Comparison

Sand Drop vs Screw Machine

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

Head to head
About

Sand Drop

Engage in a relaxing puzzle experience by swiping colorful sand to complete tasks. This game offers satisfying controls and bright visuals, with levels that gradually increase in challenge. It's perfect for quick, engaging play sessions.

Highlights
  • Swipe colorful sand
  • Complete puzzle tasks
  • Simple and relaxing gameplay
  • Bright, satisfying visuals
  • Challenging levels
  • Quick play sessions
Features
Read full description

Sand Drop: Color Sort Puzzle turns pixel art into a satisfying sand puzzle. Every level is a colorful picture made of sand. Tap a color to release it, or drag your finger to carve a path through the image. The loose sand pours down a funnel onto a moving loop, then flows into color-coded buckets below. Each bucket shows how many grains it still needs. Fill it with the matching color and it clears, making room for the next one. Watch the loop's fill meter: if too much sand piles up, you run out of space. Choose which colors to drop and when, and keep the sand moving. WHY PLAY SAND DROP • Satisfying physics: watch every grain pour, slide and drain • Relaxing ASMR feel: calm visuals and smooth, simple controls • Brain and logic challenge: plan the order, match each color, clear the board • Pixel art pictures: a new image to sort in every level • Easy one-finger play: a relaxing puzzle game for adults and casual players Love sorting games, water sort puzzles or pouring games? Sand Drop gives the color sorting genre a fresh, sandy twist.

About

Screw Machine

This game challenges you to sort colored screws onto a spinning machine. Tap panels to release screws onto a rail, where they thread into matching plates. Fill all plates to win, but avoid jamming the machine by overloading the rail.

Highlights
  • Color-sorting screw puzzle
  • Spinning machine mechanic
  • Tap-to-release screws
  • Level-based progression
  • Offline play
  • Mystery plates, gates, tunnels, arrows
Features
Read full description

Screw Machine is a color-sorting screw puzzle with a moving twist. Instead of stacking screws onto a bolt, you spill screws onto a spinning machine and let timing do the sorting. Tap a panel drop its screws onto the rail, and watch each color thread itself into its matching plate as the ring carries it around. Fill every plate to win. Overload the rail and the whole machine seizes up. HOW THE MACHINE WORKS • Tap a panel to loosen its screws onto the spinning rail • Four color plates sit around the ring — each one takes three screws of its color • As the machine turns, every screw passing its matching plate drives itself in • Fill a plate and it locks shut; the next color rolls up behind it • Clear all the plates to finish the level KEEP IT TURNING • The rail only holds so many screws, release colors with nowhere to go and it jams solid • Read the machine before you tap: open the panels whose colors have an open plate • No move counter, no timer, you only lose if the rail jams for good • Every level is a small sorting puzzle built to be untangled PARTS THAT CHANGE THE GAME • Mystery plates: The next color stays hidden behind a "?" until it rolls into place • Gates: Run a screw through and it splits into more • Tunnels: Feed a whole extra run of panels onto the board • Arrows: Panels that you can only unlock from a certain direction WHY IT'S HARD TO PUT DOWN • A fresh, tactile spin on the nuts and bolts puzzles you already love • One-tap, simple, with real timing and planning underneath • Hand-built levels that stay clever without ever feeling like work • Oddly satisfying to watch, screws driving home, plates locking in sequence • Play offline, anywhere, no wifi needed • Free to play, with lives that refill over time Loosen the screws. Run the machine. Sort every color.

Screenshots

Sand Drop4 screens
Screw Machine4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Screw Machine at every 4 days against Sand Drop's every 10 days. Screw Machine also leads on review sentiment (57% vs 45%). Sand Drop's advantage is chart position (#132 vs unranked). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Sand Drop sells 15 one-off in-app purchases and Screw Machine sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Sand Drop against 4.9 for Screw Machine. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 560 and 736 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 45% of Sand Drop's written reviews are positive against 57% of Screw Machine's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sand Drop ships an update every 10 days, Screw Machine every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Sand Drop versus Screw Machine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSand DropScrew Machine
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (560 ratings)4.9 (736 ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.0% of reviews57.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings560736 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#132 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size462 MB428 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperLion Studios PlusTwist Games

Customer experience

Sand Drop

All ratings514 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive45.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative35.0%

Screw Machine

All ratings736 ratings
Positive98.8%
Neutral0.4%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative42.9%

In-app purchases

15 purchases

Sand Drop

One-time15
  • Oasis Treat$0.99
  • Mirage Return$0.99
  • 1000 Coins$1.99
Show 12 more
  • Piggy bank$2.99
  • Starter Pack$2.99
  • Piggy Bank$4.99
  • Special Offer$4.99
  • No Ads$7.99
  • 5000 Coins$7.99
  • Battle Pass$9.99
  • No Ads Pack$9.99
  • 10000 Coins$14.99
  • 25000 Coins$29.99
  • 50000 Coins$54.99
  • 100000 Coins$99.99
10 purchases

Screw Machine

One-time10
  • 1000 Coins$1.99
  • Fail Offer$4.99
  • 5000 Coins$7.99
Show 7 more
  • No Ads$7.99
  • Small Bundle$9.99
  • No Ads Bundle$12.99
  • 10000 Coins$14.99
  • Medium Bundle$19.99
  • Large Bundle$29.99
  • Mega Bundle$49.99

Questions

Is Sand Drop free?
Sand Drop is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Screw Machine free?
Screw Machine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sand Drop or Screw Machine?
Screw Machine is rated higher. Sand Drop averages 4.8 out of 5 from 560 ratings, while Screw Machine averages 4.9 from 736 ratings.
Do Sand Drop or Screw Machine have ads?
Both Sand Drop and Screw Machine show ads.
Which is updated more often, Sand Drop or Screw Machine?
Sand Drop ships an update every 10 days, and Screw Machine every 4 days. Most recently, Sand Drop was updated on October 31, 2026 and Screw Machine on November 1, 2026.

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