The Next Arrow vs Dots and Bubbles
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Next Arrow
Engage your mind with a variety of challenging puzzles or test your endurance in an endless mode. Develop strategic thinking to achieve the highest score and climb the leaderboards.
- 36 insane challenges
- Endless mode for high scores
- Strategic planning gameplay
- Brain-training puzzles
- Leaderboard ranking
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Challenge your brain by solving 36 insane challenges or play in endless mode to create the longest chain possible. Think and elaborate strategies to survive and reach the first rank! Push your anticipation and planning capacities further than anything before .
Dots and Bubbles
Guide a bouncing ball through challenging levels by activating and deactivating special dots. Discover unique physics with elements like Black Holes and Direction Boosters. Solve over 90 intriguing puzzles with clever combinations.
- Ball bounce control
- Special dot mechanics
- Over 90 levels
- Increasing difficulty
- Ingenuity-based puzzles
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In this game you engage by activating and deactivating specific dots in the playfield to control the play ball‘s bounce, guiding it towards the goal. As you progress through increasing difficulty levels, you’ll encounter various special dots, such as »Black Holes«, »Direction Boosters«, and »Bubbles«, each adding an unique twist to the game‘s physics. With over 90 diverse and intriguing levels, you are challenged to solve each one using your ingenuity and clever combinations. „Dots & Bubbles“ promises a fun and dynamic gaming experience for players of all levels.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Dots and Bubbles at Free against The Next Arrow's $0.99. Dots and Bubbles also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 23 months) and ratings volume (17 vs 1). The Next Arrow's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, 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
Dots and Bubbles is free to download; The Next Arrow costs $0.99 up front. Dots and Bubbles sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. The Next Arrow asks for nothing beyond the download.
Dots and Bubbles holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dots and Bubbles has 17 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 40% of The Next Arrow's written reviews are positive against 33% of Dots and Bubbles's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
The Next Arrow ships an update every 23 months, Dots and Bubbles fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Next Arrow | Dots and Bubbles |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.0 (1 ratings) | 4.2 (17 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 40.0% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 17 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 23 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 12.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 98 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kevin Choteau | Tim Kretz |
Customer experience
The Next Arrow
Dots and Bubbles
In-app purchases
The Next Arrow
No in-app purchases
Dots and Bubbles
- Remove Ads$3.99
Questions
Is The Next Arrow free?
Is Dots and Bubbles free?
Which has better reviews, The Next Arrow or Dots and Bubbles?
Do The Next Arrow or Dots and Bubbles have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Next Arrow or Dots and Bubbles?
Other comparisons
