Comparison

Payroll Dice vs Grim Hand

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

Head to head
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?

About

Grim Hand

A dark fantasy roguelike deckbuilder where your weapon dictates your available cards. Navigate challenging runs with permanent death, hand-drawn acts, and impactful soul upgrades. This single-player experience offers a complete game with no ads or subscriptions.

Highlights
  • Weapon-based card system
  • Roguelike runs with permanent death
  • Four hand-drawn acts
  • Soul upgrades to alter gameplay
  • No grinding, packs, or timers
  • Offline single-player experience
Features
Read full description

Grim Hand is a dark fantasy roguelike deckbuilder. Free demo, then one purchase unlocks the whole game. No ads. Plays fully offline. TACTICAL COMBAT IN TWO ROWS Your weapon is your deck. Pick up a bow and you can hit the back row. Pick up a hammer and you can stun. Every weapon and shield you carry changes the cards in your hand. Enemies stand in a front row and a back row, and each one shows what it will do next. Kill the leader or break their morale. Enemies strike after every card you play, so there is no safe turn. EVERY RUN IS DIFFERENT Different weapons, different events, different enemies on the way. Death ends the run. You start again, and you start smarter. A true roguelike experience. SOULS THAT CHANGE HOW YOU PLAY Choose your souls before a run. None of them is a flat bonus. Each one asks you to play differently. A NARRATED STORY OF A PERSONAL LOSS A blacksmith lost his trade when the war ended. He goes down into the dungeon to bring money home. Four acts, and every line is voiced. 72 CREATURES Goblins, lizardmen, the undead and worse, each with its own way of fighting. Camps to rest at, a forge to upgrade your weapon, and strange events that can save a run or end it. PREMIUM, THE OLD WAY No ads, no energy timers, no loot boxes, no daily login. Play free up to the first mini-boss, then one purchase unlocks all four acts, every boss and every soul. Yours to keep. Old school RPG. Made by one person, an indie project.

Screenshots

Payroll Dice4 screens
Grim Hand4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Grim Hand at Free against Payroll Dice's $4.99. Grim Hand also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 80%). Payroll Dice's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly). On rating, ads, device support 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

Grim Hand is free to download; Payroll Dice costs $4.99 up front. Grim Hand sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 Payroll Dice against 5.0 for Grim Hand. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Payroll Dice has 10 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Payroll Dice's written reviews are positive against 100% of Grim Hand's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Payroll Dice ships an update every 6 days, Grim Hand monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Payroll Dice versus Grim Hand: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPayroll DiceGrim Hand
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (10 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings10 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#135 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size156 MB249 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperGeorge TimmsAndrey Rubshtein

Customer experience

Payroll Dice

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

Grim Hand

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

In-app purchases

None

Payroll Dice

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Grim Hand

One-time1
  • Full Game Unlock$4.99

Questions

Is Payroll Dice free?
Payroll Dice costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Grim Hand free?
Grim Hand is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Payroll Dice or Grim Hand?
Payroll Dice and Grim Hand are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 10 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Payroll Dice or Grim Hand have ads?
Neither Payroll Dice nor Grim Hand shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Payroll Dice or Grim Hand?
Payroll Dice ships an update every 6 days, and Grim Hand monthly. Most recently, Payroll Dice was updated on October 28, 2026 and Grim Hand on October 29, 2026.

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