Comparison

Blackbox vs Peglin

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

Peglin

Embark on a roguelike adventure combining Pachinko-style combat with deck-building strategy. Collect powerful orbs and relics to defeat dragons and reclaim your gold. Explore procedurally generated maps with unique challenges and surprises on every run.

Highlights
  • Collect and upgrade orbs and relics
  • Pachinko-like combat mechanics
  • Procedurally generated maps
  • Defeat monsters and bosses
  • Strategic use of potions and bombs
Features
Read full description

The award-winning roguelike-deckbuilder Peglin is finally available on iOS! This version lets you try it before you buy it with unlimited access to the first third of the game and a one-time purchase to own the complete game and all future updates! The dragons have been popping peglins and stealing all of your gold for as long as you can remember. Enough is enough. It's time to venture through the woods, conquer the fortress, and delve into the heart of the dragon's lair to take back what's yours and teach those dragons a lesson. Peglin plays like a combination of Peggle and Slay the Spire. The enemies are tough, and if you're defeated your run is over, but you've got powerful orbs with special effects and incredible relics that influence both your enemies and the physics you'll use to defeat them. Features: - Collect and upgrade powerful orbs and relics to defeat the monsters and bosses that stand in your way. - Fight enemies with Pachinko-like gameplay - hit more pegs to do more damage. Use crit potions, refresh potions, and bombs wisely. - Explore a new map every time, with different orbs, enemies, and surprises along the way.

Screenshots

Blackbox4 screens
Peglin4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Blackbox at 4.8 against Peglin's 4.1. Blackbox also leads on review sentiment (93% vs 64%) and ratings volume (109K vs 1.2K). Peglin's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.6). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Blackbox sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Peglin 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 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Blackbox has 109K ratings behind it against 1.2K, 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 64% of Peglin's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Blackbox ships an update every 9 days, Peglin fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 12, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Blackbox versus Peglin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBlackboxPeglin
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (109K ratings) — better4.1 (1.2K ratings)
Positive reviews92.6% of reviews — better64.1% of reviews
Number of ratings109K — better1.2K
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#35 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size209 MB311 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperShapes and Stories LLCRed Nexus Games Inc.

Customer experience

Blackbox

All ratings108,586 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral2.0%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews4,702 reviews
Positive92.6%
Neutral3.6%
Negative3.8%

Peglin

All ratings1,192 ratings
Positive74.2%
Neutral7.6%
Negative18.2%
Written reviews345 reviews
Positive64.1%
Neutral12.2%
Negative23.8%

User reviews

Blackbox

From 109K App Store ratings

What 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

Peglin

From 1.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Unique blend of roguelike and pachinko
  • 🎨 Charming retro art style
  • 💰 Fair one-time purchase model
  • 🔁 High replayability

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🔍 Unclear mechanics and lack of explanations
  • 📱 Controls not optimized for mobile
  • 💰 Perceived high price for mobile 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

Peglin

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Soft locks when trying to unlock full game
  • Aiming issues and unresponsive controls
  • Inconsistent behavior of certain abilities

Requested features

4 requests
  • More level variety and content
  • Ability to save and resume runs
  • Vertical mode for better mobile experience
  • Customizable controls and aiming

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

Peglin

One-time1
  • Peglin Full Game Unlock$7.99

Questions

Is Blackbox free?
Blackbox is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Peglin free?
Peglin is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Blackbox or Peglin?
Blackbox is rated higher. Blackbox averages 4.8 out of 5 from 109K ratings, while Peglin averages 4.1 from 1.2K ratings.
Do Blackbox or Peglin have ads?
Neither Blackbox nor Peglin shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Blackbox or Peglin?
Blackbox ships an update every 9 days, and Peglin fortnightly. Most recently, Blackbox was updated on October 12, 2026 and Peglin on October 12, 2026.

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