Report updated May 20, 2026

TL;DR:Hole Pool defends its niche in the casual puzzle market through a distinct aquatic theme and minimalist aesthetic, but aggressive ad-frequency and technical instability post-update threaten to erode the user base. Users feel Mixed, praising core logic puzzle mechanics provide a satisfying and addictive experience for casual players but frustrated by aggressive ad frequency interrupts the flow of gameplay and creates a negative experience. Hole Pool succeeds as a relaxing puzzle loop, but aggressive ad-monetization and technical instability currently cannibalize its retention, so the PM must prioritize stability and ad-balance to protect the current chart position..|TL;DR:Hole Pool defends its niche in the casual puzzle market through a distinct aquatic theme and minimalist aesthetic, but aggressive ad-frequency and technical instability post-update threaten to erode the user base. Users feel Mixed, praising core logic puzzle mechanics provide a satisfying and addictive experience for casual players but frustrated by aggressive ad frequency interrupts the flow of gameplay and creates a negative experience. Hole Pool succeeds as a relaxing puzzle loop, but aggressive ad-monetization and technical instability currently cannibalize its retention, so the PM must prioritize stability and ad-balance to protect the current chart position..

Hole Pool: All People is an established games app that is free with in-app purchases. With a 4.7/5 rating from 7K reviews, it shows polarized user reception. Users particularly appreciate core logic puzzle mechanics provide a satisfying and addictive experience for casual players, though aggressive ad frequency interrupts the flow of gameplay and creates a negative experience remains a common concern.

What is Hole Pool: All People?

Hole Pool is a swimming-themed color-matching puzzle game for casual mobile users, available on iOS and Android.

Users hire the app for low-stakes, meditative puzzle-solving, but the current ad-heavy monetization creates a friction that contradicts the intended stress-free experience.

Current Momentum

v1.31 · 1d ago

Active
  • Ships frequent stability-focused updates.
  • Maintains consistent top-150 Puzzle chart presence.
AI-powered deep analysis surfacing high-signal insights. Still in beta, accuracy improves daily. For informational purposes only.

Active Nemesis

Water Sort Puzzle

Water Sort Puzzle

By IEC Global Pty

Other Rivals

Ball Sort Puzzle
Sort It 3D
Brain Out -Tricky riddle games
CodyCross: Crossword Puzzles
Clockmaker: Match 3 Puzzles
Braindom: Brain Games Test Out

7-Day Rank Pulse 🇺🇸

Games

No ranking data

GamesCasualGrossing

Rating Pulse 🇺🇸

Recent User MoodAI-powered deep analysis surfacing high-signal insights. Still in beta, accuracy improves daily. For informational purposes only.

What makes this app unique?

What Does It Look Like?

How Is The App's Momentum Right Now?

Loading...

What Are The Key Features?

Color-Matching LogicStandard

Sorting stickman swimmers by color to guide them into specific holes

Offline PlayDifferentiator

Full game functionality available without an active internet connection

How much does it cost?

Freemium
  • Free to play with ad support

Ad-supported model relying on high-volume casual engagement; lacks subscription tiers.

Who Built It?

UNICO STUDIO app icon 1
UNICO STUDIO app icon 2
UNICO STUDIO app icon 3
UNICO STUDIO app icon 4

UNICO STUDIO

(14.2M)

Providing casual gamers with humorous, narrative-driven brain teasers and logic puzzles designed for short, offline-accessible sessions.

Portfolio

13

Apps

Free 11Paid 1
Games83%
Juegos8%
游戏8%

Who is UNICO STUDIO?

Unico Studio has established a dominant position in the casual logic category by evolving the 'Brain Test' franchise from abstract puzzles into narrative-driven 'tricky stories' with recurring characters. Their strategic advantage lies in a high-volume production engine that rapidly iterates on successful mechanics, such as mystery-solving and 'Who is?' scenarios, to maintain a massive market footprint. The portfolio is currently signaling a move toward deeper meta-layers, incorporating inventory systems and interactive dialogues to increase retention in a category typically prone to high churn.

Who is UNICO STUDIO for?

  • Casual mobile gamers seeking low-stress mental stimulation
  • Attracted to humorous scenarios
  • Mystery-solving logic challenges
Intense

Portfolio momentum

Maintaining an extremely high development cadence with 96 releases in the last 6 months and 49 out of 50 apps currently active.

Last release · 10d agoActive apps · 49Abandoned · 1

What do users think recently?

High confidence · Latest 94 of 142 total reviews analyzed · Based on 142 reviews. Signal may be noisy.

How did the latest release land?

Overall
4.7/ 5
(7K)
Current version
4.8/ 5
+0.1 vs overall
(1.1K)
Main signal post-update: core logic puzzle mechanics provide a satisfying and addictive experience for casual players.

What is the recent mood?

Mixed

Recent user voice shows a mixed sentiment. Users appreciate core logic puzzle mechanics provide a satisfying and addictive experience for casual players, but report aggressive ad frequency interrupts the flow of gameplay and creates a negative experience.

What Users Love

Core logic puzzle mechanics provide a satisfying and addictive experience for casual players

What Frustrates Users

Aggressive ad frequency interrupts the flow of gameplay and creates a negative experience

What Users Want

Accessibility features for colorblind players to distinguish between game elements

What is the competitive landscape for Hole Pool: All People?

How's The Games Market?

How does it evolve in the Games market?

Hole Pool holds a #124 Grossing rank in the Puzzle category, but the gap between its Free and Grossing performance signals monetization friction. The app maintains a 4.7+ rating across 6,966 total ratings, yet recent technical instability threatens this baseline.

ChartRankChange
AndroidGrossing#160NEW
AndroidGrossing#200NEW

The rivals identified

The Nemesis

Head to Head

The target app must lean into its unique 'swimmer' theme to avoid direct feature-for-feature comparison, as the nemesis holds an insurmountable lead in pure sorting mechanics.

What sets Hole Pool: All People apart

  • Offers a more thematic, narrative-driven experience with stickman swimmers compared to the abstract liquid-sorting mechanics of the rival.

  • Provides a more relaxed, leisure-focused aesthetic that differentiates it from the high-intensity, logic-heavy gameplay of standard water sorting.

What's Water Sort Puzzle's Edge

  • Features a highly refined, proven UI loop that has been optimized through millions of user interactions.

  • Delivers a deeper library of levels and game modes that keeps players engaged for significantly longer durations.

Contenders

Utilizes ball-based physics and visual feedback which offers a distinct tactile feel compared to liquid-based sorting.

Maintains a consistent release cadence that keeps the game feeling fresh for long-term players.

Employs 3D spatial reasoning that adds a layer of complexity beyond the 2D sorting found in the target app.

Leverages the publishing power of Supersonic Studios to maintain high visibility and consistent user acquisition.

Peers

Focuses on lateral thinking and trick riddles rather than the repetitive sorting mechanics of the target app.

Uses a highly successful 'absurdist' humor style that drives viral sharing and high organic growth.

Integrates educational trivia elements into the puzzle loop, providing a sense of progression beyond simple color matching.

Features a highly polished, premium-feeling interface that sets a high bar for casual puzzle UX.

Uses a dark, atmospheric narrative theme that contrasts sharply with the vibrant, lighthearted tone of the target app.

Features complex, multi-layered match-3 mechanics that offer more strategic depth than simple sorting puzzles.

New Kids on the Block

Rapidly incorporates trending pop-culture themes into puzzle scenarios to maintain high relevance with younger audiences.

Utilizes a 'test your IQ' positioning that gamifies the user's performance more aggressively than the target app.

The outtake for Hole Pool: All People

Strengths to defend, gaps to attack

Core Strengths

  • Aquatic-themed stickman visual identity differentiates the core loop
  • Offline-first architecture sustains engagement in low-connectivity segments

Critical Frictions

  • Aggressive ad-frequency drives high uninstall rates
  • Technical instability post-update causes progress loss
  • Progression gating forces pay-to-win reliance

Growth Levers

  • Implement accessibility features for colorblind users
  • Introduce non-intrusive cosmetic IAP to reduce ad-reliance

Market Threats

  • High-frequency update cadence of market leaders
  • Increasing user sensitivity to aggressive ad-monetization

What are the next best moves?

highPivot

Audit ad-frequency triggers because high ad-volume is the #1 uninstall reason → improve retention

Sentiment data identifies ad-frequency as the primary driver of negative reviews and churn.

Trade-off: Pause the level-difficulty tuning sprint — ad-churn has a higher impact on DAU than level-gating.

highInvest

Ship stability patch for launch-crashes because post-update reports cite black screens → restore rating baseline

Technical instability is the top complaint following the latest release.

Trade-off: Deprioritize new level content — stability is the current rating-floor risk.

A counter-intuitive read

The app's #124 Grossing rank is a liability, not an asset, because it signals that the current ad-heavy monetization is failing to convert the existing user base into high-LTV players.

Feature Gaps vs Competitors

  • Colorblind accessibility mode (available in peer puzzle titles but missing here)

Key Takeaways

Hole Pool succeeds as a relaxing puzzle loop, but aggressive ad-monetization and technical instability currently cannibalize its retention, so the PM must prioritize stability and ad-balance to protect the current chart position.

Where Is It Heading?

Declining

Casual puzzle traffic is consolidating around titles with more balanced live-ops, and Hole Pool's current reliance on forced ads leaves it exposed to churn. The team must shift from aggressive monetization to stability and accessibility to prevent further rating erosion and maintain its current chart position.

Technical instability post-update (crashes, black screens) erodes the daily active habit, which compounds the rating drag already visible on Android.

Aggressive ad-frequency reports indicate that the current monetization model is reaching a saturation point, accelerating churn pressure on the casual base.

Disclosure

Independent intel to help builders create better apps.

AI-powered analysis with editorial review, built from publicly available sources. See methodology.

Marlvel.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Hole Pool: All People, its developer, the app publisher, Apple, or Google Play. All trademarks, logos, and screenshots referenced remain the property of their respective owners.

Hope this helps & keep building! · Found an error?

What's new in this report

The app has transitioned to a mixed sentiment profile due to increased ad-frequency complaints and post-update technical instability, despite the addition of offline play.

declined

Sentiment Profile Shift

added

Offline Play Support

declined

Technical Stability

declined

Ad Frequency Complaints

Cite this report

Marlvel.ai. “Hole Pool: All People Intelligence Report.” Updated May 20, 2026. https://marlvel.ai/intel-report/games/hole-pool-all-people

Agent Markdown (.md)·

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