Review Insights · App Store
Universal Paperclips™
Everybody House Games, LLC · 280 ratings · ★ 4.5
4.5
★★★★★
280 ratings
🎯 Build a better version
Top complaints - extracted from 26 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"game"
20 negative reviews mention this · 77% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Unplayable due to bugs.. Was excited but the app is unplayable due to bugs. I am maybe 10% through the game and cannot progress because the strategy engine gets stuck. Unacceptable for a paid app." - sams alt man
2
"version"
8 negative reviews mention this · 31% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Don’t be fooled - save your money. First of all, I don’t think this is an “official” version of the web game. Second, this fails to meet the basic definition of an idle game - the paperclips only increase when you have the app open. Third, I reached out to the developers a…" - justletmepost
3
"play"
7 negative reviews mention this · 27% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Unplayable due to bugs.. Was excited but the app is unplayable due to bugs. I am maybe 10% through the game and cannot progress because the strategy engine gets stuck. Unacceptable for a paid app." - sams alt man
4
"progress"
6 negative reviews mention this · 23% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Lost progress.. If you change universes you loose progress." - Snaggs87
5
"stuck"
5 negative reviews mention this · 19% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Unplayable due to bugs.. Was excited but the app is unplayable due to bugs. I am maybe 10% through the game and cannot progress because the strategy engine gets stuck. Unacceptable for a paid app." - sams alt man
6
"save"
5 negative reviews mention this · 19% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Game breaking bug. The game was fun and engaging, until I ran into a bug that completely halted my progress and forced me to restart my save. At stage 3 (space) my probes are not producing drones or self-replicating. I have points in every Von Neuman stat. No…" - Pperclip Manufacturer
7
"down"
4 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Memory leak slows down phone. Even when the app is closed, the memory leak problem slows my whole phone to a halt." - BradBaas3141
8
"phone"
4 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Memory leak slows down phone. Even when the app is closed, the memory leak problem slows my whole phone to a halt." - BradBaas3141
9
"every"
4 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Immensely frustrating and buggy. I do not usually write reviews on games. This game is fine and good and pretty fun. Except for the massive input lag on every button. In addition, there are sections that continuously crush you down because of how the base game engine runs,…" - Hsjdndjdhdnfdjznsnx
10
"restart"
4 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Game Stops Working. I got to the end of world 5 and discovered 100% of the universe but the game doesn’t give me an option to go to the next level. I don’t want to restart and lose all of my progress but I also can’t do anything else. It’s a waste to put any t…" - Jack Scanio
11
"breaking"
4 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Update completely reset my game. I had just uninstalled and reinstalled a few days ago to reset my game as my progress was as stuck due to a game breaking bug, and played intensely to get back to phase 3. Now I get to start over again. Wish the update notes had a warning" - Platform subject
12
"bugs"
3 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Unplayable due to bugs.. Was excited but the app is unplayable due to bugs. I am maybe 10% through the game and cannot progress because the strategy engine gets stuck. Unacceptable for a paid app." - sams alt man
📋 All 26 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Lost progress.
If you change universes you loose progress.
Huge font
can't resize window, can't scroll.
So can't see anythign below 'buy wire'
So can't see anythign below 'buy wire'
Unplayable due to bugs.
Was excited but the app is unplayable due to bugs. I am maybe 10% through the game and cannot progress because the strategy engine gets stuck. Unacceptable for a paid app.
No offline progress. Worthless
What’s the point an idle game that has no offline progress? I’m supposed to leave this open on my phone all day? Absolutely worthless and a scam to charge for
Not worth paying
While I appreciate games without ads. I don’t think this can be called a game. It just consumes your phone battery. There is no skill involved. you just sit with the game open on your phone till you get enough items for the next target. I would like my $2 back
I can’t play this
This game isn’t accessible with voiceover. I can’t use it. Please fix it
Game Stops Working
I got to the end of world 5 and discovered 100% of the universe but the game doesn’t give me an option to go to the next level. I don’t want to restart and lose all of my progress but I also can’t do anything else. It’s a waste to put any time into this game.
Randomly reset
Horrible game payed two dollars just reset after a week or so don't buy.
Update completely reset my game
I had just uninstalled and reinstalled a few days ago to reset my game as my progress was as stuck due to a game breaking bug, and played intensely to get back to phase 3. Now I get to start over again. Wish the update notes had a warning
Don’t be fooled - save your money
First of all, I don’t think this is an “official” version of the web game.
Second, this fails to meet the basic definition of an idle game - the paperclips only increase when you have the app open.
Third, I reached out to the developers and got no response.
Play the web version which is quite good; don’t waste your time with this.
Second, this fails to meet the basic definition of an idle game - the paperclips only increase when you have the app open.
Third, I reached out to the developers and got no response.
Play the web version which is quite good; don’t waste your time with this.
Glitchy
I’ll start by admitting that I love the desktop version and I’ve completed that version multiple times. That being said, this app is very very glitchy. I’ve tried to play through the game multiple times and each time I’ve had to restart before completing it because of a game breaking glitch. After many restarts, I’ve finally given up and concluded that this app is to glitchy to even complete the game.
Very very frustratingly buggy
The trust bonuses are often ignored - or they register but cannot be applied . Save your money and use the free online version. I certainly would not recommend this version to anyone.
Privacy Nightmare
The app copies what’s on your clipboard and presumably sends the text to the app publisher. Thankfully Apple’s privacy notifications clued me in to this nefarious behavior.
This app steals sensitive data
“Universal Paperclips pasted from...”
Don’t install this app. If you have a password or credit card number or something else sensitive in your clipboard, this app will steal it.
This app should be flagged and removed by Apple as a security hole.
Don’t install this app. If you have a password or credit card number or something else sensitive in your clipboard, this app will steal it.
This app should be flagged and removed by Apple as a security hole.
Great game, WHY IS IT READING MY CLIPBOARD
I’ll switch this to 5 stars after this privacy issue is fixed. Every time I switch back to the app I can see that it’s reading my clipboard. What possible legit reason would this app to do this?
Portrait-only mode no good
The game is awesome, but only runs in portrait mode, which is extremely awkward on the iPad Pro. As a result, it is unpleasant to play.
Amazing Game with a Severe Flaw
It’s fun, addicting, and I’d recommend it to everyone I know.
Play the browser version on PC.
Not because it’s free, but because the mobile app has a huge flaw: THE IN-GAME CLOCK IS BROKEN.
In Phase 2, there’s a certain project that is stated to take ~90 seconds to complete. It also has a countdown accompanying it. It changes every 2-3 seconds. What is stated as “90 seconds” actually takes like 3-4 minutes. This really adds up, and makes me wonder if every other time-based system in the game is slowed down.
I see a review complaining of earning “300 clips per second” in 3 seconds. That review is from November, 3 months ago. Even worse, this app hasn’t been updated in two years. That means people have known of this bug, rightfully complained here, and nothing has been done for literal years. Save your $2, as the game slows down IMMENSELY once you hit this phase, and you’ll just be sitting on your phone with the app open, as it doesn’t run in the background.
Play the browser version on PC.
Not because it’s free, but because the mobile app has a huge flaw: THE IN-GAME CLOCK IS BROKEN.
In Phase 2, there’s a certain project that is stated to take ~90 seconds to complete. It also has a countdown accompanying it. It changes every 2-3 seconds. What is stated as “90 seconds” actually takes like 3-4 minutes. This really adds up, and makes me wonder if every other time-based system in the game is slowed down.
I see a review complaining of earning “300 clips per second” in 3 seconds. That review is from November, 3 months ago. Even worse, this app hasn’t been updated in two years. That means people have known of this bug, rightfully complained here, and nothing has been done for literal years. Save your $2, as the game slows down IMMENSELY once you hit this phase, and you’ll just be sitting on your phone with the app open, as it doesn’t run in the background.
Memory leak slows down phone
Even when the app is closed, the memory leak problem slows my whole phone to a halt.
Immensely frustrating and buggy
I do not usually write reviews on games. This game is fine and good and pretty fun. Except for the massive input lag on every button. In addition, there are sections that continuously crush you down because of how the base game engine runs, making it impossible to continue forward if you make even the smallest error, and even if you don’t it may still get you stuck in an impossible loop of frustration and false hope. I am usually savvy with troubleshooting games like this and I know my way around many a wiki forum, this is an unreasonably difficult game, as even with immense amounts of reading and searching for answers I still got stuck in an endless cycle.
Unplayable after release the drone
The screen of playing stock and other stuff disappeared after drone releases make the game unplayable
Fun, but broken
I have loved this game for a while, and I'm glad it got an update, but this update broke accessibility, bunching everything together. (Thankfully, I can click things more than once per time I open the app!)
Game breaking bug
The game was fun and engaging, until I ran into a bug that completely halted my progress and forced me to restart my save. At stage 3 (space) my probes are not producing drones or self-replicating. I have points in every Von Neuman stat. Nothing is happening. Nothing can happen. I’ve hit bedrock, progression-wise, and I know for a fact that there’s more to the game. Really disappointing.
Stuck because of bugs?
Loved the game back when I first played it, picked up the app version and had fun the first game.
Halfway into the second I got bugged out and without a menu screen (that I can find) I can’t restart or fix it. 1.99 wasted.
Halfway into the second I got bugged out and without a menu screen (that I can find) I can’t restart or fix it. 1.99 wasted.
So many bugs that will never be fixed
Great game; bad port, but I am glad I was able to support the developers by buying the app. If anyone ever gets around to improving this game, please fix all the bugs pointed out in the reviews over the last three years, as well as this one:
The audio that plays during any Threnody for the Heroes stops all other audio (e.g. music apps), and cannot be silenced.
The audio also plays even when the iPhone is set to silent using the iPhone’s button (although you can turn down the audio using the volume).
Amusingly, if you initiate two Threnodies back to back, the music track plays simultaneously but out of sync-a cacophonous experience few have had the pleasure to endure.
I need to go check out the browser version-it sounds much more polished.
The audio that plays during any Threnody for the Heroes stops all other audio (e.g. music apps), and cannot be silenced.
The audio also plays even when the iPhone is set to silent using the iPhone’s button (although you can turn down the audio using the volume).
Amusingly, if you initiate two Threnodies back to back, the music track plays simultaneously but out of sync-a cacophonous experience few have had the pleasure to endure.
I need to go check out the browser version-it sounds much more polished.
Amazing except for the save corruption
I’m utterly addicted to the web version, and this is a faithful replica except for one thing... it seems that at some point during each play through the save becomes inevitably corrupted and stuff starts breaking, forcing me to start the game over.
Play web version instead.
No way to see full screen. Screen does not allow rotation. Stuck scrolling to see clippers and eventually ops etc. what a horrendous interface. Better to play the web version.
Love the game. HATE the ipad interface.
Love the game. HATE the ipad interface.
Sentiment summary
86%
Positive (4-5★)
6%
Neutral (3★)
8%
Negative (1-2★)