Comparison

Fill Sand 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

Fill Sand

Experience a unique block puzzle game where real physics dictates how colored sand grains fall, pile, and slide. Strategically place blocks to absorb matching sand and clear the picture before time runs out. It's an oddly satisfying challenge that requires careful planning and spatial reasoning.

Highlights
  • Real falling-sand physics
  • One-finger drag controls
  • Colorful pictures to uncover
  • Shape and space planning
  • Quick stages
  • Special blocks and power-ups
Features
Read full description

Watch the sand pour. Every single grain moves for real — it falls, it piles, it slides. Drop one block and thousands of colored grains stream in, the picture above breaks apart, and the colors settle somewhere you never planned for. Sand Fill is the oddly satisfying block puzzle where physics does the talking. HOW TO PLAY • Look at the sand picture above — colors, shapes, layers. • Drag a block onto the grid below. • The block drinks up every grain that matches its color. • The rest of the sand collapses and resettles. Read it again. • Empty the whole picture before time runs out. One finger. No tutorial needed. You'll get it in ten seconds. IT'S THE PHYSICS THAT GETS YOU This isn't sand-shaped decoration. Grains fall, stack, avalanche and mix. Clear the red underneath and everything above comes down. Every stage is a little collapse you set off yourself. SPACE IS THE REAL PUZZLE The grid below is small, and blocks come in awkward shapes. Park one badly and you've stolen the room you needed three moves later. Strong players don't place fast — they place last. COLORS DON'T STAY PUT Sand mixes as it falls. That clean band of blue turns speckled halfway down, and now you have to dig for it. Bring your blocks to the sand instead of waiting for the sand to come to you. PUZZLES THAT KEEP CHANGING • Hidden blocks that won't show their color until you clear others • Frozen blocks locked behind ice • Layered blocks hiding a second color underneath • Sliding blocks that travel on one axis only • Locks and keys • A brand-new picture every single stage WHEN YOU'RE STUCK • Freeze — stop the clock and think it through • Hammer — smash one block into single squares and spread them out • Magnet — pull every matching grain straight into one block Save them. You'll want them later. FEATURES • Real falling-sand physics, grain by grain • Simple one-finger drag controls • Colorful pictures to uncover • Shape and space planning that actually matters • Clear goals, quick stages, easy to pick up • No wrong way to start — just drop a block Drop the block. Watch it pour. Clear every grain. Download Sand Fill: Block Puzzle and see how far you can go.

About

Screw Machine

A unique color-sorting puzzle game where you manage screws on a spinning machine. Tap panels to release screws and match them to their colored plates before the rail overloads. Features special mechanics like mystery plates and gates for added challenge.

Highlights
  • Spinning machine sorting mechanic
  • Color-matching screw puzzles
  • Tap-to-release screw panels
  • Special game-changing parts (mystery plates, gates)
  • Offline play
  • No timer or move counter
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

Fill Sand4 screens
Screw Machine4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Screw Machine at 50% against Fill Sand's 21%. Screw Machine also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.7). Fill Sand's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and chart position (#88 vs unranked). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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. Fill Sand sells 12 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

Screw Machine holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 312 and 445 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 21% of Fill Sand's written reviews are positive against 50% of Screw Machine's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fill Sand ships an update every 3 days, Screw Machine every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Fill Sand versus Screw Machine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFill SandScrew Machine
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (312 ratings)4.9 (445 ratings) — better
Positive reviews20.6% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings312445 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 4 days
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#88 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size472 MB368 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStormborn Inc.Twist Games

Customer experience

Fill Sand

All ratings312 ratings
Positive92.6%
Neutral2.9%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive20.6%
Neutral23.5%
Negative55.9%

Screw Machine

All ratings445 ratings
Positive98.7%
Neutral0.2%
Negative1.1%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Fill Sand

One-time12
  • Starter Bundle$1.99
  • 1,000 Coins$1.99
  • Fail Offer$4.99
Show 9 more
  • 5,000 Coins$7.99
  • No Ads$7.99
  • Fail Offer 02$8.99
  • Sand Pass$9.99
  • Small Bundle$9.99
  • 10,000 Coins$14.99
  • Fail Offer 03$14.99
  • Large Bundle$19.99
  • Super Bundle$29.99
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 Fill Sand free?
Fill Sand 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, Fill Sand or Screw Machine?
Screw Machine is rated higher. Fill Sand averages 4.7 out of 5 from 312 ratings, while Screw Machine averages 4.9 from 445 ratings.
Do Fill Sand or Screw Machine have ads?
Both Fill Sand and Screw Machine show ads.
Which is updated more often, Fill Sand or Screw Machine?
Fill Sand ships an update every 3 days, and Screw Machine every 4 days. Most recently, Fill Sand was updated on October 21, 2026 and Screw Machine on October 20, 2026.

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