Pipewick vs HydroValve
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pipewick
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Drag your finger, build a pipeline, and watch the liquid rush through. Pipewick is a cozy little plumbing machine in your pocket. Pick up a pipe mouth, drag a path across the grid, and connect it to the outlet of the same color. Ordinary corners form automatically as you draw; special rotating joints that appear later are turned with a tap. When the last color clicks into place, the whole board floods at once. 1,000 VERIFIED LEVELS 100 chapters, 10 levels each. Every board is built solution-first. Every bundled board is checked by the game's solver. MECHANICS THAT KEEP GROWING Start with simple two-color boards, then meet tap-to-rotate joints, color valves that automatically open only for a matching pipe passing straight through, bridges where two straight pipes can cross, and one-way segments governed by the real source-to-target flow. Each one arrives with a single card, not a wall of text. A NEW PUZZLE EVERY DAY The daily puzzle is the same board for everyone, with a streak to keep alive. BUILT TO FEEL GOOD Tick-tick-tick as the pipe grows, a click at every corner, a snap at the outlet, then the flow. Sound and haptics stay in sync, because that is where the pleasure lives. PLAY ANYWHERE No account or sign-in. The full campaign works offline; an internet connection is only needed for store and ad features. Your progress stays on your device. HINTS WHEN YOU ARE STUCK Smart hints analyze your current board, preview a remaining route as a ghost pipe, and can roll back only the blocking sections when your drawing creates a dead end. You start with free hints, earn more with an optional rewarded video, or buy a pack. Pipewick PRO removes automatic ads. You can still choose a rewarded video to earn 1 hint. Free to play. Portrait only. Made for one hand.
HydroValve
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Route water from SUPPLY to every DRAIN — through pipes that stay EMPTY while you build. There's no preview and no undo once the valve opens: trace the flow in your head, commit, and watch your route hold… or leak. Every leak drains the same shared tank. At 0%, the run is over. SURVIVAL — Permadeath against a build clock. At zero, the valve opens itself. Learnable, fixed levels: every scene is the same every run — master them. CHALLENGE — The plumbing is already installed… and sabotaged. Find and fix every fault before you commit. CAMPAIGN — Descend through six facilities. Saves after every level, but once open, the valve NEVER shuts. LIVING MACHINERY — Treatment units scrub fouled water. Gate valves ship shut. Welded faults resist repair. Cracked floors bleed your reserve. Deep levels stack everything at once. KEEP IT PURE — Water fouls as it travels. Run it too far unwashed and it clogs — then bursts. Route through purifiers, or drop portable filters where you need them. WORLD RECORDS — Post your best runs to a live worldwide leaderboard. Three letters, your level, your time. No account, no sign-up. PERFECT ROUTING — Every clear is graded against par. Zero waste earns three stars. Six facilities. Twenty achievements. One shared tank. Hold the pressure.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: HydroValve at daily against Pipewick's every 4 days. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Pipewick sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and HydroValve sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Pipewick ships an update every 4 days, HydroValve daily. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pipewick | HydroValve |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Daily — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MUSTAFA NURI PEKDEMIR | AbsoluteNoobStudio |
In-app purchases
Pipewick
- 10 Hints$0.99
- 50 Hints$2.99
- Pipewick PRO$4.99
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- 200 Hints$7.99
HydroValve
- Remove Ads$1.99









