# Board Buddy USMLE — user reviews > 10 indexed App Store user reviews of Board Buddy USMLE by Blake Young, rated 4.70/5 from 19 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/board-buddy-usmle/id6756011006/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/board-buddy-usmle/id6756011006.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 17 · 4★ 0 · 3★ 1 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 0 ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 2/5 — Poor experience *2026-05-13* Very poorly designed app probably vibe coded and has obvious design and functionality issues. **Developer response:** Thanks for your review! Could you send me an email at blake@ivytutoring.net so I can work on improving it? ### 3/5 — Great concept, but not refined enough for $30/month *2026-05-04* Love the many different categories of interactive games that help target weaknesses within specific topics and question types; however, the game is just not developed enough to justify a $30/months subscription price. A few issues I’ve had so far: falsely marking answers as incorrect, HY image section (which asks you to choose 1/4 histology/XR/CT images based on a diagnosis) will have completely unrelated answer choices, making the answer painfully obvious. The 3D anatomy identification is such a dope concept, but also isn’t well coded and very difficult to read. Don’t get me wrong this app is incredibly engaging and well organized, but it functions a bit more like a beta atm, so cannot say the price is justified **Developer response:** Thank you SO much for your review! Can you send me a message at blake@ivytutoring.net? I want to let you try the version 2.0 that is coming out this month! I've fixed a lot of the issues that you addressed. I'd love to get your continued feedback and build features that you enjoy ### 5/5 — Board Buddy Rocks!! *2026-06-09* I rarely write reviews, but this app truly deserves one❤️! If you're tired or just not in the mood to study, this app is incredibly addictive!! It offers a ton of engaging games and learning options beyond the usual QBank and flashcards. I’m not an Anki fan, but with so much information needed to learn for these exams, active recall becomes essential, and this app makes it a fun and enjoyable experience. You’ll be studying without even noticing because this app makes learning exciting and fun!! Huge thanks for creating this masterpiece! I’m counting down the days for the Step 2CK and Step 3 versions!! 🙌🏼❤️ ### 5/5 — Great and Helpful! *2026-05-22* I was using Board Buddy daily, and it really helped me stay organized and manage my study time better. Simple, helpful, and great for staying consistent with preparation. Highly recommend! ### 5/5 — Fun, fast and High yield learning ! *2026-04-08* I absolutely love this app. BoardBuddy makes studying feel like a game, which is exactly what you need when you're tired and don’t feel like studying anymore. Instead of forcing yourself through more questions, you open the app and suddenly you're learning while actually enjoying it. The USMLE Bingo feature is amazing it keeps your mind alert and focused. The timed questions push you to think quickly and move on, which is great practice for real exam conditions. I also love how you can study specific topics like Arrows, Pathoma 1–3, pharmacology (beta blockers, alpha blockers), and more. You can create your own quizzes, review specific chapters, and track your progress easily. It also includes NBME-style questions organized by form, which is a huge plus for exam prep. Overall, BoardBuddy is the perfect balance between fun and high-yield studying. It keeps you engaged, motivated, and learning at the same time. If you’re preparing for Step 1, this is definitely an app you want to have. Highly recommend 100% worth it. ### 5/5 — So worth it!! *2026-04-01* This is the best app for step 1 that currently exists! It’s super fun and nothing compared to an AMBOSS subscription, but I learned more from it. Completely recommend if you’re serious about passing Step 1 or the CBSE ### 5/5 — Biggest Help!! *2026-04-01* As an undergraduate pre-med student, this app has given me a HUGE head start and real clarity about my path. I feel much more confident now going forward into the medical field🙏🏽🔥 **Developer response:** Thanks Pookie! More to come! ### 5/5 — great resource *2026-03-22* The premium access resources were super worth it wow. I used this app more than any study tool and it actually paid off ### 5/5 — Honestly addicting *2026-03-18* I played this app whenever I have downtime, and within a couple of weeks I was super surprised that I’d memorized almost all of the high yield images ### 5/5 — Amazing App! *2026-03-16* An amazing app that helps keep accountable for studying for step 1. I can’t believe it took me so long to find this app!! --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-05.*