Comparison

Engine Simulator vs Armor Sandbox

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

Head to head
About

Engine Simulator

Explore the physics of piston engines by building, tuning, and testing them. Simulate combustion and rigid body motion in real-time. Compete with others on a global leaderboard by posting your creations.

Highlights
  • Physics-based engine simulation
  • Build engines from scratch
  • Tune fuel and ignition maps
  • Real-time power and torque readings
  • 3D engine visualization
  • Global leaderboard
Features
Read full description

Engine Simulator is a physics-based piston engine sandbox. The sound and motion come from a real rigid body simulation of the crank, pistons, valves, and combustion, not recordings. Start an engine, work the throttle, and tune its fuel and ignition maps in the ECU. Build one from scratch (layout, bore, stroke, cam, firing order) or describe what you want and have it generated on device. Watch it run in 3D, read live power and torque on the dyno, or push it past the limiter until it breaks. Post your engines to the global leaderboard and compare against other builders. Engine Simulator for iOS is an unofficial port. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by AngeTheGreat (Ange Yaghi), the creator of the original open source Engine Simulator. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Community Guidelines: https://enginesimulator.app/community-guidelines.html Privacy Policy: https://enginesimulator.app/privacy-policy.html Support: https://enginesimulator.app/support.html

About

Armor Sandbox

Explore a 2D physics playground where every element, from projectiles to targets, is simulated with real material properties. Create and experiment with over 110 materials, 60 projectiles, and 90 targets, including detailed vehicle cutaways. Wire up circuits and analyze impacts in multiple views.

Highlights
  • Realistic 2D impact physics simulation
  • Over 110 simulated materials
  • Extensive projectile and target library
  • Detailed vehicle cutaways
  • Circuit building with electrical components
  • Multiple analysis views (heat, speed, damage)
Read full description

Armor Sandbox is a 2D impact physics playground. Pick something to shoot, pick something to shoot at, and watch what actually happens. Nothing here is a canned animation. Every plate, every projectile and every fragment is made of particles that carry real material properties: density, strength, melting point, heat capacity. Deformation, fracture, spalling, heat, fire and detonation all follow from those numbers. Swap the steel for glass and it shatters instead of denting, because glass is brittle, not because somebody drew a shatter effect. WHAT IS IN IT • More than 110 materials: steels, aluminium alloys, tungsten, tantalum, ceramics and glass, concrete and stone, wood, rubber, water, fuel, explosives and working electrical parts • More than 60 projectiles, from pistol rounds to APFSDS long rods, shaped charges and hypervelocity rods • More than 90 targets: plates, layered armour packages, deep blocks, circuits • More than 35 vehicles in cutaway: T-34-85, Tiger I, Panther, Sherman, IS-2, T-55, M103, T-72 with and without reactive armour, M1A2 Abrams, Leopard 2A6, Challenger 2, BMP-1 and M113, plus cars, trucks, a school bus, a farm tractor and aircraft, each with its armour, ammunition, fuel and engine where they really sit • More than 60 ready-made experiments to start from MAKE YOUR OWN Paint projectiles and targets cell by cell, choosing the material of every cell. Mirror, outline, replace, snap to a grid. Save them to your library, and send a design to a friend as a single small file. WIRE IT UP Batteries, capacitors, switches, sensors and delay lines. Current only goes where you drew a path: an insulated wire running along steel leaves the steel dead, bare copper makes the whole plate live. Lamps, heaters, electromagnets and high-voltage sparks that jump the air. SEE WHAT THE EYE CAN'T Watch the same impact in four views: normal, heat, speed and damage. Time slows down by itself around the impact, and you can pause, step through it frame by frame and fire again. NO ACCOUNT, NO ADS, NO TRACKING The app makes no network requests of its own. Nothing you build leaves your iPhone unless you share it yourself. FREE TO WATCH, ONE PURCHASE TO CREATE Watching is free. Every built-in experiment runs in full, explosives, nuclear devices and circuits included, and so does every vehicle and every material a preset uses. Opening a design someone sent you is free too. The full version is for making things: painting with energetic, nuclear and electrical materials, a library without the five-per-kind limit, exporting your designs, and the Extreme and Maximum quality levels. One payment, no subscription, no ads either way. Armor Sandbox is a physics simulation made for curiosity. Everything happens to particles in a 2D cross-section, and nothing in it is a guide to building anything real.

Screenshots

Engine Simulator4 screens
Armor Sandbox4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Armor Sandbox at 4.8 against Engine Simulator's 4.3. Armor Sandbox also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 3 weeks) and review sentiment (90% vs 79%). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Engine Simulator sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Armor Sandbox sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Armor Sandbox holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 137 and 63 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Engine Simulator's written reviews are positive against 90% of Armor Sandbox's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Engine Simulator ships an update every 3 weeks, Armor Sandbox daily. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Engine Simulator versus Armor Sandbox: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEngine SimulatorArmor Sandbox
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (137 ratings)4.8 (63 ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.8% of reviews89.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings137 — better63
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#67#65 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB6 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperMUHAMMAD SAAD ATAVitor Japiassu

Customer experience

Engine Simulator

All ratings127 ratings
Positive84.3%
Neutral5.5%
Negative10.2%
Written reviews99 reviews
Positive78.8%
Neutral9.1%
Negative12.1%

Armor Sandbox

All ratings63 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.2%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive89.8%
Neutral3.4%
Negative6.8%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Engine Simulator

One-time1
  • Lifetime$8.99
1 purchases

Armor Sandbox

One-time1
  • Armor Sandbox Complete$7.99

Questions

Is Engine Simulator free?
Engine Simulator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Armor Sandbox free?
Armor Sandbox is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Engine Simulator or Armor Sandbox?
Armor Sandbox is rated higher. Engine Simulator averages 4.3 out of 5 from 137 ratings, while Armor Sandbox averages 4.8 from 63 ratings.
Do Engine Simulator or Armor Sandbox have ads?
Neither Engine Simulator nor Armor Sandbox shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Engine Simulator or Armor Sandbox?
Engine Simulator ships an update every 3 weeks, and Armor Sandbox daily. Most recently, Engine Simulator was updated on October 28, 2026 and Armor Sandbox on October 29, 2026.
Which is more popular, Engine Simulator or Armor Sandbox?
Engine Simulator currently peaks at #67 in the App Store charts, and Armor Sandbox at #65. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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