Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Magic vs Block Jam

Magic 4.4★ · Free + IAP 65
Winner Magic
Block Jam 4.7★ · Free to download 50

For players seeking a match-3 game with strategic depth and a strong IP, Magic offers a more engaging experience despite its monetization issues, while Block Jam is a casual time-killer hampered by aggressive monetization and technical problems.

Full reviews: Magic · Block Jam

Magic, a match-3 game with Magic: The Gathering elements, offers strategic gameplay but faces criticism for its 'pay-to-win' model and frequent bugs. Block Jam, a casual block-matching game, is praised for being addictive but is heavily criticized for excessive ads, a 'luck-based' progression, and numerous technical glitches.

Head to head

Gameplay & Features edge: MagicR5R8R11R45
Magic Magic is praised for its addictive combination of Magic: The Gathering and gem matching, offering strategic depth with deck building and spell casting R5R8R11R45. However, some users find the AI rigged, making battles feel unfair and luck-based R34.
Block Jam Block Jam is considered addictive and a good time-killer R82, with some appreciating its haptics and cute characters R82. However, many users criticize it for being overly reliant on luck rather than skill, especially on harder levels R94. The game also has a limited number of levels, leading to repetition .
Ease of Use & User Experience edge: MagicR8R12R21R3
Magic Magic is generally found easy to play R8R12 but some users report a confusing UI initially R21. A significant issue is the lack of cloud save or Game Center integration, making it difficult to transfer progress between devices R3R30.
Block Jam Block Jam's user experience is severely hampered by frequent freezing and crashing . Users also complain about long loading times and unresponsive controls . The game's graphics were negatively impacted by a recent update .
Reliability & Performance tieR4R25R28R34
Magic Magic suffers from frequent crashes, especially during battles and events R4R25R28R34. Users also report being stuck in update loops where the app forces an App Store visit but no update is available . Server outages are also mentioned R28.
Block Jam Block Jam is plagued by numerous technical glitches, including constant freezing, crashing, and unresponsive screens . Ads often get stuck, further disrupting gameplay .
Price & Value (Monetization) tieR1R7R16R18
Magic Magic is heavily criticized for its 'pay-to-win' model, with developers making it harder to progress for free users and increasing prices R1R7R16R18. In-app crystal prices are considered high, and events often require payment R12R20R34.
Block Jam Block Jam is criticized for aggressive monetization, including reduced free coins, high prices for power-ups, and forcing players to pay to progress on 'hard' levels . The 'lives' system is a major point of frustration, with long wait times (20-30 minutes per life) and no free options to gain more R72R74R76. Ads are frequent and long R55R59R94.
Support & Communication tieR25R30R38R26
Magic Magic users report unhelpful or non-existent support, particularly regarding crashes and account issues R25R30R38. There are also complaints about developers not fixing long-standing bugs while releasing overpriced content R26R34.
Block Jam Block Jam users struggle to find in-app support or contact information for issues like double payments or stolen coins . There are also reports of progress loss after updates and unfair demotions in leagues .
Pick Magic if

Pick Magic if you are a fan of Magic: The Gathering and enjoy match-3 games with strategic depth and deck-building elements R5R11R45. You should also pick Magic if you are willing to invest time or money to progress, despite the 'pay-to-win' criticisms R7.

Pick Block Jam if

Pick Block Jam if you are looking for a simple, addictive block-matching game to kill time R82. You should also pick Block Jam if you don't mind frequent ads and are patient with the 'lives' system, or if you're willing to make in-app purchases to bypass waiting times and difficult levels R55R74.

Evidence note: Both apps have significant negative feedback regarding monetization and technical issues. Block Jam's negative reviews are more focused on its 'luck-based' gameplay and the restrictive 'lives' system, while Magic's are more about the 'pay-to-win' aspect and core game bugs.

Frequently asked

Is Magic a pay-to-win game?
Yes, many users describe Magic as heavily 'pay-to-win,' stating that investing money into gems and better cards provides a significant advantage in ranking and gameplay, making it difficult for free players to compete R1R7R18R20.
Does Block Jam have too many ads?
Yes, Block Jam is frequently criticized for having too many ads, with users reporting ads after every level that can be ludicrously long, sometimes almost a minute each R55R59R94.
Can I play Magic offline?
No, Magic does not seem to have an offline play option, which is a significant drawback for some users R15.
How long do lives take to regenerate in Block Jam?
In Block Jam, each life takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes to regenerate, meaning it can take over two hours for all five hearts to fully reset, which many users find excessive and frustrating R72R74R76R82.
Does Magic support cloud saves or Game Center?
No, Magic users report that the app lacks cloud save or Game Center integration, making it difficult to transfer progress and restore purchases when changing phones or reinstalling the app R3R30.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 100 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R5] Magic 5/5 · GB Addictive: The combination of MTG and gem matching got me hooked on straight away! Brilliant!
  2. [R8] Magic 5/5 · GB Addictive: An amazing game of MTG, very easy to play lose track of time
  3. [R11] Magic 5/5 · GB Really captures the experience of playing MtG: Very fun game. Effectively a match 3 game very strongly in the theme of mtg, with deck building and casting spells.
  4. [R45] Magic 5/5 · GB What a great surprise...: Whilst not a player of games on my phone, I had a look at this due to the Magic branding. Simple, fun yet having a clever edge to it I've found myself spending a fair amount of my spare time just challenging the game and it's many event options. It has a feel that really captures the card game and pushes you to engage that brain to pass the challenges thrown before you.
  5. [R12] Magic 3/5 · GB Enjoyable: Reasonably easy to play, enjoyable. In-app crystals are a little bit pricey but you can also earn them from playing which helps. Worth a pick me up if you're a magic fan
  6. [R21] Magic 5/5 · GB A very good game: As close to MTG As puzzle quest could be, and as close to Puzzle quest as MTG could be. I've enjoyed playing it even if the UI is a little confusing at first.
  7. [R3] Magic 3/5 · GB So far so good: However this app doesn't seem to have a cloud save or Game Centre save option. What if I want to change phone?
  8. [R4] Magic 2/5 · GB Glitch on heroic mode: When I battle Nissa in the heroic challenge and you face Gaia's revenge with evolutionary leap, it keeps crashing whenever that support is destroyed. Please fix it
  9. [R25] Magic 4/5 · GB Good but...: Hi. Love the game, but keeps kicking me out all the time, and now more with the new update don't let m play at all, I wrote to email support and not even a replay...
  10. [R28] Magic 1/5 · GB Getting worse: Started off well, now there are frequent crashes, server outages and the add-on purchases that are essential are now priced ridiculously high. Happy to drop $50 a week and you will love it - except for when you can't login to the server...
  11. [R34] Magic 1/5 · GB Fix the issues!: This could be a great game if they focussed on fixing the issues instead of releasing overpriced mythics and card packs. Crashes several times a day losing the battle, particularly frustrating during events. The AI is really poor at playing decks so they compensate by having it generate huge mana gains with cascades, it's clear that the AI can see all of the upcoming gems that the
  12. [R1] Magic 1/5 · GB Greedy devs get worse with each update: only 1 free card at a time now rather than 3 forcing me to log in every 2 hours. not going to happen think i've hit the end of the road with this - great game but too heavily geared towards pay to win
  13. [R7] Magic 1/5 · GB Just like the real game.: Been playing this for a few months now. Many complaints. The app is very play to win. Somebody that has invested money into getting gems etc. Will have better cards, a better planeswalker, and better ranking than you. All this because they have money to spend. So either you grind forever in the hopes of getting something good. Or just buy everything and win every game wi
  14. [R16] Magic 1/5 · GB This was the best of Mtg and Puzzle Quest...avoid now: I've been playing the game for a year and have decided to downgrade the review to one star. Frequent bugs, a substantial reduction of in-game rewards, and now more expensive purchases. This was fun once...but not any more.
  15. [R18] Magic 1/5 · GB Recent update removes enjoyment: I'd read a few reviews before I downloaded this game last month to suggest the game was stacked against players who didn't spend £££'s but found it to be fun nonetheless And a game I was willing to make in app purchases for. The recent update removes any balance and asks for more cash to progress. The daily challenges were fun, but now one comes at a cost to win a
  16. [R30] Magic 1/5 · GB Only buy if you never plan to upgrade your phone: This is a well written game that hooks into the Magic universe well. The game gives you lots of free things and encourages you to make any in-app purchases. Given how quickly you can rack up these purchases, it is inexcusable that there is no game center integration, local play or a way of properly synchronising your account. To restore your purch
  17. [R38] Magic 1/5 · GB Doesn't run on an iPod Touch - official !!: This game just does not run on an iPod Touch, even when running the latest version of iOS, something that has now finally been confirmed by the game support people. The furthest I got was the screen that invites you to start training. Such a shame! I can't see any real prospect of them fixing this so if you have an iPod Touch don't bother!
  18. [R26] Magic 1/5 · GB This game goes from bad to worse: Every update brings more disappointment, unless you have a spare few hundred to spend on this game each month, I would give it a wide birth. The developers are greedy and yet despite the $100 price tag on items they fail to fix the most basic of problems, give out fewer awards to the genuine top players after each patch and continue to leave the top spots to the c
  19. [R20] Magic 1/5 · GB Used to be my favourite game: But now seems to be worse in every way. Prices have only gone up, bugged cards will still rob victories from you, and the ai getting massive cascades, which used to be a necessary balance to make up for the terrible ai, makes a battle against a mythic deck an exercise in frustration. Combine this with having to pay crystals to enter events which used to be a hard won
  20. [R55] Block Jam 4/5 · GB Too many ads: A few too many ads but the game is great!
  21. [R59] Block Jam 3/5 · GB Starts well hits the usual problems: I’ve been playing this for a few weeks now and it’s pretty diverting, nicely paced and the difficulty was climbing steadily keeping it challenging. Ads were fine, devs have got to make money somehow. Then you hit a point where the difficulty takes a leap and the game becomes more one of luck than skill. And the ads. One after each level and they’re are ludicrou
  22. [R94] Block Jam 2/5 · GB Too many ads, not enough lives, luck too important: Ads in between every level. Levels consist of three games, fail one and you have to repeat the others on the level again and again until you get all three. That would be ok but so often it’s just completely down to luck whether the right colours are revealed or not. Limited lives and they take time to replenish, so if luck isn’t on your side f
  23. [R15] Magic 3/5 · GB Cool but some mayor issues: Not being able to play offline is a total bummer. Completely awful.
  24. [R72] Block Jam 4/5 · GB Love it but: The life’s annoy me as I have to wait 25 minutes to play the game. Also I don’t like the barrels and spawn things as they make the game less skill more luck
  25. [R74] Block Jam 4/5 · GB Running out of lives stops me from playing: This game is much better than I expected. Really fun and nice haptics. My only issue is that the 5 hearts/lives run out very quickly on hard levels and waiting for them to regenerate puts me off playing. Would happily watch another ad to gain a life as I can’t spend money on the game.
  26. [R76] Block Jam 4/5 · GB Lives: Love the game, it’s very addictive but even more frustrating that you have to wait 20 minutes to get one life and there is no way of hurrying that along i.e. watch a video or ask friends.
  27. [R82] Block Jam 5/5 · GB Genuinely good‽: So I wasn’t expecting this to actually be a good game, I just got it off an ad, but it’s genuinely quite good. The haptics make it a really pleasant sensory experience, the little blocks are SO CUTE and it’s something you can melt away into. My only problems are that a lot of it hinges on luck, and with each of the 5 hearts taking 20 MINUTES to regenerate, it rather blocks the fl

Synthesized from 100 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store