Glowdial vs Desert Caravan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Glowdial
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Glowdial is an idle game built around one gesture. Drag your thumb around the dial and let go. It coasts, ticking under your finger, and every turn makes Glow. Glow buys lights: a firefly, a candle, a lantern, a laser, a star. They keep the dial warm while you're gone. The dial has numbers, like a safe. Stop it on the right three in order and something opens. The story will tell you where to look. Players who find combinations get new finishes for their dial and permanent bonuses. Sometimes a number lights up. Land the dial on it exactly and it resonates. Sometimes a moth comes by. Catch it. When the dial burns out, you keep its filament and wind it around a new one, brighter than the last. The color climbs: Ember, Amber, Gold, White, Cyan, Violet, Ultraviolet, and one more. The music climbs with it. • One thumb. Spin, flick, tap. • Haptics on every detent. • Your lights work while you're away. • Eight hidden combinations, eight dial finishes, and seven color themes that each change the song. • An original soundtrack that opens up as you progress. • A story that arrives one line at a time. • No ads. No accounts. No tracking. Your save lives on your phone, and you can export it. Turn the dial.
Desert Caravan
Build a trading empire by leading camel caravans across ancient routes. Manage goods, upgrade your fleet, and hire guides to earn gold even when offline. Expand your reach from a small stall to a vast trading house.
- Lead camel caravans across trade routes
- Grow a small stall into a trading house
- Send caravans between oasis cities
- Upgrade camels, water skins, and trade deals
- Hire guides for automated routes
- Experience random road events like sandstorms
- Start new trading houses with permanent income boosts
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Lead camel caravans across the old trade routes and grow a small stall in Cairo into a trading house that reaches Samarkand. Desert Caravan is an idle trading game. Send caravans between oasis cities, sell their goods, and spend your gold on more camels, faster trips and better deals. Hire a guide and a route runs on its own, so your caravans keep trading even while the app is closed. EIGHT CITIES, EIGHT GOODS • Cairo dates, Alexandria cotton, Petra incense and Damascus glass • Baghdad spices, Muscat pearls, Marrakesh leather and Samarkand silk • Each city opens a new route with richer goods and longer journeys BUILD YOUR CARAVANS • Buy camels to carry more cargo, with bonus rewards at 25, 50, 100 and 200 camels • Upgrade water skins for faster trips and trade deals for better prices • Buy one at a time, ten at once, or as many as you can afford HIRE GUIDES • A guide runs a route on repeat, so you never have to tap Send again • Guided routes keep earning for up to 8 hours while you are away • Come back to a welcome-back haul of everything your caravans made LIFE ON THE ROAD • Sandstorms close a route for a while • Rich merchants pay double for your next three loads • Lost camels wander across the map; tap one for a bonus • Open a chest every day for extra gold A NEW TRADING HOUSE • Reach Samarkand, then start a new trading house • Keep your reputation, and each point adds 2% to all your income forever FAIR AND OPTIONAL • Ads only play when you choose one, for boosts and bonuses • The Royal Charter is a single purchase that removes ad offers for good, doubles your income forever and gives you every ad reward automatically No account and no sign-in. Your progress stays on your device. Short sessions, a few times a day, with the desert waiting for you in between.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Glowdial at none against Desert Caravan's 1. Glowdial also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs every 10 days). On price 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. Desert Caravan sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Glowdial asks for nothing beyond the download.
Glowdial ships an update daily, Desert Caravan every 10 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | Glowdial | Desert Caravan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Daily — better | Every 10 days |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 52 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Luke Wade | Mohamed Ali |
In-app purchases
Glowdial
No in-app purchases
Desert Caravan
- No Ads$2.99
Questions
Is Glowdial free?
Is Desert Caravan free?
Do Glowdial or Desert Caravan have ads?
Which is updated more often, Glowdial or Desert Caravan?
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