Comparison

Walk on Thin Ice vs Tiny TD

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

Head to head
About

Walk on Thin Ice

Features
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You're an explorer stranded on a frozen lake, and the only way home is a ship somewhere ahead of you. There's just one problem: every tile you step on starts to crack, and after enough cracks it melts into open water. Walk somewhere once, and you might be walking there for the last time. Walk on Thin Ice is a minimalist puzzle game about planning your own escape route before you seal it off yourself. Every level is a small grid, a handful of moves, and one goal โ€” but the ice remembers everywhere you've been, and a path that looks safe on your first step can strand you three moves later. DAILY PUZZLE A new puzzle every day of the year, 365 in all. Open the calendar, pick a day, and get an optional reminder that takes you straight to that day's puzzle. HOW TO PLAY - Move one tile at a time โ€” up, down, left, or right โ€” by swiping or tapping an adjacent tile. Tap a farther tile instead and you'll walk the whole path there in one go. - Every tile cracks a little more each time you step onto it. After a few cracks, it turns to water โ€” stand on it when that happens, and you're done. - Reach the ship to complete the level. Fewer moves earns more stars. - Made a mistake? Undo up to 5 moves, or restart the level from scratch. HAZARDS - Rock โ€” blocks your path outright, unless you're carrying a pickaxe to mine through it. - Fire โ€” cracks every tile around it, every single turn, whether you're nearby or not. - Wind โ€” sweeps you one or more extra tiles in the direction it's blowing, cracking everything it carries you across. Ride it right and it's a shortcut; misjudge it and it's how you strand yourself. GEAR - Pickaxe โ€” a one-time use that breaks through a single rock. - Snowshoes โ€” four charges that stop badly-cracked ice from cracking any further while you cross it. - Compass โ€” once you've found it, a needle on your HUD always points the way to the ship, even across ice you haven't explored yet. - SOS flare โ€” some crossings hide the ship until you signal for it; find the flare and it appears. - CO2 canister โ€” freezes a crumbling tile rock-solid right before it would've dropped you into the water, three uses per canister. - Wooden scraps โ€” build a permanent bridge across open water, one plank at a time. - Ski poles โ€” plant them once and the wind can crack the ice under you, but it can't push you around anymore. ANIMALS Arctic animals are hiding across the six expeditions: foxes and owls, reindeer and polar bears, seals, walruses, orcas and more. Step onto one on the ice and it slips away, leaving fresh ice behind. Animals out on the water need a wooden-scraps plank to reach: bridge over and they are free. Expeditions bundle levels into themed sets with their own painted landscape, difficulty curve, star ratings, and achievements to unlock as you go. Later expeditions branch โ€” choose a path, discover a dead end or two along the way, and every branch you've found stays open for next time. No timers, no penalties for thinking โ€” just you, the ice, and the choices you can't take back. Play your way: on iPad in landscape, the level list and the live puzzle sit side by side. Prefer a different look? Switch to the Anime tile theme in Settings.

About

Tiny TD

Features
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A tiny tower defense where the map won't sit still. Rivers fork and grow mid-battle, cliffs get in the way, and the plan you made a minute ago needs another look. No energy. No gems. No pay to win. Just 100 levels, a fresh survival map every day, and all of it plays offline. RIVERS THAT GROW Wigglers swim downstream toward your base. Mid-run, a new river plunges in from the fog and joins the fight. See where it's heading and get there first. FIVE TOWERS, ENDLESS PLANS โ€ข Needle: rapid fire for fast swimmers. โ€ข Bloom: splash damage for crowds. โ€ข Frost: foam that slows the swarm and leaves it brittle. โ€ข Ember: close-range fire for tight bends. โ€ข Lens: one focused beam for the big ones. Two upgrades each. Campaign stars unlock the last three. 100 LEVELS, FOUR LANDS Moss Valley, Apricot Bay, Softwood and Rust Mesa, each with its own cliffs and tricks. Earn up to three stars per level. SURVIVE THE NIGHT One new map for everyone, every day. Ten waves, then a darker night every 30 seconds until you fall. Unlimited attempts; your longest survival counts. MEET THE WIGGLERS Darts, Skippers, Gliders, Colonies and the Great Old Glider, all in the Field Guide. QUIET BY DESIGN Single player, no account needed. Occasional ads between runs; one optional purchase removes them for good. Leaderboards go online and only ask for a nickname.

Screenshots

Walk on Thin Ice4 screens
Tiny TD4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Walk on Thin Ice at none against Tiny TD's shown. Walk on Thin Ice also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). Tiny TD's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Walk on Thin Ice sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Tiny TD sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Walk on Thin Ice ships an update every 4 days, Tiny TD every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
Walk on Thin Ice versus Tiny TD: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWalk on Thin IceTiny TD
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 days โ€” betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS17.015.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size240 MB51 MB
Age rating4+12+
Developeryury chebiryakAlejandro Jimenez Rico

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Walk on Thin Ice

One-time3
  • Small Tip$1.99
  • Medium Tip$4.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
1 purchases

Tiny TD

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$9.99

Questions

Is Walk on Thin Ice free?
Walk on Thin Ice is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tiny TD free?
Tiny TD is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Walk on Thin Ice or Tiny TD have ads?
Tiny TD shows ads; Walk on Thin Ice does not.
Which is updated more often, Walk on Thin Ice or Tiny TD?
Walk on Thin Ice ships an update every 4 days, and Tiny TD every 3 weeks. Most recently, Walk on Thin Ice was updated on October 31, 2026 and Tiny TD on November 7, 2026.

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