# Choice of the Petal Throne — user reviews > 37 indexed App Store user reviews of Choice of the Petal Throne by Choice of Games LLC, rated 4.10/5 from 16 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/choice-of-the-petal-throne/id975038492/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/choice-of-the-petal-throne/id975038492.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 7 · 4★ 4 · 3★ 4 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 0 ## Newest reviews (10 of 37) ### 4/5 — Embrace the unfamiliarity and be rewarded *2018-06-27, version 1.1.1* This novel was a pleasantly unique experience. While it took some time to immerse myself in a world with such rich language, history, lore, and characters the commitment was well worth it. The story makes no apologies for its complexity and unfamiliarity and this is largely why it succeeds. While the tale itself borrows from familiar enough fantasy tropes (a solid choice given the unfamiliarity) the setting and larger events are quite fresh. All in all I can recommend this quite comfortably. Don’t shy away from the strangeness and difficulty; it’s what makes this so enjoyable. ### 3/5 — Interesting world that's a bit tough to follow *2016-07-20* The setting for this game is very unique amongst choice games and the writing is solid. It can be very difficult to follow along with events as there are loads of made up fantasy words and hard to remember names and titles and I didn't find the glossary of terms included in the game to be particularly helpful. As others have said the ending feels incredibly abrupt. I was thinking that is just completed the first leg of a great adventure when the epilogue events started and I was surprised to see it end when it did. Still worth the price though! ### 4/5 — Review *2016-06-11, version 1.0.6* Bad ending, but otherwise very well done. ### 5/5 — Can't wait for the sequel *2015-05-29* What an amazing world, with a GoT esque political dynamic this was a really brilliant game! When's the next one? ### 3/5 — Not bad *2015-05-15, version 1.0.3* Although the world is unfamiliar to me it was not all that bad. The romance options were nothing to write home bout and the story gets confusing sometimes. Overall not the worst cog I have plate. ### 3/5 — Tries Too Hard *2015-05-14* Three stars is being generous, honestly. The CoG tried too hard to be taken seriously, trying to elevate itself into novel status instead of being exactly what it is; a text based game. There's so much description and world building the story gets lost in between, and it can be hard - not to mention boring - to follow. Seriously disappointed, because the description sounded promising. Would definitely not recommend this game to people looking for a fun CoG, especially with it's price tag. ### 5/5 — Great game ! *2015-05-01, version 1.0.1* I would highly recommend this very fun I have played through it multiple times. ### 5/5 — A diamond in the rough! *2015-04-30* Rarely do you find such an awe inspiring and in depth world on an iOS game. There are many choices to make and paths to forge which result in hundreds of potential endings. The characters are rich, vibrant and easy to relate to which helps to drive the story forward. I bought this game on a whim as I love games with multiple endings. What I got was an if story of a mystical world plunged into civil war. A world where even the slightest choice can come back to haunt you or save you. What side will you choose in the war for the petal throne? Buy it now and find out! ### 5/5 — Good evocation of a rich world *2015-04-19* I am no Tékumel expert, but the game did a pretty good job of bringing you into one of the richest fantasy worlds (Glorantha and Middle Earth being its only rivals). Sometimes I got a little lost in terminology, and an illustration or two would have helped, but the story itself was compelling and did not require any knowledge of the setting. ### 5/5 — This is what I have waited for for decades. *2015-04-17* This game seems brilliant to me. I have loved the setting of Tekumel since the early 1980's and have always found it hard to explain it to others. Now I can point them to this game and let them get a taste on their own. Nothing new has come out for years for this world and finally I and other fans can dive deep again. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Ignore the 5 star reviews people! *2015-06-03, version 1.0.3* This game was one of the worst I've played. Those 5 star reviews are BS 👎🏻 ### 1/5 — Nahhhhh *2015-05-23, version 1.0.3* By the description it looked like a cool story but after buying it I was extremely let down. I kind of had trouble connecting with the story ### 1/5 — Tries but just falls flat *2015-05-07, version 1.0.3* It almost comes across as arrogant, what with the assumption it can just go full immersion into this made up world we know nothing about.... Also, the whole multiple partner thing is super weird and I did NOT like how there was hardly any femininity involved in playing a woman.... I dunno, it is just a weird CoG. I def don't recommend it. ### 1/5 — Ignore the 5 star reviews *2015-05-03* This is no way a 5 star game. The author tries too hard to immerse you in the gameworld by randomly using words in their made-up language. The only effect it has is forcing you to look at the Glossary, breaking the flow of your reading. The last chapter also felt rushed and forced out of nowhere. The majority of the game, you are leading armies into battles, suddenly you're dungeon-crawling? Again, ignore the 5 star reviews. They were probably left there by the author's friends or fellow forum-goers in the CoG community. (I know an author there who purposefully leaves 5 star ratings without reading the book first, "just to help a fellow author". ### 1/5 — Stop leaving fake reviews *2015-05-02* Fake reviews ruin the rating system and waste my money. There is absolutely no way that this is a 5 star game. Sure, you conned me into buying this one through deceit; but all that you are really doing is ruining the credibility of the user rating system. This game was too immersed in a fake culture to enjoy; I haven't read ten novels about the fake world this is set in and so lost interest shortly into the game. It needs to be written more simply from a perspective that our culture can relate to and interact with. Keep your fantasy culture, but make it accessible to people who haven't always wished that they were born into whatever books this as based on. It should also be more choice focused and the choices should make sense to players from our world. I can't even tell if my choices are making any difference in the story. I published my review weeks ago. If it isn't posted then I am going to file a formal complaint. ### 1/5 — Glitchy *2015-04-26, version 1.0.1* Pretty fun to start but in the middle the "next" button vanishes and I can't keep playing. Restarting won't fix it! ### 2/5 — Are you as Crazy as a Zrne Beast? *2018-04-28* If so, pay $3.99 for this story. This reads like a confusing Literotica story. The author has built a world that I am sure makes a great deal of sense to him or her. But as an outside looking in its bewilderingly hard to follow. Reading this, I found myself screaming “WHAT?” more than a Biloxi wrestling crowd during a bad promo. There is so much reliance on strange terms that it’s hard to glean any kind of story from Petal Throne. This ruins any sense of immersion. The “glossary” is actually four separate glossaries, that’s how much in-universe verbiage the author uses. Besides customizing your name, gender, and sexuality there is nothing here that Choice Of customarily offers and that I have come to love. ### 2/5 — One word: gobbledegook. *2017-12-12* This game piqued my interest with the promise of something a bit different from the familiar mediaeval Europe-esque fantasy, and indeed the game seemed to promise a well-written adventure in an exotic fantasy world. However, after a few pages I found myself lost in a bewildering swamp of tongue-twisting made-up words that added nothing to the already wonderfully vibrant world. I love fantasy and I love fictional languages, but no story should have so many invented terms that it requires its own glossary (in four separate sections, no less) in order to make sense of what the characters are talking about. What's more, although a few of the words refer to things there's no English word for, many of them are completely unnecessary for the world or the story. To take just one example, there is an invented word for "a grain used to make bread and porridge" - would it really have taken so much away from the world just to call it rye or barley? Same goes for "a material similar to linen", "a material similar to silk", "a house-cat" and so many others. Plus I'd say many of the elements of the world are excessively fantastical (six-legged sheep? Why? What does that add to the story?) but that's just my personal opinion. I really didn't want to let these things ruin the game for me, but I after the first chapter or so I began to find it utterly unreadable. If you reckon you can handle it then go ahead, I hope you'll be able to push past the gibberish and enjoy the story. But unfortunately, this is one tale I'll have to miss out on. ### 2/5 — Disappointing *2016-07-03* I have played other Choice of games before and they have delivered - this one did not. Not sure if I am simply playing it wrong or what but due to the writing I am never sure what is going on. Additionally, it always seems like the game ends too soon so I felt like I was cheated out of the money I paid for it. ### 3/5 — Promising but ultimately flawed *2020-02-28* So I have mixed thoughts about this game. First the Pros: The writing is solid all the way around (not a guarantee at all in CoG games) and the world building is quite unique and interesting and I kept wanting to know more about it. Also there’s some nice degree of choice and how the plot moves forward can very much alter with your failures and/or successes. Some of the encounters or events are quite imaginative. I was particularly taken with a sequence in which you encounter a “whimpered” which I think is one of the more chilling types of monsters I’ve ever encountered in a game like this. The cons: The game is short. Way too short. I felt like I was about getting to the halfway point when the game suddenly ends with barely a resolution, and that’s on a “good” ending. This to was it’s ultimate crime. I felt at the end, regardless of what choices I made, that I barely impacted the overall resolution of the story, and that’s because at the end of the day, your character IS tangential to the larger narrative (The game of the Petal Thrones). I mean sure, you get to side with one royal or the other in who gets a particular maguffin (whose importance is never explained) but you’re left to your own imagination how that pans out. I recognize that writing these branching stories is an arduous and time consuming process but I really felt short changed, especially when there are so many other CoG games that feel truly developed and are easy to invest in. The same goes for the relationships you have in the story. Completely underdeveloped and while your two relationships have great baring on the ending of the game, it doesn’t seem to matter how well or badly you’ve treated them, they’re going to make the same choices, and you spent such little time with them that they feel fairly personality-less. One other thing: I appreciate the thought that went into the world building. It’s great. But EVERYTHING has a weird name in a made up language, and I can’t tell you how often I had to consult the glossary, which itself was filled with MORE weird terms in the made up language. If the game had been longer and I felt like it was important to know this stuff to make smart decisions, I think I would have happily looked past it, but for as slight as the story winds up being, it seems like an awfully big ask to require your readers to learn a made up language for the purposes of what is essentially a short and uninvolving story. I know that all sounds harsh, but again the writing is good and the world is interesting, but I don’t think that’s enough. Especially when there are so many other much better CoG out there. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Fantastic Writer *2023-03-26* I’ve always been intrigued by Tekumel and really never had the chance to play the game This is short but rich. Feels like Barker’s vibe. Wish she would write a whole book ### 5/5 — It is Exactly what it claims to be. *2021-11-07* I’m giving this five stars because it’s very well written and the devs clearly did their homework on a very obscure pen and paper classic. This game is an excellent recreation of M.A.R Barker’s world of Tekumel. While the writing is excellent and the lore is rich, it’s fair to say newcomers to this world may find this particular game difficult to jump right into. I would suggest that the devs provide a slight intro in the beginning that explains (in a basic sense) the point of clans, or perhaps a brief description of current events to set the scene and the tone of the world. That said, thank you for the story, it was a blast! ### 5/5 — Excellent adventure! *2018-06-02* This game is one the better introductions to M.A.R. Barker's famed, science-fantasy world of Tékumel. It is a world of (male and female) warriors and sorcerers, psionic powers, weird, millennia-old technology, interdimensional travel, and strange alien gods and creatures. If you are tired of Tolkien-like fantasy clones, give this a shot. The world was inspired by medieval India, Imperial China, and Mesoamerican cultures, not Anglo-Saxon and Judeo-Christian societies and mores (Tékumel was LGBQ-friendly before the word even existed). And all of it is peppered with Golden Age science-fiction bits and bobs: weird (at times terrifying) aliens, and potent futuristic technology that sometimes looks like magic. So leave your expectations of what Fantasy should be behind, and embrace the non-Western cultural norms, the Urdu and Nahuatl sounding words (Barker, just like Tolkien, was a University-level linguist, as well as an artist and writer), and the cool sword and sorcery-like adventures full of bizarre monsters, vast treasures, weird cults, and, yes, deep dungeons. The game, which is well written, offers numerous options and choices that bring the world of Tékumel to life. I personally would love to see a follow up to The Choice of the Petal Throne. ### 5/5 — A Truly Unique World *2017-08-28* This world is truly remarkable, full of magic and a peculiar sense of honor. The game thankfully provides a glossary, which is in some ways almost indispensable. I wish that the ability to access it's contents were a little more streamlined, but this is a minor quibble. The story is a delight, and clearly offers multiple ways to play. Definitely recommended for anyone who enjoys unusual fantasy. ### 5/5 — Very interesting *2017-01-25* Loved the game. Very cool game that kept me reading all the time. It would be great if there was a part two of this game because this one enchants the reader and throws the reader into such a mind blowing fantasy that you can't take your eyes of the screen. ### 5/5 — If you like Tekumel you will love this app *2016-02-26, version 1.0.6* Really enjoyed my play through of this. I want more Tekumel adventures. ### 5/5 — Very good *2015-08-23* Some people are complaining about the abruptness of the ending, however, I think that all of the options are explored quite well. The game has good replay value, and I enjoyed it very thoroughly. ### 5/5 — One of the best "choice of" games I've had *2015-07-26* Out of all the "choice of" games I've had this has peaked my interest. Love the feel I get from the story & choices. Oh & thank you for polygamy… gotta spread the love! lol ### 5/5 — A standout *2015-07-14* It was a very immersive story and I had fun taking the many different paths. Usually I would get bored playing through something several times, but this one I couldn't put down until I explored every option. ### 5/5 — This delivered *2015-07-12* My hopes for this game wasn't high in the beginning but after experiencing it I really took a liking of it and played it over many times. But to play this game you have to be open to learning the lore and how things work(which is done through a mini guide that the game provides) I hope to see more (Mostly because I have to keep the harem alive and keep my title as harem king) --- *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 2026-08-17.*