Comparison

Prune vs Square Valley

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

Head to head
About

Prune

Cultivate a digital tree in a hostile world by guiding its growth towards sunlight. Uncover a hidden story and bring life to a forgotten landscape with this meditative and beautiful game.

Highlights
  • Grow and shape trees
  • Minimalist art and interface
  • Meditative music and sound
  • No in-app purchases or monetization
  • Share tree creations
  • iCloud progress synchronization
Features
Read full description

~ Apple Game of the Year 2015 ~ ~ TIME Magazine Game of the Year 2015 ~ Prune is a love letter to trees. A game about the beauty and joy of cultivation. With a swipe of a finger, grow and shape your tree into the sunlight while avoiding the dangers of a hostile world. Bring life to a forgotten landscape and uncover a story hidden deep beneath the soil. • A unique digital plant for your pocket • Beautiful, minimalist art and a super clean interface—it's just you and the trees • Meditative music and sound design for you to zen out to • No IAP, no monetization strategy, no currencies • Share screenshots of your unique tree creations with friends • Synchronize progress across all your devices using iCloud ----- RECEPTION ----- "Unlike anything I've played before... the kind of experience I want to pull out to show my friends." - The Verge "Wildly creative, totally addictive, and oddly soothing" - Entertainment Weekly "Prune is a gorgeous and unique experience." - 5/5 TouchArcade "Prune is an awe-inspiring work of digital poetry that transcends its initial subject material to explore a much larger, much more complex theme, in an articulate and powerfully moving manner" - 10/10 Pocket Gamer "A collaboration that feels more like a dance than puzzle-solving." - Kill Screen ----- AWARDS ----- • Winner - Best Upcoming Game - 11th International Mobile Gaming Awards • Finalist - IndieCade Festival 2015 • Official Selection - Brazil's FILE Festival • Runner-Up - IndiePlus "Make Something Great" Contest • Official Selection - Out of Index Experimental Games Festival

About

Square Valley

Shape unique lands by strategically placing tiles like houses, farms, and natural elements. Connect them with roads and rivers while overcoming placement challenges. Progress through levels to unlock new tiles and face increasingly complex world-building puzzles.

Highlights
  • Tile placement for world creation
  • Connect tiles with roads and rivers
  • Strategic planning and puzzle solving
  • Three chapters with 45 levels
  • Unlock new tiles and overcome obstacles
  • Replay levels for higher scores
  • Sandbox mode for custom experiences
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

A charming tile-laying puzzle game. Make the best valley you can out of the tiles and placements you're given. Puzzles with no randomness can become a bit boring over time. And when it is too random, it can feel unfair. Square Valley sits nicely in the middle where you are challenged for each level, but it still feels fair in the end. Satisfying. Every level is comprised of a fixed set of tiles that come together to form a challenge each step of the way. You're continually cycling through your deck of tiles – always a fresh look. You're also limited to only certain spots on the board where you can place the tiles all in order to reach the highest score you can. A windmill wants the surrounding wheat fields, forests have winding rivers through them, and churches stand firm within the city walls packed with houses. Not to worry, you won't get stuck. There's generous room to succeed at every level. Leaderboards are there too, for those who want to keep challenging themselves. Feel free to push forward, or go back to previous levels and beat your old self. When you complete that last turn, you'll find yourself with a unique little village to be proud of. Features: + Pay once – no ads, no in-app purchases, no account required + 150+ tiles · 45 levels · 3 chapters + A new challenge every day, for everyone + Set your own rules to play with tiles drawn at random + Competitive leaderboards + Works offline

Screenshots

Prune4 screens
Square Valley4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Square Valley at 4.8 against Prune's 4.3. Square Valley also leads on review sentiment (85% vs 66%) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). Prune's advantage is ratings volume (567 vs 95) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). 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

Prune costs $4.99 and Square Valley $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Square Valley holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Prune has 567 ratings behind it against 95, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of Prune's written reviews are positive against 85% of Square Valley's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Prune ships an update every 6 weeks, Square Valley every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Prune versus Square Valley: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPruneSquare Valley
Price$4.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.3 (567 ratings)4.8 (95 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.2% of reviews84.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings567 — better95
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#35 — better#87
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size123 MB125 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJoel McDonald LLCRyan Becijos

Customer experience

Prune

All ratings568 ratings
Positive78.7%
Neutral9.0%
Negative12.3%
Written reviews574 reviews
Positive66.2%
Neutral15.7%
Negative18.1%

Square Valley

All ratings94 ratings
Positive93.6%
Neutral3.2%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews78 reviews
Positive84.6%
Neutral5.1%
Negative10.3%

User reviews

Prune

From 567 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌳 Beautiful, elegant design
  • 🕹️ Relaxing, meditative gameplay
  • 🎶 Calming, atmospheric soundtrack
  • 🌟 Unique, artistic experience
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive controls

Room to improve

  • ⏱️ Levels can feel too time-sensitive
  • 🤔 Unclear objectives and mechanics
  • 🕰️ Game is too short for the price
  • 🐛 Performance issues on older devices

Square Valley

From 95 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Engaging tile placement puzzle mechanics
  • 🎵 Relaxing and pleasant background music
  • 🎨 Beautiful minimalist art style and visuals
  • 😌 Calming and stress-relieving gameplay
  • 💰 No ads or in-app purchases

Room to improve

  • ❓ Unclear tile descriptions and requirements
  • 🎲 High randomness can lead to unwinnable scenarios
  • 📊 No real-time score feedback during gameplay
  • 🐛 Occasional scoring calculation bugs
  • 📱 Portrait-only mode (no landscape on iPad)

Bugs and requests

Prune

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Progress reset after updates
  • Unresponsive controls at times

Requested features

4 requests
  • More levels and content updates
  • Zen mode with no time constraints
  • Level editor and sharing capabilities
  • Improved tutorials and explanations

Square Valley

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Leaderboard freezes when displaying top 10 scores
  • Tile scoring miscalculations (e.g., Cherry Orchard, Fir Grove)
  • Tutorial bug where selected tiles change unexpectedly
  • Some tiles don't work as described in requirements
  • Scoring feedback unclear until level completion
Show 3 more
  • Inconsistent tile placement rules not documented
  • Protected Copper Beech scoring issues
  • Random tile placement can create impossible scenarios

Requested features

14 requests
  • More levels and chapters
  • Landscape/iPad support with larger maps
  • iCloud synchronization across devices
  • Real-time score feedback per tile placement
  • Glossary with detailed tile explanations
Show 9 more
  • Personal stats and score history per level
  • Customizable sandbox mode with more options
  • Music volume slider (separate from sound effects)
  • Global leaderboards with player names
  • Board game physical version
  • Expansion packs with new tile sets
  • Undo and skip buttons (mentioned as implemented in recent update)
  • Additional language translations
  • Split-screen multiplayer mode

In-app purchases

None

Prune

No in-app purchases

None

Square Valley

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Prune free?
Prune costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Square Valley free?
Square Valley costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Prune or Square Valley?
Square Valley is rated higher. Prune averages 4.3 out of 5 from 567 ratings, while Square Valley averages 4.8 from 95 ratings.
Do Prune or Square Valley have ads?
Neither Prune nor Square Valley shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Prune or Square Valley?
Prune ships an update every 6 weeks, and Square Valley every 2 weeks. Most recently, Prune was updated on November 1, 2026 and Square Valley on November 3, 2026.
Which is more popular, Prune or Square Valley?
Prune currently peaks at #35 in the App Store charts, and Square Valley at #87. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons