Comparison

Supernova vs Crystal Cavern Idle Mine

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

Head to head
About

Supernova

An idle space tycoon game where you fuse hydrogen to grow and detonate stars. Earn permanent power-ups with each supernova to accelerate future runs. Features offline progress and a visually evolving star.

Highlights
  • Fuse hydrogen to create and grow stars
  • Offline progress and production
  • Visually evolving star stages
  • Prestige system with supernova cinematics
  • Deep multiplier stacking and research upgrades
  • Daily missions and streaks
  • Fully offline gameplay
Read full description

Fuse hydrogen into a living star. Grow it. Then blow it up — on purpose. SUPERNOVA is a premium-feel idle game about running a cosmic forge. Tap to spark fusion, build 12 generators from Hydrogen Wisp to Singularity Seed, and watch your star physically evolve — protostar, blue giant, red supergiant — until it is ready to collapse. Detonating it is the point: every supernova grants Neutron Cores, permanent power that makes each new universe faster than the last. WHY YOU'LL STAY • Real progress while you're away — production continues offline (extend the cap up to 24 hours with research), and a welcome-back doubler greets your return • A star that actually changes — five visual stages, rendered live, no canned art • Prestige that feels like a finale — a hand-built supernova cinematic, then a stronger start • Numbers that get gloriously big — Million, Septillion, and far beyond • Milestones every few minutes early on, deep multiplier stacking later • Daily missions and streaks that respect your time • 20 research upgrades that shape every run FAIR BY DESIGN • No ads. None. • No energy bars, no forced waits, no progress walls • Fully offline — no account, no sign-in, no internet required • Nothing collected, nothing tracked • Optional purchases exist (time warps, photons, a one-time Supporter Pack), and the entire game is balanced to be completed without spending anything THE LOOP 1. Tap your star and let generators forge Stardust 2. Hit ownership milestones — each one doubles a generator's output 3. Buy research, stack a Photon Surge boost, fill your Piggy Bank 4. Reach collapse readiness... and go SUPERNOVA 5. Keep your Neutron Cores forever. Start again, faster. Built by a solo developer in SwiftUI and SpriteKit. Every pixel is procedural — no asset packs, no stock art. Dark theme, tuned haptics, Reduce Motion respected. Your first universe is waiting. It starts with one atom.

About

Crystal Cavern Idle Mine

Read full description

Crystal Cavern is an idle game with no sound at all. Tap the crystal in the middle of the screen and you earn crystals. That is the whole basic move. Spend them on buildings and the cave keeps earning every second, even while the app is closed. You can collect up to eight hours of it when you come back. ■ No sound No music, no effects. If you cannot hear, or you are somewhere you cannot make noise, nothing is lost. Haptics are there instead. ■ You choose what reads well Four text sizes. Five colour schemes, two of them maximum contrast — white on black and black on white. ■ Twelve seams As you dig, the seam changes and the crystal shifts colour and shape. You start at Quartz; twelve layers lie below. Each rebirth opens a deeper one. ■ Rebirth Melt everything down into cores. Each core adds +2% to your tap value and income, permanently. The deeper you dig, the more cores are left behind. ■ Glowing orbs Now and then an orb drifts across the screen. Tap it before it fades for a bonus. The best one multiplies everything by five for thirty seconds. ■ Built to be easy to use - Playable from a keyboard - Respects the reduce-motion setting - Progress saves itself on this device - A save code moves your progress to another device - Pause whenever you like; nothing accumulates while paused About adverts: a short video plays only when you claim a bonus. The game is fully playable without watching one. No advert is ever required to progress. Languages: 17 (English, Japanese, Chinese Simplified and Traditional, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian), shown automatically in your iPhone's language.

Screenshots

Supernova4 screens
Crystal Cavern Idle Mine4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Crystal Cavern Idle Mine at none against Supernova's 10. Supernova's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 days). On price and iOS requirement 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. Supernova sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Crystal Cavern Idle Mine asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Supernova ships an update every 2 days, Crystal Cavern Idle Mine every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Supernova versus Crystal Cavern Idle Mine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSupernovaCrystal Cavern Idle Mine
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (79 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings79 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHUGO ANATOLE PAUL MORICEAUYoshihiko Okano

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Supernova

One-time10
  • 50 Photons$0.99
  • Time Warp: 4 Hours$1.99
  • Break the Piggy Bank$2.99
Show 7 more
  • Automation Core$3.99
  • Supporter Pack$4.99
  • Time Warp: 24 Hours$4.99
  • 300 Photons$4.99
  • 700 Photons$9.99
  • Time Warp: 7 Days$14.99
  • 1600 Photons$19.99
None

Crystal Cavern Idle Mine

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Supernova free?
Supernova is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Crystal Cavern Idle Mine free?
Crystal Cavern Idle Mine is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Supernova or Crystal Cavern Idle Mine have ads?
Crystal Cavern Idle Mine shows ads; Supernova does not.
Which is updated more often, Supernova or Crystal Cavern Idle Mine?
Supernova ships an update every 2 days, and Crystal Cavern Idle Mine every 6 days. Most recently, Supernova was updated on November 3, 2026 and Crystal Cavern Idle Mine on October 29, 2026.

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