Stackbound vs Kalabux
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
Stackbound
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Stackbound is the block puzzle that finally gives you a reason to keep playing. Drop blocks on a 10x10 grid, clear rows and columns, and chain combos for huge scores - then turn every game into a roguelike run. Every few line clears you draft one of three relics: refill cleared columns, triple every fifth clear, bank gold, and dozens more that stack into wild combos. Survive deep enough and a boss floor appears, bending the rules with locked cells, shorter racks, or score taxes you have to play around. No two runs feel the same. A daily seeded run gives everyone the same board, so you can chase the top of your local leaderboard. Between runs, persistent meta progress unlocks new relics and grid skins that carry forward - the deck of possibilities grows the more you play. FEATURES - 10x10 block puzzle with satisfying row and column clears - Roguelike runs: draft relics, build synergies, push your score - Boss floors every ten floors that change how you play - Daily seeded challenge with a local leaderboard - Persistent meta unlocks: new relics and grid skins - Endless mode for a relaxed score chase - One-handed portrait play, dark mode, and Dynamic Type support - Play free, or unlock Premium once to remove ads forever and open every skin and bonus relic slot Free to play with optional ads. Go Premium with a single one-time purchase - no subscriptions.
Kalabux
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They all said reopening the old paint factory was madness. Mix the colors, fill the orders, prove them wrong. Your long-lost uncle left you a paint factory, closed down years ago and silent ever since. Sell it, said the family. Gut it. Forget it. But the brass machine on the workshop floor still gleams, and you mean to prove every last doubting relative wrong. You won't be going it alone. Word of the reopening reaches Old Silas, your uncle's foreman, who kept these machines running for decades before the doors closed. He dusts off his cap and comes back. Kalabux is a steampunk puzzle about color. Lay brass pipework to carry the three primary paints from their vats, split and merge the lines, and mix exactly the color each jar needs before the truck leaves. Simple to grasp, deep to master: red, yellow and blue are all you start with, but route them cleverly and there's no color you can't mix. MIX WITH PIPES Tap to place pipes, linking the paint vats to the waiting jars. Join two colors to make a third, split a single line to feed several orders at once, and fit it all into the machine's cramped grid. Get it right and the paint flows; get it wrong and you'll be mopping up leaks. SHADES, TINTS AND TONES Research the black and white tanks and the whole trade opens up. A drop of black deepens a color ā dark red, bottle green. A drop of white pales it ā pink, sky blue. Both together give a muted tone with the fire taken out. 46 colors in all, from three primaries and a steady hand. BUILD YOUR BUSINESS This is more than a puzzle ā it's your factory to grow. Fill orders to earn cash, then reinvest it: ⢠Top up your paint vats and keep the colors flowing ⢠Repair worn seals and patch leaks before they cost you a shift ⢠Upgrade your tanks, truck and warehouse ⢠Fund R&D to unlock new parts ā crow's-foot hubs, skew crosses and more A DAY AT THE WORKS The morning post arrives sealed, one letter at a time ā orders, notices, and now and then a commendation. Win the council's approval and take out a license and the factory runs a second shift, with Silas taking the floor at two. Come evening it falls quiet: a pot of tea on the shelf, dried splatters to scrub off the parts, seals to mend before the whistle goes again. The factory cat sees to the rest. A HELPING HAND Stuck on a tricky order? Ask Old Silas; his youth may have left him long ago, but he still knows every routing trick in the book, and he'll walk you through it one step at a time. ONE FOR THE WALL Run the factory well and the commendations start arriving ā framed certificates for a month without a late jar, for fifty clean mixes, for the day you mix every color in the trade. Old Silas hangs them himself. AND SOMETHING TO WORK TOWARD There is a summit to this trade. Run the factory well enough for long enough and word of it reaches the borough: an inspection you cannot fail, a commission from the mayor himself, and ā if every jar is right ā a ceremony, a certificate in his own hand, and a grand clock raised over your floor to stay there for good. The factory keeps running afterwards. The clock just tells everyone what you did. FEATURES ⢠Logic and planning, not luck or reflexes ⢠A hand-built steampunk workshop of brass, glass and gaslight ⢠46 colors to mix from just three primaries ⢠An ultimate goal to work toward, not an endless grind ⢠Plays offline ā no wi-fi needed ⢠No account, no sign-up ā your progress stays on your device ⢠Play in 20 languages From one silent machine to a color empire ā the orders are waiting. Fire up the factory and start mixing.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: Kalabux at 3 against Stackbound's 1. Kalabux also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Stackbound sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Kalabux sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | Stackbound | Kalabux |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | ā | Every 2 days |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod ā better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 ā better |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 52 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Christian Pedersen | Paul Newson |
In-app purchases
Stackbound
- Stackbound Lifetime$4.99
Kalabux
- A box of Adblockers$0.99
- A crate of Adblockers$4.99









