Comparison

Taploom vs ShadowGrid

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

Head to head
About

Taploom

A minimalist puzzle game where you tap tiles to create color ripples that drain the board. Plan your moves to chain reactions and solve each level efficiently. Features hand-crafted levels, a daily puzzle, and an endless mode.

Highlights
  • Minimalist ripple puzzle gameplay
  • 55 hand-crafted levels
  • Daily and endless puzzle modes
  • Built-in level editor
  • Three-star scoring system
  • One-handed play
Features
Read full description

Tap a tile. Watch the color ripple outward. Drain every tile on the board. ColorDrain is a minimalist puzzle game built around one simple idea: every tap sends a wave through the grid. Plan your taps, chain the reactions, and clear each board in as few moves as possible. HOW IT PLAYS You have a board of empty tiles. Each tap fills the tapped tile and ripples outward through its neighbors. Tiles, walls, mirrors, and other obstacles shape where the color can go. Your goal is to fill the entire board, and your score depends on how cleanly you do it. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT Most puzzle games ask you to match. ColorDrain asks you to plan. The same board can be solved in five taps or twenty, and finding the elegant solution feels like solving a tiny machine. FEATURES • 55 hand-crafted levels across 11 themed rows • A fresh daily puzzle, the same seed for every player worldwide • Endless mode with seeded levels you can replay • A built-in level editor for designing and saving your own puzzles • Three-star scoring rewards efficient solutions • Built one-handed for iPhone, fully portrait, no ads, no IAP A GROWING TOOLBOX Each row of levels introduces a new tile that changes how the ripple flows: • Amplifiers boost a tap into a long beam • Mirrors bend rays around corners • Bombs detonate when filled, taking neighbors with them • Teleporters warp the ripple to their partners on the same heading • Frozen barriers thaw under bomb blasts • Canals carry rays across long distances • Prisms burst light in all four directions • Locked tiles open only when surrounded • Infection tiles spread on their own once seeded • Heart tiles are the final puzzle: protect them, route around them, or finish them last BUILT FOR THE DEVICE Every action has a haptic. Every fill has a sound. Tap placement is precise enough to play with one thumb on the bus, and slow enough to think through on the couch. No accounts. No tracking. No internet required.

About

ShadowGrid

Features
Read full description

Shadow Grid is a calm, satisfying 3D puzzle: stack and rotate simple blocks on a grid until the shadows they cast on two walls match the target silhouette exactly. - 200 handcrafted levels, from a gentle two-piece start to real spatial-reasoning challenges. - A separate 100-level Pro pack for players who want a tougher challenge - bigger grids, more pieces, and blocks that sit at different heights so the shadows overlap in ways you can't just read off the floor. - Drag pieces along the floor and tap to rotate - no timers, no penalties, just figure it out at your own pace. - Global leaderboard: pick a username and an avatar, and see how your progress compares to other players. - Five visual skins to re-color your blocks, from a classic monochrome look to warmer palettes. - Reset any level instantly and try again as many times as you like. No sign-up required - just open the app and start stacking. An optional one-time purchase removes ads entirely.

Screenshots

Taploom4 screens
ShadowGrid4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Taploom at none against ShadowGrid's 2. Taploom also leads on ads (none vs shown). On price, 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

Both are free to download. ShadowGrid sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Taploom asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Taploom versus ShadowGrid: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTaploomShadowGrid
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCylandea Systems LLCLe Dinh Phuc

In-app purchases

None

Taploom

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

ShadowGrid

One-time2
  • Remove Ads$1.99
  • Skin Pack$1.99

Questions

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

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