Verbena vs Sortalis
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Verbena
A cozy word game that blends gardening with roguelike deckbuilding. Spell words to achieve seasonal goals, collect enchanted charms to create powerful combos, and nurture your garden through the changing seasons. Enjoy a relaxed, turn-based experience with no timers or ads.
- Word spelling and garden growing
- Roguelike deckbuilding mechanics
- Collect and combine enchanted charms
- Seasonal progression with unique challenges
- Daily challenges and leaderboards
- Relaxed, turn-based gameplay
- Cozy visuals and soothing soundtrack
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Verbena — a cozy word roguelike. Spell words. Grow your garden. Chase the bloom. Verbena blends the calm of a cozy garden with the moreish "just one more run" of a roguelike deckbuilder. Draw a rack of letters, spell words to reach each season's goal, then visit the Garden Shop to collect enchanted charms — a Sunflower that adds to every word, a Dewdrop that rewards vowels, a Lucky Ladybug that multiplies your score. Stack charms into run-defining combos and see how many seasons your garden can survive. No timers. No pressure. No ads, ever. A fresh fusion — word game meets roguelike deckbuilder Collect from 17 charms (with a Charm Codex to complete) and build wild combos Special seasons add twists — gentler goals, bonus leaves, lusher words Daily Challenge — everyone gets the same letters; build your streak A garden that blooms through Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter as you climb Cozy visuals, a soothing synth soundtrack, and a relaxed turn-based pace Light & dark "night garden" themes — and it autosaves, so pick up anytime Universal — plays on iPhone and iPad Accessibility-minded: no timers, Relaxed difficulty, VoiceOver, readable-letters, reduce-motion, a Hint helper Game Center leaderboards & achievements, plus personal Records A 200,000-word dictionary Try 7 days free, then S$2.99/month — no ads, no tracking, cancel anytime Whether you have two minutes or twenty, plant a new garden and watch it bloom. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Sortalis
A dice-building roguelike where you roll, score, and strategically upgrade your dice. Push your luck to earn winnings, then spend them on Charms and abilities to create powerful builds and overcome unique challenges.
- Dice-building roguelike gameplay
- Strategic upgrades and Charms
- Endless challenges with increasing difficulty
- Over 150 discoverable upgrades
- Multiplayer draft mode
- Boss encounters that alter rules
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Sortalis is a dice-building roguelike inspired by Farkle. Roll, score, and decide how far you’re willing to push your luck—then spend your winnings on Charms and upgrades that transform your dice, strengthen your strategy, and rewrite the rules. Every run becomes a new engine to build, exploit, and inevitably push a little too far. **What’s in the game?** • Endless challenges that grow tougher and demand new strategies • Over 150 upgrades to discover and combine into powerful builds • Rewards, unlocks, achievements, Dice Bags, and challenges to master • Multiplayer draft mode! **Roll, Set, or Bank** Roll and select scoring combos carefully. Roll again to make it bigger—or Farkle and lose the lot. Bank before your luck runs out. **Spend It in The Shop** Between Bouts, spend your winnings on Charms, Packs, Action Cards, and other upgrades. Don’t like what’s on the shelf? Redraw it and hunt for the piece your build needs. **Face The House** Every night ends with a boss that changes the rules. THE MISER, for example, won’t let you Bank until your Pot reaches 500. **Then Do It All Again** Every Bank and Farkle adds to your final score. Unlock 14 Dice Bags, tabletops, discover new combinations, and see how far you can push your next run.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Verbena at none against Sortalis's 1. Verbena also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly). Sortalis's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Sortalis sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Verbena asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Verbena against 5.0 for Sortalis. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 5 respectively.
Verbena ships an update every 2 days, Sortalis fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Verbena | Sortalis |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 5 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Naizhong Xu | Michael Schmoyer |
In-app purchases
Verbena
No in-app purchases
Sortalis
- Sortalis Full Game Unlock$7.99








