Symbol Link vs The Chinese Five Elements
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Symbol Link
This puzzle game challenges you to connect matching symbols with a single path. It features a vast number of puzzles and challenges, with unique mechanics like autolinks and an advanced scoring system. Designed by the creator of Tetris, it offers stylish visuals and audio.
- 1650 puzzles
- 300 challenges
- 3 puzzle packs by Tetris author
- Autolinks feature
- Advanced score system
- Hints and guides
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TETRIS® 40 YEARS: This game designed by Tetris® creator. Symbol Link designed by Tetris author Alexey Pajitnov is a novel take based on a well-known Number Link and Flow game mechanics. !!! Any in-game purchase makes the game ads-free !!! Solve puzzles pairing up matching symbols with a single path. Team up with your iPhone or iPad artificial intelligence to score points by drawing autolinks – two symbols automatically connected when definite path between them exists. Main Symbol Link features: •1650 puzzles; •300 challenges of 5 different types; •3 puzzle packs braincrafted by Tetris author Alexey Pajitnov; •Stylish visuals, music and sound effects. Go higher with unique Symbol Link features: •Puzzle boards of hundred different sizes and shapes; •Autolinks to save your time but challenge you more; •Advanced score system thoroughly measuring every move you play and quality of final solution; •Hints and guides displaying previous solutions to assist your play. Link to gameplay video: http://youtu.be/eb1Ic1G_ZLw Link to game page at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/symlink
The Chinese Five Elements
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The Chinese five elements ("Wu Xing") is a conceptual scheme that many traditional Chinese fields used to explain a wide range of phenomena. For Example, geomancy, Feng shui, astrology, traditional Chinese medicine, music, military strategy and martial arts. The purpose of this application lets the user through the game to continued practice the relationship of the five elements ("mutual generation" and "mutual overcoming"). Ten computerized chess players have different skills. And they are waiting for your challenge. Download it and give it a try! [ Overcomes ] Metal overcomes Wood Wood overcomes Earth Earth overcomes Water Water overcomes Fire Fire overcomes Metal [ Generation] Metal generate Water Water generate Wood Wood generate Fire Fire generate Earth Earth generate Metal The "Five elements“ are Wood (木 mù), Fire (火 huǒ), Earth (土 tǔ), Metal (金 jīn), and Water (水 shuǐ). 中国五行八卦博大精心,本应用目的是通过游戏给用户不断练习五行相剋相生的关系。十一位棋手各有不同的技能,他们等着你们的挑战。快点下载来试试吧! 五行相克:金克木,木克土,土克水,水克火,火克金 五行相生:金生水、水生木、木生火、火生土、土生金
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The Chinese Five Elements at none against Symbol Link's 7. The Chinese Five Elements also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Symbol Link's advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 18 months). On price 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. Symbol Link sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. The Chinese Five Elements asks for nothing beyond the download.
Symbol Link ships an update every 4 months, The Chinese Five Elements every 18 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Symbol Link | The Chinese Five Elements |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (63 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 65.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 63 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 18 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 61 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ANDREY NOVIKOV | Leung Man Ho Thomas |
Bugs and requests
Symbol Link
Reported bugs
8 issues- App freezes on tutorial/how-to screen with unresponsive controls
- Settings menu freezes on iPhone 5
- App force quits unexpectedly
- Occasional line freezing during gameplay
- Accidental App Store redirects from ad clicks
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- Ad removal in-app purchase not functioning
- Notification center alerts appearing despite being disabled
- Hint button too small and easily triggered accidentally
Requested features
10 requests- Add more free puzzle packs
- Implement ad-free version with reasonable pricing
- Provide clearer in-game tutorials and instructions
- Add difficulty ratings for puzzle packs before purchase
- Include confirmation dialog before using hints
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- Add ability to purchase hints
- Improve hint button placement to avoid accidental clicks
- Add volume sliders for sound effects
- Reduce frequency of ads or limit to banner ads only
- Add Chromecast support
The Chinese Five Elements
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Symbol Link
- Pack of 12 Hints$1.99
- Alexey's Pack II$1.99
- Alexey's Pack III$1.99
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- Puzzle Pack IV$1.99
- Remove Ads$1.99
- Puzzle Pack V$1.99
- Puzzle Pack VI$1.99
The Chinese Five Elements
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Symbol Link free?
Is The Chinese Five Elements free?
Do Symbol Link or The Chinese Five Elements have ads?
Which is updated more often, Symbol Link or The Chinese Five Elements?
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