Pixel Algo vs Dot.Entity
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pixel Algo
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Pixel Algo brings Conway's Game of Life to your fingertips as a beautiful, interactive cellular automaton sandbox. Watch cells evolve, collide, and create emergent patterns — or take control and shape the grid yourself. FEATURES • Draw and erase cells with your finger • Place classic patterns: Glider, Pulsar, Gosper Gun, and more • Glass block and iridescent visual effects • Colony colors to track cell lineages • Cycle through color palettes automatically • Save and load grid snapshots • Adjustable simulation speed • Wrap-around or bounded edges • Auto-reset when the grid stagnates • Shake to clear the grid CONTROLS • 2-finger tap to pause/resume • Draw on the grid to create cells (when paused) • Double-tap to clear or randomize • Vertical drag to adjust speed • 3-finger tap to open the menu Pixel Algo is free with minimal, non-intrusive ads. Purchase Remove Ads once to enjoy an ad-free experience forever.
Dot.Entity
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Dot.Entity You tap. Cells are born. They spread, collide, change shape — the way a short video captures mold growing or fruit decaying. That kind of quiet time-lapse, in your palm. Each cell becomes the seed of a structure no one can predict. Watch it unfold. --- [ What you can do ] ・1-minute tutorial covers the four B3/S23 rules ・Tap the board to drop random presets (Glider, Blinker, Block...). First 10 taps follow a curated sequence so motion is immediate ・47-entry Lexicon (23 still lifes, 20 oscillators, 4 spaceships) auto-populates as you discover patterns. Each entry carries its discovery year, discoverer, historical significance, and trivia ・COMBO mechanic — the longer motion sustains, the higher the counter climbs across 9 distinct tiers (color / sound / haptic). At the top tier the HUD pulses in rainbow ・Dramatic sessions auto-save to REPLAYS (combo peak ≥ 300). 16x time-lapse playback, Shannon entropy graphs, and automatic key- moment markers let you analyze past evolutions ・PLAYGROUND for designing your own patterns (up to 50 saved). EDIT supports finger-drag continuous drawing, each cell ringing a pentatonic note. 5 practice challenges (Block, Glider, R-pentomino, Acorn, Diehard) ・"Today's Challenge" — daily 8x8 puzzle, clear within 5 moves. Optional hints. 7-day sparkline with streak counter ・Share moments as text or image. Photo-library permission is requested ONLY if you choose "Save Image" from the share sheet ・Glossary with 35 English terms — still life, oscillator, spaceship, methuselah, Glider Gun, Universal Constructor, Moore neighborhood, chirality, puffer, Turing completeness, and more. 14+ terms include live preview animations. Daily-rotating trivia card ・26 achievements (Discovery 6 / COMBO 8 / Daily 7 / Meta 5). Stats panel + "Coming up" progress panel. 3 "hint-free clear" achievements give the Daily Challenge a self-best axis ・Daily streak counter with personal-best record --- [ Made for ] ・People who enjoy fast-motion videos of natural processes ・Anyone curious about Conway's Game of Life or cellular automata ・Fans of digital fidgeting and tactile interfaces ・Commutes, waiting rooms, winding down before bed --- [ Design principles ] Zero in-app purchases, ads, social features, or data collection. Fully offline. Sensory-friendly: haptic / audio / visual intensity each adjustable per-axis (off / soft / medium / strong). Auto-detects iOS Reduce Motion and Reduce Transparency. Full VoiceOver support. Predictable, low-stress: all rules in the 1-minute tutorial, no hidden mechanics, no failure states, no time limits. Daily Challenge hints are opt-in. Collection-first: 47-form Lexicon + 26 achievements make "collect them all" the primary axis. Instant tap reward — haptic + visual + audio fire together. --- [ About cellular automata ] Conway's Game of Life, announced by mathematician John Conway in 1970, is the most beloved cellular automaton in the world. From four simple neighbor-counting rules emerge spaceships, oscillators, glider guns, even Turing-complete computation. For over 50 years enthusiasts have discovered new patterns — Glider Gun (Gosper 1970), Pulsar (Conway 1971), Eater 1, Pentadecathlon, LWSS, MWSS, HWSS — all included here with their historical context.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Dot.Entity at none against Pixel Algo's 1. Dot.Entity also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price 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
Both are free to download. Pixel Algo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Dot.Entity asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Pixel Algo | Dot.Entity |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | — |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shin Labs LLC | MASATOSHI FUJIMOTO |
In-app purchases
Pixel Algo
- Remove Ads$1.99
Dot.Entity
No in-app purchases








