up. One right line and the whole board opens. Which line will you tap first?

About

Screw Machine

This game challenges you to sort colored screws onto a spinning machine. Tap panels to release screws onto a rail, where they thread into matching plates. Fill all plates to win, but avoid jamming the machine by overloading the rail.

Highlights
  • Color-sorting screw puzzle
  • Spinning machine mechanic
  • Tap-to-release screws
  • Level-based progression
  • Offline play
  • Mystery plates, gates, tunnels, arrows
Features
Read full description

Screw Machine is a color-sorting screw puzzle with a moving twist. Instead of stacking screws onto a bolt, you spill screws onto a spinning machine and let timing do the sorting. Tap a panel drop its screws onto the rail, and watch each color thread itself into its matching plate as the ring carries it around. Fill every plate to win. Overload the rail and the whole machine seizes up. HOW THE MACHINE WORKS • Tap a panel to loosen its screws onto the spinning rail • Four color plates sit around the ring — each one takes three screws of its color • As the machine turns, every screw passing its matching plate drives itself in • Fill a plate and it locks shut; the next color rolls up behind it • Clear all the plates to finish the level KEEP IT TURNING • The rail only holds so many screws, release colors with nowhere to go and it jams solid • Read the machine before you tap: open the panels whose colors have an open plate • No move counter, no timer, you only lose if the rail jams for good • Every level is a small sorting puzzle built to be untangled PARTS THAT CHANGE THE GAME • Mystery plates: The next color stays hidden behind a "?" until it rolls into place • Gates: Run a screw through and it splits into more • Tunnels: Feed a whole extra run of panels onto the board • Arrows: Panels that you can only unlock from a certain direction WHY IT'S HARD TO PUT DOWN • A fresh, tactile spin on the nuts and bolts puzzles you already love • One-tap, simple, with real timing and planning underneath • Hand-built levels that stay clever without ever feeling like work • Oddly satisfying to watch, screws driving home, plates locking in sequence • Play offline, anywhere, no wifi needed • Free to play, with lives that refill over time Loosen the screws. Run the machine. Sort every color.

Screenshots

Boxy Pals4 screens
Screw Machine4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Screw Machine at 736 against Boxy Pals's 123. On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Boxy Pals sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Screw Machine sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Boxy Pals against 4.9 for Screw Machine. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Screw Machine has 736 ratings behind it against 123, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Boxy Pals ships an update every 5 days, Screw Machine every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Boxy Pals versus Screw Machine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBoxy PalsScrew Machine
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (123 ratings)4.9 (736 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—57.1% of reviews
Number of ratings123736 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size378 MB428 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperLoop Games Oyun Teknolojileri Anonim SirketiTwist Games

Customer experience

Boxy Pals

All ratings115 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral1.7%
Negative1.7%

Screw Machine

All ratings736 ratings
Positive98.8%
Neutral0.4%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative42.9%

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Boxy Pals

One-time12
  • Coin Pack 1$1.99
  • End Game Offer$5.99
  • Remove Ads Bundle$7.99
Show 9 more
  • Coin Pack 2$7.99
  • Starter Pack$9.99
  • Value Pack$19.99
  • Coin Pack 4$24.99
  • Treasure Pack$39.99
  • Coin Pack 5$59.99
  • Mega Pack$79.99
  • Coin Pack 6$99.99
  • Ultimate Pack$99.99
10 purchases

Screw Machine

One-time10
  • 1000 Coins$1.99
  • Fail Offer$4.99
  • 5000 Coins$7.99
Show 7 more
  • No Ads$7.99
  • Small Bundle$9.99
  • No Ads Bundle$12.99
  • 10000 Coins$14.99
  • Medium Bundle$19.99
  • Large Bundle$29.99
  • Mega Bundle$49.99

Questions

Is Boxy Pals free?
Boxy Pals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Screw Machine free?
Screw Machine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Boxy Pals or Screw Machine?
Screw Machine is rated higher. Boxy Pals averages 4.8 out of 5 from 123 ratings, while Screw Machine averages 4.9 from 736 ratings.
Do Boxy Pals or Screw Machine have ads?
Both Boxy Pals and Screw Machine show ads.
Which is updated more often, Boxy Pals or Screw Machine?
Boxy Pals ships an update every 5 days, and Screw Machine every 4 days. Most recently, Boxy Pals was updated on October 30, 2026 and Screw Machine on November 1, 2026.

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