Comparison

Basic Buddies vs Payroll Dice

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

Head to head
About

Basic Buddies

Experience a fast-paced arcade game focused on vertical descent and precision movement. Navigate a continuously generating world with unique challenges and unlockable content. Master timing and control to survive longer and achieve higher scores.

Highlights
  • Four unique game modes
  • Endless vertically scrolling gameplay
  • Responsive mobile controls
  • Unlockable characters and customization
  • Coin-based progression
  • Designed for quick sessions
Features
Read full description

Descend fast. Survive longer. Master the descent. This is a fast-paced arcade-style game built around vertical descent, precision movement, and split-second decision making. Each run drops you into a continuously generating world filled with platforms, hazards, and opportunities to push just a little farther. The game features four distinct game modes, each offering a different way to play — from endless, score-chasing runs to survival-style challenges that test how long you can last under pressure. Whether you’re aiming for a clean, focused descent or pushing yourself through increasingly intense encounters, every mode rewards timing, control, and momentum. Features: - Four unique game modes with different rules and challenges - Endless, vertically scrolling gameplay - Smooth, responsive controls built for mobile - Unlockable characters and visual customization - Coin-based progression and optional rewards - Designed for quick sessions and high replay value Easy to learn but difficult to master, this game is all about control, rhythm, and surviving the descent.

About

Payroll Dice

Strategically manipulate dice rolls to score points and pay off debts. Build unique dice combinations with new faces and synergies to overcome challenges. Face a loan shark in boss rounds with random modifiers and test your skills in an endless mode.

Highlights
  • Strategic dice manipulation
  • Dice face customization
  • Synergy crafting
  • Boss rounds with modifiers
  • Unlockable dice sets
  • Endless mode
  • Bite-sized runs
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

CONTROL THE CHAOS This isn't a luck simulator. This is strategic dice manipulation. Throw your dice. Rotate each die to any visible face. Score to pay your debts. BUILD YOUR PERFECT DICE Spend pips in the shop after each roll. Add new faces, craft synergies, and build something that probably shouldn't work — until it does. Every decision compounds. Every run feels different. Grow to 6 dice and upgrade them into d12s. FACE THE LOAN SHARK Clear your debts and the shark himself shows up. He doesn't play fair. Boss rounds twist the rules with random modifiers. 8 DICE SETS TO UNLOCK Different starting faces, unique passive abilities, and entirely new combo potential — every unlocked die opens a fresh tactical rabbit hole. Over 100 Unique Dice Faces Rotate Dice to Control Your Luck 7 Unlockable Dice — each transforms how you play Boss Rounds with Random Modifiers Endless Mode — difficulty scales infinitely 15–30 Minute Runs — perfect bite-sized sessions True Roguelike — no permanent upgrades, pure skill Strategic Combo Crafting High Replayability NO SAFETY NETS. NO EXCUSES. No meta-progression. No permanent upgrades. Every run starts from zero. Build from blank dice to devastating combos in 10 rounds. Think you've figured it out? Endless Mode is waiting. Simple to learn. Impossible to master. Throw. Rotate. Score. Shop. Survive. Can you pay off the loan shark before he cashes in?

Screenshots

Basic Buddies4 screens
Payroll Dice4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Basic Buddies at Free against Payroll Dice's $4.99. Basic Buddies also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 80%). Payroll Dice's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, update cadence and device support 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

Basic Buddies is free to download; Payroll Dice costs $4.99 up front. Basic Buddies sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Payroll Dice asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Basic Buddies against 5.0 for Payroll Dice. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Payroll Dice has 11 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Basic Buddies's written reviews are positive against 80% of Payroll Dice's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Basic Buddies ships an update weekly, Payroll Dice every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Basic Buddies versus Payroll Dice: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBasic BuddiesPayroll Dice
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better80.0% of reviews
Number of ratings111 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 6 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#73 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB156 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndrew HoffartGeorge Timms

Customer experience

Basic Buddies

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Payroll Dice

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Basic Buddies

One-time5
  • Small Coin Pack (100 Coins)$0.99
  • Medium Coin Pack (500 Coins)$2.99
  • Premium Upgrade (No Ads)$3.99
Show 2 more
  • Large Coin Pack (1,500 Coins)$4.99
  • Epic Coin Pack (5,000 Coins)$9.99
None

Payroll Dice

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Basic Buddies free?
Basic Buddies is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Payroll Dice free?
Payroll Dice costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Basic Buddies or Payroll Dice?
Basic Buddies and Payroll Dice are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 11 ratings respectively.
Do Basic Buddies or Payroll Dice have ads?
Basic Buddies shows ads; Payroll Dice does not.
Which is updated more often, Basic Buddies or Payroll Dice?
Basic Buddies ships an update weekly, and Payroll Dice every 6 days. Most recently, Basic Buddies was updated on October 30, 2026 and Payroll Dice on November 5, 2026.

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