Love & Pies review

Love & Pies mixes a baking merge game with a small-town whodunit, and it has the lowest entry price on this list. The setup is simple: someone burns down a family cafe, everyone in Appleton is a suspect, and you help Amelia rebuild while merging ingredients into cakes, pies and other dishes for customers. Renovation covers rooms and the garden, with themed decorations to collect, and the business later grows to castles, manors and mansions. Live events add points, leaderboards and decorative prizes. Apple has featured it in its merge games and Apps We Love collections. Purchases start with a $0.99 bundle and the top ones reach $9.99. On the downside, the App Store gives it a 13+ rating with several content notes, lists loot boxes and advertising, and shows no Mac or Vision support. Gossip Harbor is the closest alternative if you prefer a restaurant on the beach. We compared documented features and published prices; we did not solve the mystery.

Who it is for

Players who want a baking theme, a whodunit story and the cheapest entry purchase on this list.

Price

Free to play; in-app bundles from $0.99 (Bundle XXXXS) on the US App Store.

Bundle XXXXS $0.99
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 10, 2026.

Key features

• Match and merge ingredients into cakes, pies and other treats
• Renovate rooms and the garden with themed decorations
• A mystery story set in the town of Appleton
• Live events with points, leaderboards and prizes
• Expand the cafe business to castles, manors and mansions

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Cheapest starting purchase on this list at $0.99
• Strength: Apple featured it in The Urge to Merge and Apps We Love collections
• Strength: English and 9 more languages
• Weakness: Rated 13+ for mature themes, crude humor and more
• Weakness: Contains loot boxes and advertising
• Weakness: No Mac or Apple Vision support listed

Key facts

• Developer: Trailmix
• Age rating: 13+
• Languages: English and 9 more
• Requires: iOS 15.0 or later

Where it ranks

Love & Pies is No. 5 in our Best Merge Games verdict.