Comparison

Train Drill vs Puffertown

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

Head to head
About

Train Drill

Features
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Learn addition and subtraction through train coupling and uncoupling. Two trains couple with a satisfying "clunk!" — how many cars in all? Cars uncouple from the consist — how many are left? The coupling and uncoupling animations turn numbers into something you can see and count, so arithmetic sinks in through play. ■ Features - Adventure map with 9 routes: forest, mountains, sea, and the stars - Clear every addition route to unlock Subtraction mode - Train collection: stainless, two-tone liveries, and special cars - Special showcase: Shinkansen, steam locomotive, and a luxury cruise train - Rank up as you answer: Trainee -> Local -> Express -> Limited Express -> Shinkansen Driver - Parents' dashboard: weekly play counts and tricky problems - Built-in daily limits (Free: 3 stages/day) - No ads, all data stays on the device ■ Plans - Free: 3 stages/day - Mini: 10 stages/day + Subtraction mode - Unlimited: unlimited + Subtraction mode ■ Terms & Privacy - Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ - Privacy Policy: https://kuromojilabs.github.io/traindrill-site/privacy.html

About

Puffertown

Children build train tracks, load cargo, and drive their own trains through various regions. The app focuses on learning through play, with no timers or pressure, and offers offline functionality for continuous engagement.

Highlights
  • Build and drive custom trains
  • Interactive track laying
  • Cargo loading and sorting
  • Route planning challenges
  • Offline gameplay
  • Parental progress dashboard
Features
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Build the track, load the cargo, and drive the train you built. Meadow Junction's 15 routes and Free Play are free forever, not a trial; a one-time Family Pass adds 75 more routes in five more regions. Children aged 3 to 7 lay the track themselves — around rivers, through tunnels, over level crossings — then fill the wagons and take the train they made out on the line. Along the way they count cargo, sort it, continue patterns and plan routes, always as part of a delivery and never as a quiz. There is no way to lose, no timer, and nothing to read. A three-year-old can play the first level without a single word of instruction — and the Family Pass regions at the far end of the map are still a real puzzle at seven. It plays offline, so it comes along on planes and long car rides. WHAT THEY PRACTICE • Counting — loading an exact number of crates • Sorting — by type, color and shape: milk to the tanker, logs to the flatcar • Patterns — continuing a sequence along the train • Ordering by size — smallest to largest • Letters and numbers — matching a crate to its car • Planning a route — every route is a small problem to solve • Rail safety — the train waits at a level crossing until your child whistles The grown-up dashboard, behind a parental gate, shows which of these they have been working on, in plain English, with no scores and no screen-time guilt. SIX PLACES TO GO Start in Meadow Junction, free for everyone, where the grass is long and the deliveries are milk and apples. With the Family Pass, climb into Pineridge, cross Sandy Gulch, plow through Frostpine snow, work the cranes at Harbor Bay, and finish in the level crossings of Metro Central. 15 routes free, 75 more with the Family Pass, and they get properly hard by the end. EIGHT ENGINES TO DRIVE A steam engine, two diesels, an electric with a pantograph, a bullet-nosed express and a snowplow for the drifts: six of the eight engines, and none of them needs the Family Pass. The other two, a crane engine for the docks and a second express, are earned by finishing Pineridge and Sandy Gulch, both Family Pass regions. Repaint any of them, then take them into Free Play — an open landscape with unlimited track where a child paints their own rivers and hills and builds whatever they like. BUILT THE WAY A CHILD'S APP SHOULD BE • No ads — no advertising of any kind • Data Not Collected — not even analytics • No accounts, no sign-in, no email address • Plays without an internet connection (buying or restoring the Family Pass goes through Apple and needs one) • No timers, lives, energy meters or streaks • A parental gate in front of anything that costs money Meadow Junction is free forever — fifteen full routes, not a demo — and so is Free Play. If your child wants the rest of the map, the Family Pass opens the other five regions with a single payment. There is no subscription: buy it once and it is yours, and it works with Family Sharing. Made by one parent who wanted a train game that respected both his kid and his family's privacy.

Screenshots

Train Drill2 screens
Puffertown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Puffertown at daily against Train Drill's every 2 months. Train Drill's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Train Drill sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Puffertown sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Train Drill ships an update every 2 months, Puffertown daily. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Train Drill versus Puffertown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrain DrillPuffertown
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size34 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKuromoji LLCRMK Capital, Inc

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Train Drill

Subscriptions2
  • Mini$0.991 Month
  • Unlimited$1.991 Month
1 purchases

Puffertown

One-time1
  • Family Pass$9.99

Questions

Is Train Drill free?
Train Drill is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Puffertown free?
Puffertown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Train Drill or Puffertown have ads?
Neither Train Drill nor Puffertown shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Train Drill or Puffertown?
Train Drill ships an update every 2 months, and Puffertown daily. Most recently, Train Drill was updated on October 25, 2026 and Puffertown on October 24, 2026.

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