Coloring Book: Color by Number

Review by eFreeware

Some evenings you want something to do with your hands that asks nothing of your brain. Cooking, gardening and drawing all demand attention, and a blank sketchbook can be intimidating if you have never learned to draw. Coloring Book: Color by Number, from Candy Mobile, takes that blank page out of the equation: you fill in numbered areas with matching numbered paints, and a picture appears as you go.

The game is free to install and carries ads, and it offers no in-app purchases. It has been installed more than 50 million times and holds a 4.5 average from 229,535 ratings, which suggests a lot of people keep coming back to it. It first appeared in September 2019 and was last updated in September 2026, so the catalog has had years to grow.

Famous canvases, one numbered area at a time

What sets this one apart from the usual coloring app is the subject matter at the top end of its catalog. Alongside the familiar categories, it includes reproductions of well-known paintings such as Mona Lisa, Starry Night and The Last Supper, with works credited to Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Vincent van Gogh. Working through a van Gogh by number is a different proposition from filling in a cartoon animal, and it gives the game a reason to exist beyond idle tapping.

The rest of the library is organized into categories including Mandala, floral, animals, nature, unicorns and zen. That spread covers most moods: geometric patterns for people who like repetition, animals and nature for something lighter, unicorns for a younger audience. The developer describes the game as the top paint-by-number title, which is marketing language, but the install count and rating back up the idea that it does this job well.

I like that the famous-painting angle gives you something to aim at. Instead of a throwaway doodle, you end up with a recognizable image at the end, and the game lets you recolor a picture whenever you want, so a page is not a one-time commitment.

How the paint-by-number system works

Each picture is divided into areas outlined in light blue or gray. Every area carries a number, and each number corresponds to a paint color. You select the paint and fill the area, then move to the next one. There is no brushwork, no mixing and no drawing skill required, which is the whole point: the difficulty is in the patience, not the technique.

The developer promises a small surprise when a picture is finished, and that payoff structure is what keeps this sort of game moving. You always know the next step, and progress is visible with every area you fill. The recent update added more images and fixed some bugs, so the catalog continues to expand rather than sitting still.

Because colors are assigned by number, the finished result looks deliberate even if your hand is unsteady. That is the appeal for anyone who has tried freehand drawing and been disappointed by the outcome. The game removes the part people usually fail at and leaves the part that is pleasant.

Sharing what you finish

Finished pictures can be shared to the major social networks, so a completed page does not have to stay on your phone. That is the only social element the game offers. Sharing is simply an export button for your own creation.

For some people that is enough. Posting a finished mandala or a recognizable Mona Lisa is a low-stakes way to show something you made, and the fact that the game did the hard part does not make the result less satisfying to look at. If you would rather keep your coloring private, nothing forces you to share.

Where it fits into a routine

This is a game for the moments when you want to occupy your hands without committing to a challenge. A quiet half hour before bed, a long wait in a doctor's office, a rainy afternoon when the kids need something calm: those are the situations where a numbered page works better than a puzzle or a shooter. The developer says you can color and recolor wherever you are, and nothing in the design suggests otherwise.

It also suits people who like the idea of painting but not the setup. There is no canvas to buy, no paints to store and no cleanup. The trade-off is that the game makes the creative decisions for you: you choose the picture, but the colors are already decided by the numbers.

Families with younger children are a natural fit, and the Everyone rating reflects that. The categories include unicorns and animals alongside the more adult mandalas and zen patterns, so the same app can serve different ages without much friction.

What the free model means

The game costs nothing to install and shows ads. It does not offer in-app purchases, so there is no question of whether to spend money on extra pages or tools; the entire catalog is available under the ad-supported model. That is a straightforward arrangement.

Whether that suits you depends on how you use it. The lack of purchases keeps the experience simple. If you object to advertising in principle, the model will not change your mind, but at least you know exactly what you are getting before you install.

A calm pick for patient hands

Color by Number is a well-established coloring game with a large catalog, a famous-painting section that gives it character, and a free, ad-supported model with no purchases. The 4.5 average across more than 229,000 ratings suggests it does what it promises for a broad audience, and the September 2026 update shows the developer is still adding images.

It is best suited to people who want a low-effort creative outlet, enjoy repetition, or need something calm to do with their hands. If you are looking for a drawing tool with real control over color and composition, the numbered system will feel constraining. For everyone else, it is an easy install with no financial commitment beyond tolerating ads.

What's new in version 3.8.2

Fixed some bugs and added more images. Thanks.