# Dwarf Fortress Remote — user reviews > 112 indexed App Store user reviews of Dwarf Fortress Remote by MIFKI PTY LTD, rated 3.30/5 from 142 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dwarf-fortress-remote/id1003660287/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dwarf-fortress-remote/id1003660287.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 75 · 4★ 5 · 3★ 6 · 2★ 4 · 1★ 52 ## What do users think of Dwarf Fortress Remote? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 👍 Intuitive touch interface superior to PC controls - 💡 Innovative remote play solution for complex game - 🎮 Enables playing Dwarf Fortress on mobile devices - ⚙️ Works smoothly with home network setup - 🔧 Free option available with self-hosted server - 📱 Accessible UI improvements over vanilla game - 🎯 Well-designed for touch screen interaction - ⚡ Responsive and lag-free performance - 💰 Reasonable subscription pricing for hosted servers - 🛠️ Developer responsive to bug reports and issues **Cons** - 💳 Requires paid subscription or PC setup (confusing to users) - 🐛 Frequent server connection errors and failures - ⚠️ App abandoned/outdated for extended periods - 📦 Missing tilesets causing functionality issues - 🔌 Inconsistent server reliability - ❌ Limited feature parity with PC version - 🚫 Poor documentation of payment structure - 📞 Unresponsive developer support - 🔄 Not updated to latest game versions - ⚙️ Complex server setup deters casual users - 🎮 Fortress mode only, no adventure mode - 🗺️ No world map or custom embark locations - 🔊 No sound support **Commonly reported bugs** - Server subscription errors preventing gameplay - App crashes when opening squad command menus - Endless initialization loops on server subscription - Connection failures when connecting to home PC - Black screen on map load (tileset issue) - Password invalid errors during server setup - Permanent server lockout errors - World generation crashes mid-process - Inconsistent connection drops - Limited location search options during new game setup **Most requested features** - Adventure mode support - Custom embark location selection - DFHack plugin support (workflow, autolabor, digvein) - World map visualization - Sound effects - iPad keyboard support - Finger-drawing for mining designation - Select-all functionality for storage yards - Bedroom zone creation - Status and announcements quick access - Legends viewer - 3D graphics support - UI customization options - Donation option in app menu ## Newest reviews (10 of 112) ### 3/5 — Connection error sometimes *2024-01-16, version 3.03* Great when it works. ### 4/5 — Looking forward to the recently announced update! *2023-01-25, version 2.12* I put a decent number of hours into df remote a few years ago, using it to manage my most memorable fortress (I finally discovered the vampire who turned out to be the very popular mayor … he spent many years honing his artistic talents and creating valuable artifacts, and was able to babysit annoying children sent in to visit through the airlock. DF Remote understandably lagged behind a few versions of the desktop release, but it was still a great way to have *fun*. With the Steam release and initial update to DFHack, I will be interested to try out the recently announced upgrade to this app. ### 1/5 — Not the full game *2023-01-18* Requires a desktop server or additional $5 per month to use. This isn’t clearly spelt out ### 1/5 — Ridiculous *2022-12-09, version 2.12* 3.99 for the game and then 4.99 a month to play!?!? Where is the headline for that? Would have never downloaded that game if I knew it was like this. Refund please!!!! ### 2/5 — Was great, but abandoned *2022-11-28, version 2.12* This was great back when the developer actively supported it. It seems like maybe the announcement of the steam version deterred them from working on it more? Kind of a bummer, I really liked this version but it’s insanely far behind the game now. ### 5/5 — Might not be what you think. *2022-08-14* Firstly this is amazing, it’s a fantastic app that will let you play dwarf fortress from the comfort of a iOS device while solving a lot of problems. If you’re reading this, make sure you know what you are buying first. There is a bit of a setup. You will need to download Dwarf fortress onto your PC, install a few mods and then host the game. Then you can buy this app to control your game that is running on your PC. You might be asking “but why not just port the game to mobile?” Well firstly, the developers would need to give permission for that. More importantly, dwarf fortress will melt your phone. The game can have fairly high demands on your CPU. This app therefore is a brilliant idea as it allows you to play dwarf fortress on your phone without having to worry about how it runs on your less powerful iOS device. ### 3/5 — Русский *2022-04-22, version 2.12* Добавьте русский язык в игру!!! ### 1/5 — Bad, I want a refund *2022-03-06* I paid $5.99 for it then I have to pay an additional $5 or more fee every month just to play the damn thing ### 1/5 — Doesn’t work. *2022-02-06, version 2.12* Was fun when I got it to work, but I gave up on trying to make it work again after struggling for a long time and haven’t tried again in a long time. Even like a year ago you couldn’t play the newest version of dwarf fortress, and I believe it still hasn’t been updated. ### 1/5 — bad! No one should buy this *2022-01-25* Ich habe mir die App und das Abo geholt. Bekomme jedoch keinen Zugriff auf den Server. Der Support antwortet auch nicht. Was soll das? Leute geben Geld dafür aus und euch kümmert es nicht! Lasst die Finger davon! ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Scam *2025-09-26, version 3.03* 4 dollars just to have to pay a subscription?! This game is a scam!!!! ### 1/5 — Server management error *2025-07-20, version 3.03* App appears to no longer work. No information provided on resolution. ### 1/5 — Not a mobile game *2025-07-19* This game is not worth the download better to play on pc. ### 1/5 — Game broken / tilesets no longer included *2024-10-01, version 3.03* This used to be a great little app. Now it is broken because the tilesets needed to run the server side of the game are missing. What happened? Where is the dev? ### 1/5 — Doesn’t work *2024-09-26, version 3.03* Subscription server doesn’t work. No option to embark only set the settings and cancel. ### 1/5 — Banyak bug *2024-09-09, version 3.03* Dan masih ada eror dalam metode pembayaran tolong diperbaiki ### 1/5 — Payments *2024-01-16, version 3.03* Pay for the game. Then monthly payments. ### 1/5 — Refund please *2023-12-28, version 3.03* Not what I expected, 4 dollars and a service fee to play. Refund please. ### 1/5 — Permanent Server Error *2023-12-07, version 3.03* Server is permanently locked out in error. I see in the reviews other people have been having this issue over time and it doesn’t seem to have been fixed. A shame really, I didn’t even get to finish creating a world. It went into error half way through. ### 1/5 — Not really playable. *2023-06-02* I’ve been trying to play this on my iPhone the last few days and it’s not really playable. The UI is the biggest problem, it’s clunky but there are a lot of options that are missing. To give a few examples; you can’t create bedroom zones, when you create a storage yard there is no “select all” so you have to select everything manually every time, and you have to manually check your status and announcements. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Thank you *2026-06-15, version 3.50* Thank you for giving me access to my favourite game I am very grateful. ### 5/5 — Super fun and Works in 2026 *2026-01-05* Let me start off by saying you do NOT need a subscription. The maker of the app has instructions on the website to explain how to set up the server to work on your computer and you could use the app to connect to your own computer. The subscription is only if you do not want to do that yourself. Once you’re connected to a service though it works great it saves your progress. Lets you do almost anything you want. The only place I see this app lacking is during the selection when you start a new game that gives you only limited options in the search for more locations feature doesn’t work for that. It wasn’t enough for me to do a star, but seeing a fix for that would be great ### 5/5 — Awesome port *2025-09-11, version 3.03* Love the game, glad I came across someone willing to put in the work to port it to mobile. Paid subscription is great value for the price, but even the self setup isn’t too big of a headache. ### 5/5 — This thing is great! *2025-02-19* Listen, this app is amazing— I have been without a pc for many years, but now I can finally play DF on my iPad with very few issues. Speaking of issues— developer, how do I make a room into an office?? I don’t see offices in the zones screen??? ### 5/5 — Five Star App *2024-10-25* This is an incredible app. It really is a functional way to play DF on Mobile, and it is clearly a labor of love. Much like DF proper, the app will have a learning curve, but once you know where everything is, it allows you to do most everything you could do in the game normally. It does have a few oddities, but with such a huge game, and it being essentially free if you have a computer, any small gripes are not worth mentioning. This app has single-handedly allowed me to play more DF than I’d ever be able to otherwise, and that is worth some kudos in my book. Excellent work! ### 5/5 — DF Subscription error *2024-09-06* I’m getting a subscription manager error I just paid for the Server obviously! I got one game before it not loading up next play the menu doesn’t let me see how to Subscribe or to use Server paid for forever with an error message and connection issues! Absolutely Love DF hopefully it’s fixed soon ### 5/5 — I can’t play :/ because of an error *2024-09-05* This error "Subscription manager error waiting to retry" keep showing whenever I try to play. ### 5/5 — Ah, good. It is working now. Great alternative. *2023-03-06, version 3.02* I had to uninstall and reinstall the client to get rid of the tileset issue. I really enjoyed the iPad interface before, and while I love the Steam release (especially Steam Deck support), I like the iPad experience a lot. Thanks, Mifki! ### 5/5 — Wonderful app & game! Actively supported! *2023-02-27* If you’re familiar with DF, you know it’s a great game and not only how rich and deep it is, but also how influential it has been on gaming, essentially spawning multiple genres of computer games. This app allows you to access that rich, deep gaming experience on your freaking *phone*, which is another level of amazing. The app is actively supported and updated and the developer was very responsive to me reaching out to report issues. He was very patient and helpful in resolving an issue with the server subscription, which he fixed in a couple of days after reporting it. Overall, while this is not the steam premium version on your iOS device, it is a very, very good UI for touch screens and is the only way to get access to DF on your ios device directly (ie not screen sharing). A lot of thought and effort has clearly gone into how to access game features from a remote client UI and I’m loving it! ### 5/5 — Five Star App with a Caveat *2023-01-15, version 2.12* I just learned the dev could be releasing an update sometime in the near future according to Twitter. That’s very exciting, as this really is a functional way to play DF on Mobile, and it is clearly a labor of love. My 5 star review is predicated on the fact that this will undergo continued support, as I was under the impression this had sort of become abandonware. It does have a few oddities, but with such a huge game, and it being essentially free if you have a computer, any small gripes are not worth mentioning. This app has single-handedly allowed me to ply more DF than ever before. And that is worth some kudos in my book. Excellent work! Excited for updates! --- *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 2026-08-23.*