Comparison

iNethack2 vs Avid Reader

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

Head to head
About

iNethack2

Embark on a single-player dungeon crawl to collect treasure, find the Amulet of Yendor, and survive perilous mazes. This port offers graphical tilesets, touch controls, and customizable shortcuts for an enhanced roguelike experience.

Highlights
  • Single-player dungeon exploration
  • Treasure collection and escape
  • Multiple graphical tilesets
  • Touchscreen gesture controls
  • Customizable keyboard shortcuts
  • Bones file sharing integration
Features
Read full description

"NetHack is a single player dungeon exploration game. Your goal is to grab as much treasure as you can, retrieve the Amulet of Yendor, and escape the Mazes of Menace alive." -- iNethack2 is an iOS port of Nethack 3.6.7. Original port in 2009 by Dirk Zimmermann which was called iNethack. Updated by Jeff King to work on modern devices, and renamed iNethack2. Initial 3.6 update by Joe Doucette. Various other contributions from the open source community. iNethack2 features: · 9 graphical tilesets (plus IBMGraphics mode, and regular ASCII mode in color and monochrome) · 1 animated tileset: DawnHack Animated · Touchscreen gesture controls: swipe to pan, pinch to zoom · Customizable keyboard shortcut controls · Hearse (bones file sharing) integration · Works on iOS12+ Some facts about NetHack: · The first version of NetHack was released in 1987 · NetHack was a roguelike before people used the term roguelike · You can play NetHack for years and still make new discoveries · NetHack is one of the greatest games of all time

About

Avid Reader

Features
Read full description

All you want to do is read but there are so many distractions. Avoid the distractions and read all the books in this quirky platformer game!

Screenshots

iNethack24 screens
Avid Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: iNethack2 at none against Avid Reader's 2. iNethack2 also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). Avid Reader's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Avid Reader sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. iNethack2 asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iNethack2 ships an update every 2 months, Avid Reader weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 3, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
iNethack2 versus Avid Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriNethack2Avid Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (137 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews84.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings137 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB114 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperFuture Shock Software LTD5 Ladders Entertainment LLC

Bugs and requests

iNethack2

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Game crashes when using inventory (I command)
  • Crashes on Plane of Water during save restore
  • File corruption errors when switching apps
  • Game freezes with Chinese pinyin keyboard input
  • Crashes when equipping rings
Show 9 more
  • Crashes when dropping items
  • Crashes when accessing discoveries list
  • Cannot open level files error (501mobile.50)
  • Game unrecoverable after certain actions
  • Double-tap causes unintended character movement
  • Floor tiles not rendering in corridors
  • Crashes on iOS 11+ when dropping items
  • Waiting for logfile access message loops
  • Game crashes immediately on startup for some users

Requested features

17 requests
  • Separate button labels from command values
  • External Bluetooth keyboard support
  • Directional pad for movement
  • Swipe-based movement controls
  • Character name customization
Show 12 more
  • Pet naming functionality
  • Partial item stack management
  • Cloud save synchronization across devices
  • iPad Magic Keyboard support
  • Japanese language localization
  • Toggle for sparkle effects
  • Multiple simultaneous game saves
  • NetHack version 3.6+ support
  • Slash'Em port for iOS
  • Voice over support for accessibility
  • Options file editing capability
  • Discoveries list access without crashes

Avid Reader

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

iNethack2

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Avid Reader

One-time2
  • 10 Gold Stars$0.99
  • Ad Free / Unlimited Stars$3.99

Questions

Is iNethack2 free?
iNethack2 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Avid Reader free?
Avid Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do iNethack2 or Avid Reader have ads?
Avid Reader shows ads; iNethack2 does not.
Which is updated more often, iNethack2 or Avid Reader?
iNethack2 ships an update every 2 months, and Avid Reader weekly. Most recently, iNethack2 was updated on September 3, 2026 and Avid Reader on September 15, 2026.

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