Comparison

Rek vs Knives Out

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

Head to head
About

Rek

Engage in a strategic two-player board game based on ancient Cambodian traditions. Capture your opponent's King through unique 'Rek' moves or by trapping their units. Explore different playstyles, including the challenging 'Min Rek Chanh' mode.

Highlights
  • Two-player board game
  • Ancient Khmer strategy
  • Capture opponent's King
  • Unique 'Rek' capture mechanic
  • Two distinct playstyles
  • Strategic planning required
Features
Read full description

Rek is popular Ancient Khmer Board Game played by two people on the board of 8X8 squares. The Cambodian transitive verb “Rek” means ‘carry on one’s shoulder a pole at each end of which is a container, bundle or object. It was pointed out that the game was popular among military troops. Today, it is also played by Cambodian women. Objective The object of the game is to “capture” instead of checkmate the opponent’s King. All units may be captured in two ways : 1- when they are “Rek” by an enemy unit in the analogy that they are the containers carried away by that enemy unit. This later way of capture actually bears the name of the game. 2- when they are tightly surrounded or trapped by the enemy units and thus have no legal move. It also has two different forces of 32 units in total . Each side starts with a force of 16 units: One King and 15 Men. All the Men have the same value and physical shape. And they all, including the Kings, move like the Boat or Rook. Another Style of Play​ (Taunt enemry to Rek) The Rek also has its own special style of play. It is named “Min Rek Chanh” (Not Rek Lose if opponent taunt). The object of the game is still the same, capturing the opponent’s King. But, there is only one legal way to capture the enemy units, including the King: “Rek” them two at a time. The Kings may not move at all, not even a square. They are “palace kings”! Other setting features and opening setup are the same as those of the regular Rek. The unique characteristic of this style of play is that a player’s order of Rek to the other must be honored, otherwise the latter loses and the game is over. So, strategic and deliberate sacrifices are the mind set behind winning the game. Usually the game is over when one player orders a “right” series of the opponent’s consecutive moves to ‘Rek’ his units which ultimately will lead to the capture or Rek of the opponent’s King in return. BUT, if he orders the wrong series of the opponent’s moves, he ends up losing his force without any desirable consequence. Thus the game demands a long-term and coherent strategic planning to get the right orders of move. In this kind of play, you are in a more dangerous situation for preserving too many own units, but if you do not have enough of them to design your scheme of making a right series of the opponent’s moves, it is not good either.

About

Knives Out

Engage in large-scale battles with over 100 players on an expansive map. Team up with friends, strategize for survival, and customize your character's appearance with a variety of fashion outfits. Experience thrilling gameplay with vehicles and cooperative challenges.

Highlights
  • Large-scale battles (100+ players)
  • Expansive explorable map
  • Team up and survive with friends
  • Driveable sports cars
  • Character customization with fashion outfits
  • New battle pass updates
Features
Read full description

Get ready for the all-new S48! Prepare to welcome all updated new battle pass. 【Fly! To anywhere you want】 Extra large map with over 100 players. Explore your survival way in Knives Out's battlefield. 【Meet new friends in this survival journey】 Have fun playing Have fun teaming up 【The best friendship is to survive together】 Enjoy the battle with your friends in Knives Out. Let teamwork win! 【Have fun with your squads in the sports car】 Drive to the unlimited with your teammates 【Customize your look for the special one】 Fashion outfits available. Just wear whatever you like

Screenshots

Rek1 screens
Knives Out4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Rek at none against Knives Out's 13. Knives Out's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (508 vs 4). On price, review sentiment, device support and iOS requirement 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. Knives Out sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Rek asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Knives Out holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Knives Out has 508 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Rek's written reviews are positive against 54% of Knives Out's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Rek ships an update every 3 weeks, Knives Out weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Rek versus Knives Out: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRekKnives Out
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)4.3 (508 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews54.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4508 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB2.6 GB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperNora KyNetEase Games

Customer experience

Rek

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%

Knives Out

All ratings505 ratings
Positive81.8%
Neutral5.5%
Negative12.7%
Written reviews1,180 reviews
Positive54.2%
Neutral12.3%
Negative33.6%

Bugs and requests

Rek

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Knives Out

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Scope glitch where it stays on screen
  • Invisible obstacles and objects
  • Vehicles not showing up on the map
  • Audio cutting out during gameplay
  • Matchmaking issues and long queue times

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more maps and game modes
  • Implement first-person view option
  • Add controller support
  • Improve anti-cheat system
  • Increase weapon and item variety

In-app purchases

None

Rek

No in-app purchases

13 purchases

Knives Out

One-time13
  • 60 Vouchers$0.99
  • 80 Vouchers$0.99
  • 185 Vouchers$2.99
Show 10 more
  • 305 Vouchers$4.99
  • Monthly Card$4.99
  • 750 Vouchers$8.99
  • 680 Vouchers$9.99
  • 1280 Vouchers$19.99
  • 1980 Vouchers$29.99
  • 3280 Vouchers$49.99
  • 5000 Vouchers$64.99
  • 5280 Vouchers$79.99
  • 6480 Vouchers$99.99

Questions

Is Rek free?
Rek is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Knives Out free?
Knives Out is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Rek or Knives Out?
Knives Out is rated higher. Rek averages 4.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Knives Out averages 4.3 from 508 ratings.
Do Rek or Knives Out have ads?
Rek shows ads; Knives Out does not.
Which is updated more often, Rek or Knives Out?
Rek ships an update every 3 weeks, and Knives Out weekly. Most recently, Rek was updated on October 21, 2026 and Knives Out on October 26, 2026.

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