Comparison

Alchemora vs Pocket Arcade Retro Games

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

Head to head
About

Alchemora

Features
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Start with the basic elements and discover how the world was created. In Alchemora, you combine elements to unlock inventions, technologies, and ideas that shaped human civilization. Experiment with combinations, make new discoveries, and evolve through 10 eras of human history โ€” from the earliest sparks of life to advanced cosmic civilizations. If you love alchemy games, element combination games, crafting puzzles, and discovery games, Alchemora offers a relaxing yet deeply rewarding experience where curiosity leads to progress. Start with five basic elements โ€” Human, Nature, Stone, Fire, and Water โ€” and experiment to create new materials, tools, technologies, and inventions. Every successful combination unlocks new possibilities and expands your discovery tree. With 560+ elements to find, the journey never gets old. Watch civilization evolve as you unlock discoveries across 10 historical eras: Ancient, Classical, Medieval, Renaissance, Industrial, Modern, Digital, AI, Posthuman, and Cosmic. Each era introduces new elements, ideas, and inventions that push humanity forward. Experiment freely with different combinations to unlock new items. Some discoveries are intuitive, others require creativity and outside-the-box thinking. The satisfaction of finding a rare combination never gets old. Alchemora is easy to pick up but endlessly satisfying to explore. Combine elements, unlock discoveries, and enjoy a calm progression system designed for curious minds of all ages. Earn XP, level up, unlock unique avatars, and complete daily tasks to earn coins. Use coins to reveal hints when you get stuck. The more you play, the more you discover. Play in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, or Ukrainian โ€” with native-quality translations. Three visual themes, hand-crafted icons, smooth haptic feedback, and full offline support. Play anywhere, anytime. Features at a Glance - 560+ elements to combine and discover - 10 eras of human civilization - Daily tasks, achievements & leveling system - Smart hint system with coins - 6 languages supported - Offline play โ€” no Wi-Fi needed - Clean, intuitive interface - Perfect for fans of alchemy, crafting, and discovery games In Alchemora, every combination tells part of the story of civilization. Start with the elements. Discover the inventions. Build the history of humanity.

About

Pocket Arcade Retro Games

Experience a collection of 26 original retro arcade games on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Enjoy diverse genres from racing and shooters to puzzles and pinball, with intuitive controls and offline play. Unlock all games with a single purchase.

Highlights
  • 26 original arcade games
  • Playable on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch
  • Controller support for iPhone/iPad
  • Offline play
  • Game Center leaderboards and achievements
  • Single purchase to unlock all games
Features
Read full description

Pocket Arcade packs 26 original arcade games into one beautifully crafted app โ€” for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. No ads, no nonsense: pick a game and play in seconds. From a neon maze chase and a brick-breaker to a pseudo-3D arcade racer, a tube shooter, a snake game, a physics pinball with four tables, falling-block, sliding-number and match-3 puzzles, an asteroids-style drifter, a boss-battling sky shooter, table tennis and more โ€” every game is hand-built with its own controls, music, and high-score table. FEATURES โ€ข 26 original games across Arcade, Pinball, Shooters, Puzzle, Racing and Board โ€ข Big, clear on-screen touch controls tuned per game โ€” plus Apple Watch Digital Crown support โ€ข Play with a game controller on iPhone and iPad โ€” Xbox, PlayStation and MFi pads, 23 of the 26 games โ€ข Plays on iPhone, iPad AND Apple Watch โ€” your high scores sync across all three over iCloud โ€ข Game Center leaderboards and achievements โ€ข Filter games by category and star your favorites โ€ข High scores, attract demos, and a clear how-to-play guide for every game โ€ข The maze chaser evolves as you climb โ€” split mazes and rotating biomes over a deep-space sky โ€ข Original artwork and sound โ€” no third-party trackers, fully playable offline FREE TO PLAY Four games are free forever โ€” a maze chaser, tic-tac-toe, a brick-breaker, and a snake game. Unlock the full collection โ€” every current and future game โ€” with a single one-time purchase. No subscriptions, ever. THE GAMES Arcade โ€” a neon maze chase, a road-and-river crossing dash, a snake, a flag-grabbing maze rally, table tennis, and a maze-bombing blast-'em-up. Pinball โ€” a real-physics table with flippers, ramps and multiball across four distinct playfields. Shooters โ€” defend against a swarm, dodge a diving fleet, drift-and-blast through a rock field, ride a geometric tube, loop a dream world blasting bosses, and storm an isometric gauntlet of floor mazes and six towering bosses. Puzzle โ€” stack falling blocks, pop color-matched bubbles, break out a wall of bricks, chain match-3 gem cascades, catch and clear tumbling tiles, and merge tiles to 2048. Racing โ€” race an endless circuit, choose your route to the coast, carve an endless downhill, and run a fugitive off the road in a siren-blaring pursuit. Board โ€” tic-tac-toe, connect-four, and a full game of solitaire, vs the device or a friend. Designed for quick play on the go: grab your iPhone or iPad, or glance at your Apple Watch, and dive into a game in seconds.

Screenshots

Alchemora3 screens
Pocket Arcade Retro Games4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Pocket Arcade Retro Games at none against Alchemora's shown. Pocket Arcade Retro Games also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). Alchemora's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Alchemora sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and Pocket Arcade Retro Games sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Alchemora ships an update every 3 weeks, Pocket Arcade Retro Games every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 5 level
Alchemora versus Pocket Arcade Retro Games: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlchemoraPocket Arcade Retro Games
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviewsโ€”100.0% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days โ€” better
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetizationโ€”Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.1 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size89 MB188 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStanislav PavlenkoPascal Peltriaux

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Alchemora

One-time7
  • Starter Pack$0.49
  • Explorer Pack$0.99
  • Master Pack$1.99
Show 4 more
  • Posthuman Era$1.99
  • Cosmic Era$2.99
  • Prehistoric World$3.99
  • Arcane World$3.99
1 purchases

Pocket Arcade Retro Games

One-time1
  • Unlock All Games$3.99

Questions

Is Alchemora free?
Alchemora is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pocket Arcade Retro Games free?
Pocket Arcade Retro Games is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Alchemora or Pocket Arcade Retro Games have ads?
Alchemora shows ads; Pocket Arcade Retro Games does not.
Which is updated more often, Alchemora or Pocket Arcade Retro Games?
Alchemora ships an update every 3 weeks, and Pocket Arcade Retro Games every 4 days. Most recently, Alchemora was updated on October 31, 2026 and Pocket Arcade Retro Games on October 31, 2026.

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