Comparison

Lanterns vs Jester Sweep

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

Head to head
About

Lanterns

A logic puzzle game where you place lanterns to illuminate every tile on the board. Solve over 10,000 unique puzzles with a daily challenge and a cozy, ad-free experience.

Highlights
  • Logic deduction puzzles
  • Over 10,000 unique rooms
  • Daily timed challenges
  • No countdown in campaign mode
  • Optional in-app purchases
  • Ad-free experience
Features
Read full description

Light every tile and bring a hidden world back to life. Lanterns is Akari, also called Light Up: a puzzle of pure deduction. Place lanterns so every open tile glows. Numbered walls tell you how many lanterns must touch them. Light stops at walls, and no two lanterns may shine on each other. Meet Pip, your lantern-moth companion, and explore over 10,000 puzzle rooms across 834 floors. Restore chapter landmarks as you progress, and take a break with Firefly Flight at chapter restorations. Campaign puzzles have no countdown. Take your time, mark your plans, use free Undo, and follow Why explanations on the board. Your unfinished campaign puzzle stays ready when you return. The Daily challenge brings one timed puzzle each local date: ninety seconds, one attempt, no hints or revives. Keep your daily streak going and look back on your results. See a score out of 100 after each campaign win, celebrate your personal best, and choose lantern styles as you make the world brighter. If you enjoy Nonogram, Picross, Sudoku, Hashi or Nurikabe, try a different kind of logic puzzle. Each board is generated and checked for a unique solution. Lanterns is free to download, with optional in-app purchases. Campaign entry tickets recover over time. Between-level ads may appear after the introductory levels; a one-time purchase removes forced ads permanently. Rewarded videos remain optional. No sign-in is required to play. Akari (Light Up) is Nikoli's puzzle form.

About

Jester Sweep

A relaxing logic puzzle game where you deduce the placement of jesters based on strict rules. Solve increasingly challenging courts, compete with friends, and enjoy offline play with no timers.

Highlights
  • Pure logic deduction
  • No guessing required
  • Progressive court sizes
  • Daily new puzzles
  • Offline play
  • Game Center leaderboards
  • Hints and reveals
Features
Read full description

Find every fool in the court. Jester Sweep is a relaxing logic puzzle built around three simple rules — and zero guessing. Every colored court hides exactly one jester. No two jesters can share the same row or column, and no two can touch, even diagonally. Every puzzle begins with one jester already placed. From that single clue, logic is all you need. Each court is generated and verified to have exactly one valid solution, so every victory comes from deduction, not luck. HOW TO PLAY • Tap a square to mark it with an X • Double-tap a square to place a jester • Protect your three jester hats — they're your lives SIMPLE RULES. BIGGER CHALLENGES. Start with compact 5x5 courts and work your way up to challenging 8x8 puzzles. The rules stay the same as the courts grow larger and more complex. A NEW DAILY COURT Reach Level 20 to unlock the Daily Court. A brand-new puzzle arrives every day with a streak to protect. Play seven days in a row to earn bonus Reveals and Hints. COMPETE WITH FRIENDS Climb the Game Center leaderboards by reaching higher courts and building longer Daily Court streaks. Unlock achievements for milestones including: • Completing your first court • Solving a flawless court with no mistakes • Building 7-day and 30-day streaks • Mastering 100 courts and beyond COLOR BLIND MODE Jester Sweep includes a Color Blind Mode designed to make courts easier to distinguish without relying on color alone. Turn it on or off anytime from the game settings. STUCK? WE HAVE YOU. When you need a little help: • Reveal places a jester for you • Hint narrows down a row to help you continue solving Use them when a court finally fights back. PLAY ANYTIME No internet connection required. No timers rushing you. Your progress saves automatically, so you can leave a puzzle and return exactly where you left off. Relax, think, and solve at your own pace. Quiet. Colorful. Pure logic. Find every jester. Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Lanterns4 screens
Jester Sweep4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Jester Sweep at none against Lanterns's 4. Lanterns's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 3 weeks) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, ratings volume, ads 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. Lanterns sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Jester Sweep asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lanterns holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lanterns ships an update daily, Jester Sweep every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Lanterns versus Jester Sweep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLanternsJester Sweep
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (9 ratings) — better4.8 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings9 — better4
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size151 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer10X Ventures LLCJoshua Adkins

Customer experience

Lanterns

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Jester Sweep

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Lanterns

One-time4
  • Pouch of Embers$1.99
  • The Gilded Lantern$2.99
  • Satchel of Embers$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Chest of Embers$9.99
None

Jester Sweep

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lanterns free?
Lanterns is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Jester Sweep free?
Jester Sweep is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Lanterns or Jester Sweep?
Lanterns is rated higher. Lanterns averages 5.0 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Jester Sweep averages 4.8 from 4 ratings.
Do Lanterns or Jester Sweep have ads?
Both Lanterns and Jester Sweep show ads.
Which is updated more often, Lanterns or Jester Sweep?
Lanterns ships an update daily, and Jester Sweep every 3 weeks. Most recently, Lanterns was updated on October 24, 2026 and Jester Sweep on October 24, 2026.

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