Blackbox vs Automatoys
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.) ■
Automatoys
Guide a ball through intricate mechanical obstacle courses by tapping, turning, and tilting. Outpace the clock to achieve high scores and earn accolades for speed. Experience unique, tactile puzzles with a focus on precise control.
- Tap, turn, tilt, and spin controls
- Unique mechanical obstacle courses
- Timed challenges to beat scores
- One-touch controls
- No ads
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Tap, turn, tilt and spin the contraptions to help each ball hop and roll its way to victory. Each automatoy is a unique, mechanical obstacle course. Features • One-tap controls • NO ads Outpace the clock to beat your score! ⁕ = Made it! ⁕⁕ = Super fast! ⁕⁕⁕ = Incredible! ----- Apple Design Award Finalist 2023 ---- “Tinker around with gorgeous digital toys” PocketGamer “Complex brilliance made tactile and delightful” Eurogamer “Perchang meets Monument Valley” TouchArcade “Delightfully Elaborate” TapSmart
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Blackbox at 93% against Automatoys's 53%. Blackbox also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 4 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 and Automatoys sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Blackbox holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Blackbox has 109K ratings behind it against 7.9K, 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 53% of Automatoys's.
Blackbox ships an update every 9 days, Automatoys every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Blackbox | Automatoys |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (109K ratings) — better | 4.5 (7.9K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.6% of reviews — better | 52.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 109K — better | 7.9K |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #26 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 209 MB | 176 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shapes and Stories LLC | Idle Friday |
Customer experience
Blackbox
Automatoys
User reviews
Blackbox
From 109K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Unique and creative gameplay
- 🤔 Challenges users to think outside the box
- 😄 Humorous and witty comments
- 🔑 Utilizes phone features in innovative ways
Room to improve
- 🤯 Extremely challenging puzzles
- 💰 Expensive for additional content
- 🤖 Concerns about app accessing device permissions
- 🚗 Puzzles requiring travel/location are inaccessible for some
Automatoys
From 7.9K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💎 One of the best mobile games
- 🎨 Beautiful and aesthetically pleasing
- 🕹️ Intuitive and satisfying controls
- 🎶 Calming and relaxing music
- 🧠 Challenging and engaging puzzles
Room to improve
- 💰 Paywall after 3 free levels
- 🔒 Limited free content
- 🕰️ Some levels too difficult or require too much trial and error
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
Automatoys
Reported bugs
2 issues- Levels not saving star ratings
- Certain level elements not functioning properly
Requested features
3 requests- More free levels
- Level editor or custom level creation
- Ability to replay levels to improve star ratings
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
Automatoys
- Gift a coffee$2.99
- Operator Key$2.99
- Gift a pizza$9.99
