64 verified levels · Offline · No ads
A KAMI 2 alternative
for players who chase the shortest solution.
KAMI 2 has earned its place — 4.7 stars from about 15,000 ratings, an App Store Editors' Choice, over 100 hand-crafted puzzles designed with real sheets of folded paper, a global Daily Challenge, and a Puzzle Builder with thousands of player-made boards. Millrace shares one idea with it: every puzzle has a right answer and a move count worth hitting. It gets there differently — a tile-delivery puzzle that uses a slide-and-merge move, 64 levels found by search and machine-verified, a queue of arriving tiles you can read in advance, one exact value to build before the budget runs out, and no ads, no account and no data collected.
How does Millrace compare to KAMI 2?
Both give you a puzzle with a right answer and a move count worth hitting. Here is what you actually do in each, and where each one is stronger.
What you actually do
Millrace: Swipe to slide every tile on a 4×4 board; matching numbers merge when they collide. New tiles — 2s and 4s — arrive one at a time through a single marked inlet, from a queue you can read in advance. Build one exact value, say 64, on the marked vault cell before the move budget runs out. Cover the inlet or merge past the target and the level is lost.
KAMI 2: Pick a color from the palette and tap a patch of paper; it folds over to the new color and joins the matching patches around it. Keep going until the whole sheet is a single color.
KAMI 2: Pick a color from the palette and tap a patch of paper; it folds over to the new color and joins the matching patches around it. Keep going until the whole sheet is a single color.
Where the puzzles come from
Millrace: Found by search, then put through an automated gate. Each level must be solvable, have its shortest solution confirmed by exhaustive breadth-first search, beat all 280 no-lookahead strategies, fall to random play no more than 2% of the time, and differ from every other level under board symmetry.
KAMI 2: Hand-crafted by State of Play — over 100 puzzles in the main collection, each built around its own shapes, palette and trick. Players upload thousands more.
KAMI 2: Hand-crafted by State of Play — over 100 puzzles in the main collection, each built around its own shapes, palette and trick. Players upload thousands more.
The move count
Millrace: A move budget that is never more than two moves above the proven shortest solution. The result card shows the moves you used and your best — and, if you took the long way, “Best possible is X moves.”
KAMI 2: Each puzzle has a move target. Flood the sheet within it and you earn a 'Perfect' sticker; Challenge mode turns a streak of Perfects into ranks.
KAMI 2: Each puzzle has a move target. Flood the sheet within it and you earn a 'Perfect' sticker; Challenge mode turns a streak of Perfects into ranks.
How much there is to play
Millrace: 64 levels in six chapters, each one move deeper than the last — 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 moves, then 10 or more in Mastery. Freeplay adds an endless board with no goal and a daily board that is the same for every player.
KAMI 2: Far more. Over 100 hand-crafted puzzles, a global Daily Challenge with streaks and score comparison, thousands of player-made puzzles uploaded daily, and a Puzzle Builder to make and share your own.
KAMI 2: Far more. Over 100 hand-crafted puzzles, a global Daily Challenge with streaks and score comparison, thousands of player-made puzzles uploaded daily, and a Puzzle Builder to make and share your own.
When you are stuck
Millrace: Hint is free — it suggests a strong next move and explains why. After a game, the Coach names one habit worth fixing. No level needs an undo, and any level restarts as often as you like.
KAMI 2: A hint shows you a move — which color to tap where. Hints come from optional reward videos or from packs, 3 for $0.99 up to 75 for $9.99.
KAMI 2: A hint shows you a move — which color to tap where. Hints come from optional reward videos or from packs, 3 for $0.99 up to 75 for $9.99.
Ads, privacy and where it runs
Millrace: No ads, no account, no networking code; the App Store privacy label reads Data Not Collected. iPhone and iPad.
KAMI 2: Ads between puzzles and optional reward videos, per its release notes and recent reviews; the privacy label includes Data Used to Track You. Far wider reach: iPhone, iPad, Android, Steam and Nintendo Switch.
KAMI 2: Ads between puzzles and optional reward videos, per its release notes and recent reviews; the privacy label includes Data Used to Track You. Far wider reach: iPhone, iPad, Android, Steam and Nintendo Switch.
| Feature | Millrace | KAMI 2 |
|---|---|---|
| How you play | Slide and merge tiles; deliver one exact value to one cell | Tap a color, tap a patch; flood the sheet to one color |
| Levels | 64, found by search and machine-verified; six chapters by exact optimal depth | Over 100, hand-crafted; plus a Challenge mode |
| Move target | Budget within two moves of the proven shortest; best possible shown after | 'Perfect' sticker for solving within the target |
| Daily puzzle | Daily Freeplay board, same for every player; streaks | Global Daily Challenge with streaks and score comparison |
| Build and share puzzles | No | Yes — Puzzle Builder; thousands of player puzzles |
| Hints | Free — Hint and the Coach | Reward videos, or packs from $0.99 (3) to $9.99 (75) |
| Ads & privacy label | No ads · Data Not Collected | Ads between puzzles, per player reviews · Data Used to Track You |
| Offline & account | Fully offline; no account | Daily and player puzzles are online; KAMI 2 username for sharing |
| Platforms | iPhone and iPad (iOS 18+) | iPhone, iPad, Android, Steam, Nintendo Switch |
| Price | Free in full; optional themes $1.99 (all 16 for $5.99), undo bundles from $0.99 | Free with in-app purchases on mobile; $4.99 on Steam |
| Best for | Short, exact puzzles with a proven shortest solution — offline, no ads | A large, beautiful library, a daily puzzle and a community making more |
KAMI 2 details were checked on 24 September 2026 against its public App Store listing (apps.apple.com/us/app/id1133161444); the note on ads comes from recent App Store reviews. Listings, prices and ad behavior can change — verify the current listing before installing.
Honest verdict — KAMI 2 is the bigger game; Millrace is a different puzzle
Pick Millrace if you want…
- Levels you can reason all the way through — a fixed board and a queue you can read in advance
- A proven shortest solution for every level, and to be told when you missed it
- A difficulty curve measured in moves — each chapter one move deeper than the last
- Free Hint and Coach, with nothing to buy to finish a level
- No ads, no account, fully offline, and a Data Not Collected privacy label
Pick KAMI 2 if you want…
- Over 100 hand-crafted puzzles, with thousands more made by players
- A Puzzle Builder to design your own and challenge friends with it
- A global Daily Challenge with streaks and score comparison
- Its paper-art look and folding animations — an App Store Editors' Choice
- Android, Steam or Nintendo Switch as well as iPhone and iPad
If you want a deep library of hand-made puzzles and a community making more every day, keep KAMI 2 — it is free to start. If you want a smaller set of levels you can reason all the way through, each with a proven shortest solution and no ads, add Millrace alongside it.
About Millrace
Questions
FAQ
What is a good KAMI 2 alternative?
Millrace is a good pick if what you love in KAMI 2 is finding the solution that uses the fewest moves. It is a different kind of puzzle: instead of flooding paper with color, you slide and merge numbered tiles on a 4×4 board while new tiles arrive one at a time through a single inlet, from a queue you can see in advance, and you must build one exact value on a marked cell before the move budget runs out. Its 64 levels were found by search and machine-verified, so every level's shortest solution is proven. It is free, with no ads, no account and nothing collected. It is also a much smaller game than KAMI 2, which has over 100 hand-crafted puzzles, a global Daily Challenge and thousands of player-made puzzles.
How is Millrace different from KAMI 2?
Both are puzzles with a right answer and a move count worth hitting. The differences are the mechanic and where the puzzles come from. In KAMI 2 you pick a color and tap a patch of paper, and it folds over until the whole sheet is one color; its puzzles are hand-crafted by State of Play, and players add thousands more. In Millrace you swipe to slide tiles into merges while new tiles arrive through one inlet, and you must deliver an exact value without covering the inlet or merging past the target. Its levels are generated by search and kept only if an automated gate proves them solvable, confirms the shortest solution by exhaustive search, and shows that none of 280 no-lookahead strategies can win them.
Does Millrace have a move target like KAMI 2's 'Perfect' sticker?
Yes, in a different form. KAMI 2 awards a 'Perfect' sticker when you finish a puzzle within its move target. Every Millrace level has a move budget, and its shortest possible solution is known exactly because an exhaustive breadth-first search found it before the level shipped. When you solve a level, the result card shows the moves you used and your personal best, and if you took more moves than necessary it tells you the best possible count. The six chapters are pinned to that exact depth: five moves in Warm-up, then six, seven, eight and nine, and ten or more in Mastery.
Does Millrace have a daily puzzle or a puzzle builder like KAMI 2?
It has a daily board, but no builder. Millrace's daily board lives in Freeplay, its endless slide-and-merge mode with no goal and no move limit; the board is the same for every player in the world that day, and daily streaks are tracked. It is not a fresh puzzle with a target, the way KAMI 2's global Daily Challenge is. There is no level editor and no player-made content either. KAMI 2's Puzzle Builder and its thousands of shared puzzles are a real reason to choose it.
How do hints work in Millrace compared with KAMI 2?
In KAMI 2 a hint shows you a move: which color to tap where. Hints come from optional reward videos or from packs sold in the app, from 3 hints for $0.99 up to 75 for $9.99. In Millrace, Hint is free: it suggests a strong next move and explains why. The Coach, also free, reads a finished game and names one habit worth fixing, and it can be switched off. Undo tokens are sold in bundles, but no level ever requires one, a free token arrives each day while you hold fewer than three, and any level can be restarted as often as you like.
How much does Millrace cost compared to KAMI 2, and are there ads?
Both are free to download. Millrace is free in full: all 64 levels, Freeplay, the daily board, Hint and the Coach. Its optional purchases are 3D board theme packs at $1.99 each or $5.99 for all sixteen themes, undo bundles from $0.99, and a $1.99 tip. It has no ads, no subscription and no account, and its App Store privacy label reads Data Not Collected. KAMI 2 is free with in-app purchases for hint packs and special palettes at $0.99 each. Recent App Store reviews describe ads between puzzles, which players say a purchase removes, and its privacy label includes Data Used to Track You. On Steam, KAMI 2 sells for $4.99.
Try it
Open Millrace
Sixty-four levels, one inlet, one exact target. Offline, no ads, nothing collected.