Blackbox vs The Controls Game
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Blackbox
This puzzle game challenges you to solve intricate problems without touching the screen. It utilizes minimalistic visual cues, sonic interfaces, and haptic feedback to guide you through unique challenges that require thinking outside the box. Discover a new way to interact with your device and prove your cleverness.
- Touchless gameplay
- Minimalistic visual clues
- Sonic interfaces
- Haptic feedback
- External puzzle solving
- Easter eggs
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So you think you understand this thing you’re holding? Think again. Stop tapping. Stop swiping. In fact, stop touching the screen at all. To crack Blackbox’s puzzles you’ll need to find solitude and stillness, climb mountains, call on friends, get in tune with the cosmos, and think outside the box. Minimalistic visual clues make for incredibly satisfying “Aha!” moments, while sonic interfaces provide an extra level of guidance and nuance that makes Blackbox accessible with or without vision. Thoughtful haptic feedback, Easter eggs on Easter eggs, and solutions that can’t be found beneath the glass of your screen redefine what a puzzle can be. You’ll never see your device the same way again. Think you’re clever? Prove it. (Blackbox is a living game under active development by Ryan McLeod. When not eating burritos or drinking coffee, he’s busy designing and developing new Blackbox challenges.) ■
The Controls Game
Engage in a unique puzzle experience using familiar device controls like switches and sliders. Each level presents a challenge where logic is secondary to finding the correct solution to progress.
- Device control puzzles
- Switch mechanics
- Slider mechanics
- Unique puzzle solving
- Level progression
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Didn't understand anything from the screenshots? The game is created from standard elements: • switches (those which enable / disable Wi-Fi) • sliders (those which adjust the brightness of the screen) • etc. This is a small set of puzzles ... Not so ... This is a smallest set of puzzles, where is no logic! You need to find a solution to open the next level.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Blackbox at 4.8 against The Controls Game's 3.6. Blackbox also leads on review sentiment (93% vs 62%) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 44 months). The Controls Game's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 16.6). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Blackbox sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. The Controls Game asks for nothing beyond the download.
Blackbox holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Blackbox has 109K ratings behind it against 39, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of Blackbox's written reviews are positive against 62% of The Controls Game's.
Blackbox ships an update every 9 days, The Controls Game every 44 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Blackbox | The Controls Game |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (109K ratings) — better | 3.6 (39 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.6% of reviews — better | 61.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 109K — better | 39 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 44 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #34 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 209 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shapes and Stories LLC | Gregory Strigunov |
Customer experience
Blackbox
The Controls Game
Bugs and requests
Blackbox
Reported bugs
2 issues- Hints not working as expected
- Progress reset after app update
Requested features
4 requests- Add ability to earn hint credits through watching ads
- Include more free puzzles
- Improve accessibility for users with limited mobility
- Provide better guidance and instructions for puzzles
The Controls Game
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Blackbox
- Tiny Hint Pack$1.19
- Small Hint Pack$2.39
- Erudite Pack$2.99
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- Push Pack$2.99
- Coffee for Ryan$4.49
- Basic Pack$4.99
- Medium Hint Pack$5.00
- All Knowing Pack$7.99
- Large Hint Pack$10.00
- Extra Large Hint Pack$20.00
The Controls Game
No in-app purchases









