Comparison

Beacons vs Untangle by Ocular Braid

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

Head to head
About

Beacons

Engage in a serene logic puzzle game where you strategically place beacons to light up the coastline. Solve 400 unique, hand-verified puzzles using pure deduction, with no luck or guessing involved. Enjoy a clean interface and offline play without ads or in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • 400 hand-verified logic puzzles
  • Pure deduction gameplay
  • Four difficulty levels
  • Offline play
  • Clean, eye-friendly interface
  • Built-in timer and best times
Features
Read full description

Beacons is a calm, beautiful logic puzzle about lighting up the coast. Each board hides one simple rule: place a single beacon in every row, every column, and every colored stretch of coastline — but no two beacons may stand next to each other, not even diagonally, or their beams would cross. There's no luck and no guessing. Every puzzle has exactly one solution, and every solution can be reached by pure deduction — so a win always feels earned. Start with the smallest coves, watch each beacon rule out the cells around it, and feel the whole board click into place. 400 HAND-VERIFIED LEVELS Work through 400 puzzles across four difficulties — Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert, 100 each — that ramp up smoothly as your skills grow. Every single board is checked by a solver to guarantee a unique, logic-only solution before it ships. Clear a level to unlock the next, then come back to beat your best time. PLAY YOUR WAY • A clean, glowing dusk-harbor look that's easy on the eyes. • Tap to light a beacon, tap again to mark a rock, once more to clear. • Optional auto-mark to rule out cells for you. • Undo any move, or take a hint when you're stuck. • A built-in timer and your best time saved for every level. • Clashing beacons light up red, so mistakes are obvious and easy to fix. NO NONSENSE — JUST PUZZLES • 100% offline. No internet connection required — play on a plane, on the subway, anywhere. • No ads. Ever. • No in-app purchases. Everything is included. • No account, no sign-up, no login. • No tracking and no data collection — your progress stays on your device. Just you, the coastline, and a quiet puzzle to solve. Light every beacon and secure the coast.

About

Untangle by Ocular Braid

A serene puzzle game where you untangle lines on a board by carefully choosing the order of their removal. Offers multiple difficulty levels and a calming aesthetic with original music. Play offline without accounts or ads.

Highlights
  • Line untangling gameplay
  • Multiple difficulty levels
  • Calming original music
  • Offline play
  • No ads or analytics
  • Themed worlds and line skins
Features
Read full description

Untangle is a comfortable puzzle game about clearing a tangled board one line at a time. Tap a line and its head leads the way off the edge, the rest following the path the head takes. Send every line off without crossing a line that is still there. That is the whole rule. The levels get denser, and the order you choose is the puzzle. Three difficulties: Easy, Relaxed, and Hard, each with 3,000 levels. Relaxed is the default. Hard keeps your best times on your device, so the only person you are measured against is you. Fourteen themes, four of them free from first launch. A theme refreshes the palette and the art. Skins are a smaller change: swap the look of the lines, keep the theme. Twenty-five original tracks play on a shuffle. No accounts, no ads, no analytics, and it plays offline. Untangle collects nothing about you. A missed exit costs a heart, hearts come back on their own while you are away, and Unlimited Lives is available as a pass that does not renew or as a subscription, if you would rather not wait. Adjustable cell size, separate music and effects volume, a reduce-audio setting, and haptics you can switch off. Made for iPhone and iPad, by Ocular Braid. SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Unlimited Lives subscriptions are US$3.99 for one month, US$9.99 for three months, or US$19.99 for one year. Unlimited Lives passes are one-time purchases that do not renew: US$0.99 for 24 hours, US$1.99 for one week, US$2.99 for two weeks. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. A subscription renews automatically for the same period at the same price unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Your Apple Account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel a subscription in your Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://www.ocularbraid.com/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://www.ocularbraid.com/terms.html

Screenshots

Beacons3 screens
Untangle by Ocular Braid4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Beacons at none against Untangle by Ocular Braid's 10. Untangle by Ocular Braid's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Untangle by Ocular Braid sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Beacons asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Beacons against 5.0 for Untangle by Ocular Braid. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Beacons ships an update every 3 months, Untangle by Ocular Braid fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Beacons versus Untangle by Ocular Braid: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBeaconsUntangle by Ocular Braid
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings13 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB286 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBeyondem Inc.Ocular Braid

Customer experience

Beacons

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Untangle by Ocular Braid

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Beacons

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Untangle by Ocular Braid

One-time10
  • Skin Pack — Sweet Treats$1.99
  • Skin Pack — Night Sky$1.99
  • Theme Pack — Christmas$2.99
Show 7 more
  • Theme Pack — Hanukkah$2.99
  • Theme Pack — Lunar New Year$2.99
  • Theme Pack — Candy$2.99
  • Theme Pack — Linen$2.99
  • Skin Packs (Sweet and Night packs)$2.99
  • 3 Theme Bundle 1$5.99
  • Mega Theme Bundle 1$17.99

Questions

Is Beacons free?
Beacons is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Untangle by Ocular Braid free?
Untangle by Ocular Braid is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Beacons or Untangle by Ocular Braid?
Beacons and Untangle by Ocular Braid are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Beacons or Untangle by Ocular Braid have ads?
Neither Beacons nor Untangle by Ocular Braid shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Beacons or Untangle by Ocular Braid?
Beacons ships an update every 3 months, and Untangle by Ocular Braid fortnightly. Most recently, Beacons was updated on November 10, 2026 and Untangle by Ocular Braid on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons