Comparison

Osmo Newton vs Quandary

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

Head to head
About

Osmo Newton

Engage with creative physics puzzles by drawing or placing physical objects. Guide falling balls into target zones using everyday items. Experience a blend of physical and digital play.

Highlights
  • Draw lines to solve puzzles
  • Place physical objects to interact
  • Guide falling balls into targets
  • Works with everyday items
  • Hands-on learning experience
  • Promotes creativity and problem-solving
Read full description

Solve creative physics puzzles by drawing lines or placing items in front of the screen. Play your favourite Osmo Newton on both iPhone and iPad! Use your iPhone with the "Osmo Base for iPad" which can be found at playosmo.com. * Please see our device compatibility list here: https://support.playosmo.com/hc/articles/115010156067 "..games that interact with just about any physical object—pen, paper, blocks, even toys your kids already own. - The Wall Street Journal "This interplay between the physical and digital realms looks and feels like magic." - Forbes "Osmo has been a revolution in our family." - Wired Awarded: **Best Design** - Good Design, 2016 **Best Product Designs** - Fast Company Finalist, 2016 **Innovative Toy of the Year** - TOTY Finalist, 2015 **Best Inventions** - TIME, 2014 Works with any object or drawing – Mom’s keys, hand-drawn basket, even toys you already own. Simply place the object/drawing in front of the screen and manipulate it to guide the falling balls into the target zones. About Osmo Osmo is using the screen to create a new healthy, hands-on learning experience that promotes creativity, problem-solving and social interaction. We do this with our reflective artificial intelligent technology.

About

Quandary

Guide a new civilization on an alien planet by making ethical decisions. This narrative-driven game develops critical thinking, empathy, and problem-solving skills through engaging science-fiction scenarios. It's designed for youth but enjoyable for all ages.

Highlights
  • Ethical reasoning gameplay
  • Science-fiction narrative
  • Character-driven conflicts
  • Critical thinking development
  • Perspective-taking exercises
  • Four playable episodes
  • Customizable character generator
Features
Read full description

As the Captain of a new human settlement on Planet Braxos, shape the future of a new civilization while developing ethical reasoning skills. Quandary, the award-winning, nonprofit learning game, has landed on your mobile phone! Players find themselves immersed in a rich science-fiction narrative with a diverse set of characters and differing perspectives. When confronted by conflict, you must explore the many facts, solutions, and opinions to come up with solutions on the colony's behalf. Quandary is perfect for youth, ages 8-16, but people of all ages will enjoy this game. Working closely with educators and students, we've created a truly playful experience that maps to the Common Core State Standards. The game aims to develop skills that help children recognize ethical issues and deal with ethical situations in their own lives: • Critical thinking • Perspective-taking • Empathy • Decision-making • Problem solving • Moral reasoning • Reading • Writing • Social and Emotional Learning • Communication • Collaboration • Global awareness At the dawn of a new society…how will you decide? Scot Osterweil, creator of the classic educational Zoombinis games and research director at the MIT Education Arcade, shepherded his team at Learning Games Network to refine the Quandary concept originally prototyped by child development and learning experts at Harvard and Tufts University. Technical and graphic production was managed by FableVision, an award-winning storytelling digital media production and learning company. The browser version of Quandary is an award-winning title, having won the Game of the Year at the 2013 Games for Change Festival, 2018 Common Sense Education’s Top Picks for Learning award, the Silver Medal in Education at the 2013 Serious Play Awards, and Most Meaningful Game at the 2012 Meaningful Play Awards. --------------------- FEATURES: • Four playable episodes, with 12 animated and voiced characters that include Granik the Construction Chief, Paskit the Computer Expert, and Yau the Historian. • Digital comics introduce each episode, as well as the wider universe of Quandary. • Voice and text options for comics and character reactions. • A focus on minimal instruction, encouraging the player to explore the possibilities and reflect on their own choices. • Account creation for saving your progress. • An app-exclusive character generator, which allows players 13 and older to create their own colonists with unique opinions.

Screenshots

Osmo Newton4 screens
Quandary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Osmo Newton at 4.1 against Quandary's 3.5. Osmo Newton also leads on review sentiment (65% vs 25%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 34 months). Quandary's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Osmo Newton holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Osmo Newton has 384 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Osmo Newton's written reviews are positive against 25% of Quandary's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Osmo Newton ships an update every 2 months, Quandary every 34 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Osmo Newton versus Quandary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOsmo NewtonQuandary
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (384 ratings) — better3.5 (13 ratings)
Positive reviews65.4% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings384 — better13
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 34 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size451 MB162 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTangible PlayLearning Games Network The

Customer experience

Osmo Newton

All ratings383 ratings
Positive75.5%
Neutral6.8%
Negative17.8%
Written reviews81 reviews
Positive65.4%
Neutral8.6%
Negative25.9%

Quandary

All ratings12 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%

Bugs and requests

Osmo Newton

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App crashes on launch or during gameplay
  • Unresponsive app after recent updates
  • Lorem Ipsum placeholder text stuck on screen
  • Achievement page frozen preventing gameplay
  • App incompatible with iPad Air 2 and 11-inch iPad
Show 5 more
  • Camera permission prompt issues on newer iOS
  • Line detection fails to recognize drawings
  • Game slows down significantly with multiple balls
  • App fails to load or gets stuck on loading screen
  • Whiteboard compatibility issues

Requested features

8 requests
  • Back/front camera option for better positioning
  • Pause menu functionality
  • More levels beyond the current 61
  • Grid screen option for better line detection
  • Adjustable camera sensitivity settings
Show 3 more
  • Better instructions and tutorial for beginners
  • Start button before gameplay begins
  • Support for older iPad models

Quandary

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Osmo Newton

No in-app purchases

None

Quandary

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Osmo Newton free?
Osmo Newton is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Quandary free?
Quandary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Osmo Newton or Quandary?
Osmo Newton is rated higher. Osmo Newton averages 4.1 out of 5 from 384 ratings, while Quandary averages 3.5 from 13 ratings.
Do Osmo Newton or Quandary have ads?
Neither Osmo Newton nor Quandary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Osmo Newton or Quandary?
Osmo Newton ships an update every 2 months, and Quandary every 34 months. Most recently, Osmo Newton was updated on November 6, 2026 and Quandary on November 2, 2026.

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