Comparison

Cupcake Mania™ vs Rune

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

Head to head
About

Cupcake Mania™

Embark on a sweet puzzle adventure matching delicious pastries to win. Fend off a hungry bear and use powerful boosts to conquer over 500 levels. Compete with friends for the highest score in this free-to-play game.

Highlights
  • Match and collect pastries
  • Over 500 levels
  • Fend off Bruno the Bear
  • Earn potent boosts
  • Create big matches for bonuses
  • Challenge Facebook friends
Features
Read full description

Indulge yourself in a delectably sweet puzzle adventure - match and collect tasty Pastries to win! A new flavor of Match-3 game from the makers of hit apps Jewel Mania™ and Bubble Mania™! Insatiable as ever, Bruno the Bear is always trying to sneak a taste of your yummy Cupcakes and other scrumptious Pastries. Keep Bruno at bay as you and Heidi the Cupcake Guru embark on an epic adventure around the world cooking up mouthwatering morsels! - PLAY through over 500 levels in a vibrant new world of baking bliss! - MATCH and collect Cupcakes, Donuts, Macarons, and more delicious Pastries! - FEND OFF Bruno the Bear as he tries to devour all of your hand-baked masterpieces! - EARN potent boosts like the CupQuake and Oven Mitt by completing Challenges! - CREATE big matches to cook up powerful pieces like Sugar Rush and Sprinkle Shock for huge bonuses! - CHALLENGE your Facebook friends for the top score in every level! - FREE to play with FREE updates including new levels, obstacles, Pastries, and more! Cupcake Mania™ is the BEST puzzle adventure game on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. And just like the other best things in life, it’s FREE! Please note that Cupcake Mania™ is free to play, but you can purchase in-app items with real money. To delete this feature, on your device go to Settings Menu -> General -> Restrictions option. You can then simply turn off In-App Purchases under "Allowed Content". In addition, Cupcake Mania™ may link to social media services, such as Facebook, and Storm8 will have access to your information through such services. Follow Storm8! www.storm8-studios.com facebook.com/storm8 twitter.com/storm8

About

Rune

Embark on a magical adventure as a young girl transported to a castle filled with attacking creatures. Discover the power of "Fancy Rhabdomancy" to wield a wand and battle your way through this enchanted realm.

Highlights
  • Magical adventure gameplay
  • Spellcasting mechanics
  • Fantasy creatures
  • Story-driven experience
  • Interactive book discovery
Features
Read full description

One rainy afternoon, a young girl named Gaia found herself drawn to a small forgotten bookstore, The Last Leaf. Gaia found herself mesmerized by the shelves upon shelves of books that surrounded her. As she browsed the aisles, Gaia stumbled upon a peculiar book tucked away in a dusty corner. Its cover was worn, but something about the name called out to her. "Fancy Rhabdomancy." She opened the book and began to read, and in an instant, Gaia was transported to a castle of magic where creatures started attacking! Still having the book in hand, she read further and suddenly a wand appeared in her hand. "The words here must be magic!" she giddily exclaimed, and she could feel that a great adventure was ahead!

Screenshots

Cupcake Mania™4 screens
Rune3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Rune at 100% against Cupcake Mania™'s 54%. Rune also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and ads (none vs shown). Cupcake Mania™'s advantage is ratings volume (1.5K vs 5). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. Cupcake Mania™ sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Rune sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Rune holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cupcake Mania™ has 1.5K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of Cupcake Mania™'s written reviews are positive against 100% of Rune's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cupcake Mania™ ships an update every 2 months, Rune weekly. Both last shipped on October 23, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Cupcake Mania™ versus Rune: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCupcake Mania™Rune
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (1.5K ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.5K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size197 MB419 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperStorm8 StudiosJames Patterson

Customer experience

Cupcake Mania™

All ratings1,472 ratings
Positive81.3%
Neutral7.1%
Negative11.6%
Written reviews404 reviews
Positive54.0%
Neutral13.6%
Negative32.4%

Rune

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Cupcake Mania™

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Game crashing after winning a level
  • Screen orientation issues on newer devices
  • Rewards not being awarded properly
  • Levels becoming unbeatable due to glitches
  • Saved progress not loading correctly

Requested features

5 requests
  • More frequent level updates
  • Ability to reset progress and start over
  • Better reward system and more free lives
  • Improved ad experience and optional ad-free version
  • Syncing progress across devices

Rune

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Cupcake Mania™

One-time10
  • 22 Gems$0.99
  • Starter Pack$0.99
  • 120 Gems$2.99
Show 7 more
  • 120 Gems$3.99
  • 120 Gems$4.99
  • Variety Pack$4.99
  • 250 Gems$5.99
  • 250 Gems$9.99
  • 530 Gems$19.99
  • 1400 Gems$49.99
3 purchases

Rune

One-time3
  • Keep the lights on$0.99
  • Coffee for Team$4.99
  • Coffee and Pastry for Team$9.99

Questions

Is Cupcake Mania™ free?
Cupcake Mania™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Rune free?
Rune is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cupcake Mania™ or Rune?
Rune is rated higher. Cupcake Mania™ averages 4.3 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Rune averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Cupcake Mania™ or Rune have ads?
Cupcake Mania™ shows ads; Rune does not.
Which is updated more often, Cupcake Mania™ or Rune?
Cupcake Mania™ ships an update every 2 months, and Rune weekly. Most recently, Cupcake Mania™ was updated on October 23, 2026 and Rune on October 23, 2026.

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