Comparison

Strata vs Star sweeper

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

Head to head
About

Strata

Features
Read full description

Minesweeper. Unboxed. The rules haven't changed. The grid has. Strata generates a new irregularly shaped board every time you play. No rectangles. No predictable patterns. Narrow corridors, isolated pockets, organic contours -- each puzzle is terrain you've never seen before. Same deduction. Same flags. Same satisfying cascade when you nail a zero-cell. But the geometry forces you to think again. BUILT FOR YOUR THUMBS Grids are deliberately small with large touch targets. No pinch-to-zoom. No panning. No squinting at tiny cells. The entire puzzle fits on one screen, playable one-handed. THREE DIFFICULTY TIERS Easy: Wide, forgiving shapes. 20-30 cells. Room to breathe. Medium: Corridors appear. Neighbor counts drop. 35-50 cells. Hard: Narrow bridges, peninsulas, 2-neighbor cells. 55-75 cells. Guessing happens. THE SHAPE IS THE GAME Irregular grids disrupt the patterns you've internalized from thousands of rectangular games. A cell with 3 neighbors instead of 8 changes everything. Peninsulas isolate information. Narrow bridges create chokepoints. The shape is the puzzle. WHAT YOU GET - Procedurally generated irregular grids - Classic minesweeper rules (tap to reveal, long-press to flag) - First-tap safety on every board - Per-difficulty stats: win rate, best time, streaks - Game state saves automatically - Haptic feedback tuned to each action - Dark mode by default WHAT YOU DON'T GET No tutorials. No hints. No ads. No accounts. No cloud. No in-app purchases. No internet required. Ever. A puzzle game for people who already know minesweeper.

About

Star sweeper

Embark on a mission to clear a post-apocalyptic Earth of hidden nuclear mines. Explore a 3D globe, strategically uncover safe zones, and rebuild civilization in this immersive puzzle game.

Highlights
  • 3D Polygon Globe exploration
  • Multiple difficulty levels
  • Intuitive tap, long press, and drag controls
  • Immersive cinematic soundtrack
  • Classic Minesweeper gameplay
Features
Read full description

Year 2157 The Third Nuclear War has shattered human civilization Undetonated nuclear mines lie scattered across the globe and survivors begin their final mission to rebuild Earth Locate every unexploded mine and reclaim safe zones one by one to restore the planet FEATURES 3D Polygon Globe Rotate the Earth freely to hunt for hidden mines A truly spherical puzzle experience unlike any other Multiple Difficulty Levels Higher levels denser polygon grids deeper strategy required Intuitive Controls Tap to explore long press to flag drag to rotate Easy to learn hard to master Immersive Soundtrack Tense cinematic music to fuel your mission The classic puzzle you love on a planet at the brink of extinction Are you ready to save the Earth

Screenshots

Strata4 screens
Star sweeper4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Strata at none against Star sweeper's 1. Strata also leads on ads (none vs shown). Star sweeper's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price and iOS requirement 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. Star sweeper sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Strata asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Strata versus Star sweeper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStrataStar sweeper
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 months—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMatthew KearneyJiwon Lee

In-app purchases

None

Strata

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Star sweeper

One-time1
  • PREMIUM UNLOCK$19.99

Questions

Is Strata free?
Strata is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Star sweeper free?
Star sweeper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Strata or Star sweeper have ads?
Star sweeper shows ads; Strata does not.

Other comparisons