Comparison

Blackbox vs Clever cubed

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Touchless gameplay
  • Minimalistic visual clues
  • Sonic interfaces
  • Haptic feedback
  • External puzzle solving
  • Easter eggs
Features
Read full description

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.) ■

About

Clever cubed

Experience the ultimate challenge in this dice-rolling puzzle game. Master new strategic options with five new dice categories, a number joker, and advanced betting mechanics. Compete globally for high scores and unlock new achievements.

Highlights
  • Five new dice categories
  • Number joker for strategic options
  • Advanced dice betting mechanics
  • 18 new achievements
  • Weekly global highscore lists
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

If you already like "Pretty clever" and "Twice as clever", "Clever cubed" is the ultimate challenge for you! Whether you're a high-score hunter with hundreds of games or just an occasional game, "Clever cubed" offers you new and exciting challenges to master. Of course, there are five new dice categories, including the arrangement of bonuses, which make it quite tricky again to find the best moves. In addition, the new number joker offers completely new strategic options by allowing you to rotate a dice to a different number value before placing. And that's not all: If you choose the turquoise dice, you don't just bet this one, but up to 2 additional dice if they are of the right value. As you can see: Countless new possibilities and 18 exciting new achievements are waiting to be discovered by you. As always in the "clever" series you can compete against the worldwide community in weekly highscore lists. Don't just be "Pretty clever" or "Twice as clever", be "Clever cubed"!

Screenshots

Blackbox4 screens
Clever cubed4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Blackbox at 93% against Clever cubed's 23%. Blackbox also leads on price (Free vs $3.99) and rating (4.8 vs 3.8). Clever cubed's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.6). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and chart position 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

Blackbox is free to download; Clever cubed costs $3.99 up front. Blackbox sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Clever cubed sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Blackbox holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Blackbox has 109K ratings behind it against 8, 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 23% of Clever cubed's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Blackbox ships an update every 9 days, Clever cubed every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Blackbox versus Clever cubed: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBlackboxClever cubed
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.8 (109K ratings) — better3.8 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews92.6% of reviews — better23.1% of reviews
Number of ratings109K — better8
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#34 — better#37
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.611.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size209 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShapes and Stories LLCBrettspielWelt

Customer experience

Blackbox

All ratings108,586 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral2.0%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews4,671 reviews
Positive92.6%
Neutral3.6%
Negative3.8%

Clever cubed

All ratings8 ratings
Positive62.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive23.1%
Neutral19.2%
Negative57.7%

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

Clever cubed

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Blackbox

One-time10
  • Tiny Hint Pack$1.19
  • Small Hint Pack$2.39
  • Erudite Pack$2.99
Show 7 more
  • 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
1 purchases

Clever cubed

One-time1
  • Clever Cubed - Challenge 2$1.99

Questions

Is Blackbox free?
Blackbox is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Clever cubed free?
Clever cubed costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Blackbox or Clever cubed?
Blackbox is rated higher. Blackbox averages 4.8 out of 5 from 109K ratings, while Clever cubed averages 3.8 from 8 ratings.
Do Blackbox or Clever cubed have ads?
Neither Blackbox nor Clever cubed shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Blackbox or Clever cubed?
Blackbox ships an update every 9 days, and Clever cubed every 3 weeks. Most recently, Blackbox was updated on October 1, 2026 and Clever cubed on September 29, 2026.
Which is more popular, Blackbox or Clever cubed?
Blackbox currently peaks at #34 in the App Store charts, and Clever cubed at #37. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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