Comparison

Hex by Hex vs Orbitfall

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

Head to head
About

Hex by Hex

Engage in rapid territory conquest strategy games that last about five minutes. Grow your empire from a single hex, manage resources, and outmaneuver AI rivals before time runs out. Enjoy a fresh map and unique challenges with every playthrough.

Highlights
  • Fast-paced 5-minute strategy games
  • Real-time AI rivals
  • Resource management and expansion
  • One-time full unlock for all content
  • Daily shared maps and leaderboards
  • Seed duels for shared map challenges
Features
Read full description

Conquer a hex map in about five minutes. Hex by Hex is a fast territory conquest strategy game: grow from a single tile into an empire before rival AI factions box you in. Every run is a fresh map. Claim neighboring hexes, build farms, lumber mills, and iron mines, turn your harvest into coins, and push across the border before the Tide clock runs out. HOW A RUN PLAYS - Start with one tile and a five minute Tide clock. - Claim adjacent hexes to expand. Forests, plains, and mountains feed your wood, food, and iron. - Balance your resources to mint coins, then spend them on new tile slots and Edicts. - Raid contested border tiles, grab prize tiles, and hold the chokepoints. - Win by domination, or get swallowed when the Tide rises. FEATURES - Fast strategy: a complete war in about five minutes, with no waiting. - Real-time AI rivals, each with its own name, color, and sigil. - Three one-shot Edicts: Conscript, Blitz, and Sabotage. - Coin market: convert resources by hand or on auto. - Daily Tide: one shared map each day with a Game Center leaderboard. - Seed duels: send a friend a link to play the exact same map. - Pinch to zoom and pan across the whole battlefield. - No ads. No energy meters. No waiting timers. FREE TO PLAY, ONE-TIME FULL UNLOCK Play the Skirmish map on Easy and Medium with the Conscript edict for free. The Full Unlock is a single purchase that adds: - Every map size, from the 37-tile Skirmish up to the 127-tile Large map with up to six AI rivals. - Hard and Brutal difficulty. - Team Mode: 2v2 and 3v3 battles with AI allies. - All three Edicts. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Orbitfall

Features
Read full description

Pull back, let go, and bend your probe around a gravity well into the wormhole. The fewer flicks it takes, the better your score. Orbitfall is space golf with real gravity. The aim line only shows the start of your curve — never where you land — so every shot is a read, not a trace. Miss and you can recall the probe instantly and try the line again. FIVE REGIONS, FIVE NEW RULES • First Light — clean launches and steady gravity • Ember Reach — dense fields with several wells pulling at once • Reverse Field — repulsors that shove the probe away • The Drift — wells that orbit, so timing matters • Eventide — boost gates and everything combined Every sector is checked for at least two clean solutions before you ever fly it, so there is always a line to find. DAILY ORBIT — FREE, EVERY DAY Five sectors, the same five for every player worldwide. Your total flicks is your score, fewest wins, and the day's board is there without an account. KEEP A FLIGHT RECORD Lifetime flicks, per-sector bests, stars, medals, and unlockable probe trails. Share a card of your exact shot so a friend can watch the line you flew. WHAT'S FREE The first 12 campaign sectors, the full Daily Orbit and its leaderboard, medals and trails. No ads. Plays offline. GO PRO A one-time unlock or the StackForge Play Pass adds: • The rest of the campaign — every sector past 12 • Hardcore — fly the campaign with no aim preview at all • Weekly Gauntlet — a ranked seven-sector run with its own board • Flight Log — replay your best launch for each cleared sector, plus your career totals The Play Pass unlocks Pro in every StackForge game, plus One Good Thing. Terms are shown before purchase; manage or cancel any time in your Apple ID settings. Read the field. Trust the curve. Find the wormhole. Terms: https://stackforgestudios.com/terms Privacy: https://stackforgestudios.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Hex by Hex4 screens
Orbitfall4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Orbitfall at fortnightly against Hex by Hex's every 3 months. Orbitfall also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Hex by Hex sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Orbitfall sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hex by Hex ships an update every 3 months, Orbitfall fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Hex by Hex versus Orbitfall: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHex by HexOrbitfall
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB56 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperIndieCraft LLCStackForge Studios

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Hex by Hex

One-time1
  • Unlock Full Game$4.99
3 purchases

Orbitfall

Subscriptions2
  • StackForge Play Pass Monthly$2.991 Month
  • StackForge Play Pass Annual$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Orbitfall Full Game Unlock$4.99

Questions

Is Hex by Hex free?
Hex by Hex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Orbitfall free?
Orbitfall is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Hex by Hex or Orbitfall have ads?
Neither Hex by Hex nor Orbitfall shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hex by Hex or Orbitfall?
Hex by Hex ships an update every 3 months, and Orbitfall fortnightly. Most recently, Hex by Hex was updated on October 31, 2026 and Orbitfall on November 5, 2026.

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