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 realistic 2D physics simulations of destruction and ballistics. Experiment with over 110 materials, 70 projectiles, and 90 targets, including detailed vehicle cutaways. Create and share your own designs with a vibrant community.

Highlights
  • Realistic 2D physics engine
  • Material property simulation
  • Ballistics and destruction effects
  • Extensive material and projectile library
  • Detailed vehicle cutaways
  • Customizable target and projectile creation
  • Circuitry and electrical simulation
Currently charting
Read full description

Armor Sandbox is a 2D physics sandbox and ballistics simulator. Pick something to shoot, pick something to shoot at, and watch what actually happens: armor penetration, ricochets, spalling, fire and explosions, all from real physics. Nothing here is a canned animation. Every armor plate, every projectile and every fragment is made of particles that carry real material properties: density, strength, toughness, melting point, heat capacity. Deformation, fracture, spalling, heat, fire and detonation all come 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. NEW: THE SCI-FI EXPANSION Black holes, antimatter, lasers and the end of the universe, running on the same physics as everything else. 15 new materials, from a black hole generator, antimatter and lasers to strange matter, a force field, hyper-acid, a fusion core, a false vacuum and neutronium. Paint them into any target or projectile. The built-in sci-fi scenes are free to watch. The expansion is an optional one-time in-app purchase and works without the full version. TANK ARMOR PENETRATION Fire an APFSDS dart at a Leopard 2, a HEAT round at a T-72 with reactive armor, or a rifle bullet at a steel plate, and the ballistics decide the result: how deep it goes, whether it ricochets, and what the spall does inside the tank. WHAT IS IN IT • 110+ materials: steels, aluminium alloys, tungsten, uranium, ceramics and glass, concrete and stone, wood, rubber, water, fuel, explosives, nuclear materials and working electrical parts • 70 projectiles: pistol and rifle bullets, APFSDS long rods, shaped charges, HESH, railgun slugs and three detailed missiles • 90+ targets: armor plates, layered armor, deep blocks, ballistic gelatin, bunkers and circuits • 36 tank and vehicle cutaways: T-34-85, Tiger I, Panther, Sherman, IS-2, T-55, M103, T-72 with and without reactive armor, M1A2 Abrams, Leopard 2A6, Challenger 2, BMP-1, M113 and more, plus cars, trucks, a bus, a tractor, a fighter jet and attack helicopters, each with its real armor, ammunition, fuel and engine inside • 60+ ready-made experiments, from a ricochet to a chain of nuclear explosions MAKE YOUR OWN Paint projectiles and targets pixel by pixel, choosing the material of every pixel. Mirror, outline, replace, snap to a grid. Save them to your library and share a design with a friend, or with the community Workshop, as a single small file. WIRE IT UP Batteries, capacitors, switches, sensors and delay lines. Current goes only where you drew a path. HEAR IT, RECORD IT Impacts, explosions, fire and projectiles flying past all sound like the material and the speed. Record your shots as video and share them. NO ACCOUNT, NO ADS, NO TRACKING There are no ads and no account. Nothing you build leaves your device unless you export it yourself. FREE, AND FULL Watching is free. Every built-in experiment runs in full, explosives, nuclear devices, circuits and the sci-fi scenes included, and so does every vehicle and every material a preset uses. The full version is for making things: painting with energetic, nuclear and electrical materials, editing the properties of every material, a library without the five-per-kind limit, exporting your designs, and the Extreme and Maximum quality levels. One payment, no subscription. The Sci-Fi Expansion is sold separately, and the Everything bundle includes the full version and the expansion. Available in English, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Chinese. 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 update cadence: Armor Sandbox at daily against Engine Simulator's every 3 weeks. Armor Sandbox also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (88% vs 76%). 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 3 one-off in-app purchases. 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, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 173 and 109 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Engine Simulator's written reviews are positive against 88% of Armor Sandbox's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Engine Simulator ships an update every 3 weeks, Armor Sandbox daily. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 8, 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 (173 ratings)4.6 (109 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.5% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings173 — better109
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#55 — better#115
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB14 MB
Age rating+49+
DeveloperMUHAMMAD SAAD ATAVitor Japiassu

Customer experience

Engine Simulator

All ratings173 ratings
Positive84.4%
Neutral5.2%
Negative10.4%
Written reviews143 reviews
Positive75.5%
Neutral9.1%
Negative15.4%

Armor Sandbox

All ratings109 ratings
Positive89.0%
Neutral3.7%
Negative7.3%
Written reviews80 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral5.0%
Negative7.5%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Engine Simulator

One-time1
  • Lifetime$8.99
3 purchases

Armor Sandbox

One-time3
  • Sci-Fi Expansion$2.99
  • Armor Sandbox Complete$8.99
  • Everything: Complete + Sci-Fi$9.99

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 173 ratings, while Armor Sandbox averages 4.6 from 109 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 November 7, 2026 and Armor Sandbox on November 8, 2026.
Which is more popular, Engine Simulator or Armor Sandbox?
Engine Simulator currently peaks at #55 in the App Store charts, and Armor Sandbox at #115. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons