Comparison

Colony B vs Rows Garden

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

Head to head
About

Colony B

Contribute to scientific research by collecting and growing microbes in a fast-paced puzzle game. Unlock badges to learn about microorganisms and help analyze data for a citizen science project.

Highlights
  • Collect and grow microbes
  • Fast-paced puzzle gameplay
  • Unlock learning badges
  • Contribute to scientific research
  • Citizen science participation
Features
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Unravel the secrets of microscopic life! Colony B is a mobile game developed at McGill University that allows you to contribute to research on microbes. Collect microbes and grow your colony in a fast paced puzzle game. Unlock badges to learn about microbes living inside our body. The results are used to analyze data from the American Gut project based at University of California San Diego. Play Colony B and become a citizen scientist!

About

Rows Garden

This app offers a unique crossword puzzle variant with interlocking row and bloom clues. Solve puzzles with adjustable difficulty levels, suitable for both beginners and experienced players. It includes pre-made puzzles and links to external constructors.

Highlights
  • Unique row and bloom clue system
  • Fully-packed triangular grid
  • Adjustable difficulty levels
  • Includes pre-made puzzles
  • Links to puzzle constructors
Currently charting
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Rows Garden is a crossword puzzle variant invented by Patrick Berry. Instead of the across and down clues and black and white squares of a traditional crossword grid, a Rows Garden puzzle consists of interlocking row and bloom clues whose answers are filled into a fully-packed grid of triangular spaces. Each row consists of one or more clues, with answers entered across the rows of the garden from left to right. Bloom clues are grouped by shade -- light, medium, and dark -- and have six-letter answers that are each entered in a hexagonal bloom within the garden, with the starting point and direction left for you to determine. You can adjust the difficulty level of the solving experience within the app, providing a suitable challenge for both beginning and experienced solvers. The app comes with a number of puzzles and bundles (30 puzzles in all) created by leading Rows Garden constructors to whet your appetite, and includes links to their Web sites for downloading and subscribing to puzzles that you can import into the app. If you like crossword puzzles and are looking for a new challenge, or are seeking an interesting twist on the familiar crossword format, give Rows Garden a try!

Screenshots

Colony B3 screens
Rows Garden4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Rows Garden at 88% against Colony B's 25%. Rows Garden also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.4) and chart position (#156 vs unranked). Colony B's advantage is price (Free vs $3.99) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Colony B is free to download; Rows Garden costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Rows Garden holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 16 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of Colony B's written reviews are positive against 88% of Rows Garden's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Colony B ships an update every 3 weeks, Rows Garden every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Colony B versus Rows Garden: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterColony BRows Garden
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating2.4 (8 ratings)4.7 (16 ratings) — better
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings816 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#156 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS7.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size140 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDiga DesignRobert Bosch

Customer experience

Colony B

All ratings8 ratings
Positive25.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative62.5%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative62.5%

Rows Garden

All ratings16 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%

In-app purchases

None

Colony B

No in-app purchases

None

Rows Garden

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Colony B free?
Colony B is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Rows Garden free?
Rows Garden costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Colony B or Rows Garden?
Rows Garden is rated higher. Colony B averages 2.4 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Rows Garden averages 4.7 from 16 ratings.
Do Colony B or Rows Garden have ads?
Neither Colony B nor Rows Garden shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Colony B or Rows Garden?
Colony B ships an update every 3 weeks, and Rows Garden every 2 months. Most recently, Colony B was updated on October 2, 2026 and Rows Garden on October 5, 2026.

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