# Summoner Wars Online — user reviews > 58 indexed App Store user reviews of Summoner Wars Online by Plaid Hat Games LLC, rated 4.70/5 from 112 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/summoner-wars-online/id6460980567/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/summoner-wars-online/id6460980567.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 98 · 4★ 4 · 3★ 3 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 6 ## What do users think of Summoner Wars Online? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - ♟️ Deep tactical gameplay with chess-like strategy - 🎨 Well-designed factions with unique playstyles - ⚖️ Excellent faction balance and asymmetric design - 🎮 Engaging asynchronous multiplayer gameplay - 🆓 Free-to-play model with reasonable pricing - 🎯 Easy to learn, difficult to master mechanics - 👥 Amazing community support for new players - 📱 Smooth app implementation of tabletop game - 🎨 Beautiful art and colorful aesthetics - 🏆 Multiple game modes (PvP, solo, tournaments) - ⚡ Fast load times and responsive gameplay - 🎭 High thematic flavor across all factions **Cons** - 🐛 Menu navigation traps (can't exit shop/deck editor) - 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues - 🐛 AI gets stuck during single-player games - 🐛 Tutorial crashes before completion - 🐛 Server connection losses - 🐛 Sound issues on some devices - 🐛 Dynamic Island screen coverage on iPhone 15 - 💰 Subscription model required for full access - 🎮 Broken matchmaking system for casual players - 🎮 Unfair skill-based matchups (experts vs. beginners) - 🤖 AI too simplistic and easy to beat - ❌ No local multiplayer support - ❌ No ability to resign from matches - 🔐 Sign in with Apple doesn't work - 🎮 Limited player pool - 💬 Discord-dependent community (excludes non-Discord users) - 🎮 Clunky UI for joining private games - 📱 Mobile-first UX improvements needed **Commonly reported bugs** - Menu navigation traps - unable to exit shop or deck editor without closing app - Game crashes to main menu during gameplay - Story mode crashes and deletes campaign progress - Tutorial crashes before completion - AI freezes and becomes unresponsive mid-game - Server connection losses during matches - No sound output on some devices - Dynamic Island screen coverage on iPhone 15 - Sign in with Apple authentication failure - Occasional random crashes with ability to continue from same point **Most requested features** - Russian language translation - Hard difficulty level for AI - Difficulty scaling for single-player AI - Ability to resign from matches - Offline mode support - Bundle deals for in-app purchases - Improved matchmaking system with lobby - Win/loss-based ranking progression - More single-player story content - Better forum/community support outside Discord - Local multiplayer support - Improved UI intuitiveness for menu navigation ## Newest reviews (10 of 58) ### 4/5 — Great game, implementation could be better *2024-09-19* The game itself is terrific, and this digital implementation does a great job of transporting the frantic gameplay of the tabletop version to the phone. I only tried single-player, so I can't say what the multiplayer is like. However, I have two major gripes with the app: 1) Occasionally the game randomly crashes and takes me back to the main menu. It's not a huge deal, as usually I am able to continue from the exact same point, but it's annoying. 2) There is, as far as I can tell, no ability to resign from a match. That's fine for quick battles, where you can just quit to the main menu and delete the save. But in campaign mode doing that resets your progress for the whole campaign! So if you want to retry a mission you have to wait until your summoner is dead, which with the speed of the AI can take a while. ### 2/5 — First Edition App was much better *2024-08-17* So why do I say the first edition was better? Firstly, the $3 a month subscription. Yes, you can buy each faction, but it’s pricey. And You get left out of tournaments if you go this route. Second, the player pool is very limited, a reflection, I think, on what users think of the app versus first edition. As a result, the matchup system is broken and you end up playing against people who are just at such a higher level than you it’s not fun. Lastly, there’s no real forums if you’re not a Discord user (I’m not) so, with all the changes to 2nd edition, it’s really hard to learn how to get better. Subscription cancelled. ### 5/5 — Took a few games to get into. *2024-08-09* I wasn’t sure at first, but now I love it! They never ask for a rating so you can see the effort I went through to let the world now ha ha ### 3/5 — Terrific game. The AI is lame. *2024-07-22, version 2.4.2* It’s a great implementation of the physical game. Graphically, it’s easy to parse and the interface is intuitive. The AI is too easy to beat. I would appreciate the ability to scale difficulty. ### 5/5 — Hooked! *2024-07-03* I never thought this would be my kind of game, but having seen it mentioned so many times by Dice Tower personalities, I knew I had to try it. The app made an easy entry into this world, and now I’m hooked. We’ve purchased the physical game as well, and I find myself constantly thinking about the factions I’ve played. ### 5/5 — Underrated Game *2024-06-21* My Coworker BigPerm kept showing me this game. I only play chess and didn’t really know what this game was all about. It was always confusing to see his games. I downloaded it and played. It’s a great game with so many layers. All the different factions have such great tricks up their sleeves. Well made game. It’s worth the time commitment understand the mechanics and enjoy the battles. ### 5/5 — The best 2-player game ever *2024-06-16* I have been a fan since 1e. 2e is even better and this digital implementation is a wonderful representation. Minutes to learn, lifetime to master. Play it and teach your friends. ### 5/5 — Great app *2024-06-12* I love the asynchronous games and the quality of the app. The free version doesn’t have ad banners and players get one deck at random and a weekly rotating deck. Honestly a great way to learn the game. And happy to pay Plaid Hat Games as a small Indy developer for the subscription when I have time to play more often. ### 4/5 — Good game though has technical issues *2024-05-10* Summoner Wars is a great game and the app looks good and well implemented, though I am having technical problems on my iPhone 15. There is no sound, and parts of the screen are covered by the Dynamic Island. Could be my own stupidity not figuring out how to get around those issues, though! ### 5/5 — Great card game made even better on the app! *2024-04-30* Free to play was an excellent choice. I already subscribe to the new faction decks as they are published, but I was able to get my son and a friend to start playing on the app and now they love it! I will continue to grab the physical decks as they come out, but being able to play this easily and so often has been a dream come true. One of the best two player games around! ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Ui issues *2026-03-10, version 2.7.1* In the event you do something like open the shop or the deck editor there is no way to leave the menu and you have to close the whole game and open it again, very frustrating. ### 1/5 — First Edition App was much better *2025-06-17* Further Edit: Worst matchup system ever. You will play the same people over and over who are experts. Not for the casual player who isn’t a discord junkie. Designed to hurt new players not help them or allow them to enjoy the game. Hot garbage compared to the first iteration. Oh, and you just can’t pay and play. No, you have to subscribe. Just awful. This app wouldn’t know a ‘fair matchup’ if it bit it in the face. ### 1/5 — First Edition App was much better *2025-06-12* Further Edit: Worst matchup system ever. You will play the same people over and over who are experts. Not for the casual player who isn’t a discord junkie. Designed to hurt new players not help them or allow them to enjoy the game. Hot garbage compared to the first iteration. Oh, and you just can’t pay and play. No, you have to subscribe. Just awful. ### 1/5 — First Edition App was much better *2025-05-19, version 2.6.5* Further Edit: The AI is too simplistic for single player. And there’s no ‘hard level’ which might actually help you learn against real human opponents. So again, if you don’t Discord, then you can’t really learn to play better. Not for new players or casual players at all. Further Edit: It’s been a while since I posted this. I re-subbed for a month to run a demo because I do love the game. But…the matchup system remains broken. You go from playing average players to playing expert players way too fast. Still not for new or casual players. Sad. Once again, the horror that is their matchup system continues to be a problem. There are so many other ways of doing this: having a lobby to look for players, having a system that matches you up or down based on wins or losses. The could at least make it possible to dump a match when you see that your matched up against an expert, but no. You’re stuck and probably have to take a bad loss. Further edit: this is, officially, THE WORST matchup system ever. You go from playing people equally matched early to facing experts. I don’t know how they get their “FAIR MATCH” algorithm, but it’s truly the worst. Where did the players go who were equal level to me? Suddenly I have to play against experts? Yeah, this is HOT GARBAGE for the inexperienced, casual player. Awful. Their ‘matchup’ system’s idea of a ‘fair matchup’ is to take a player who hasn’t finished one season and put them up against players who have been playing since the app launched. Not for casual players. 😑. There are many ways to create a matchup system. This app has chosen the worst way possible. ### 1/5 — First Edition App was much better *2025-04-15, version 2.6.5* Further Edit: The AI is too simplistic for single player. And there’s no ‘hard level’ which might actually help you learn against real human opponents. So again, if you don’t Discord, then you can’t really learn to play better. Not for new players or casual players at all. Further Edit: It’s been a while since I posted this. I re-subbed for a month to run a demo because I do love the game. But…the matchup system remains broken. You go from playing average players to playing expert players way too fast. Still not for new or casual players. Sad. Once again, the horror that is their matchup system continues to be a problem. There are so many other ways of doing this: having a lobby to look for players, having a system that matches you up or down based on wins or losses. The could at least make it possible to dump a match when you see that your matched up against an expert, but no. You’re stuck and probably have to take a bad loss. Further edit: this is, officially, THE WORST matchup system ever. You go from playing people equally matched early to facing experts. I don’t know how they get their “FAIR MATCH” algorithm, but it’s truly the worst. Where did the players go who were equal level to me? Suddenly I have to play against experts? Yeah, this is HOT GARBAGE for the inexperienced, casual player. Awful. Their ‘matchup’ system’s idea of a ‘fair matchup’ is to take a player who hasn’t finished one season and put them up against players who have been playing since the app launched. Not for casual players. 😑 ### 1/5 — Unfortunately unplayable for single player *2024-10-31* I’m new to the game, so naturally I’d like to learn the mechanics before playing PvP. The tutorial progresses a good deal of the way through the game, but crashes back to the main menu screen before completing. I’ve tried it twice. In story mode, the AI often gets stuck and does nothing, I can’t get through a single game. Sometimes leaving the game and then continuing it musters the AI back into action, but eventually it stalls with no further progression. Maintenance seems active and other reviewers are happy with the game, so I can only guess that single player / new player experience is not getting tested for regressions at this stage in its life. ### 1/5 — No local multiplayer. Sign in with Apple doesn’t work. *2024-05-31, version 2.4.2* It’s as if the developers have no idea why people play board games. ### 2/5 — First Edition App was much better *2025-04-02* So why do I say the first edition was better? Firstly, the $3 a month subscription. Yes, you can buy each faction, but it’s pricey. And You get left out of tournaments if you go this route. Second, the player pool is very limited, a reflection, I think, on what users think of the app versus first edition. As a result, the matchup system is broken and you end up playing against people who are just at such a higher level than you it’s not fun. Lastly, there’s no real forums if you’re not a Discord user (I’m not) so, with all the changes to 2nd edition, it’s really hard to learn how to get better. Subscription cancelled. Further Edit: The AI is too simplistic for single player. And there’s no ‘hard level’ which might actually help you learn against real human opponents. So again, if you don’t Discord, then you can’t really learn to play better. Not for new players or casual players at all. Further Edit: It’s been a while since I posted this. I re-subbed for a month to run a demo because I do love the game. But…the matchup system remains broken. You go from playing average players to playing expert players way too fast. Still not for new or casual players. Sad. ### 2/5 — Broken app... *2024-09-15, version 2.4.2* Poorly optimized, games always crashes. Story modes always crash, and sometimes will delete all progress when it does. Love the board game - play the physical copy all the time. But the app is unusable, it's sad. ### 2/5 — First Edition App was much better *2024-08-21* So why do I say the first edition was better? Firstly, the $3 a month subscription. Yes, you can buy each faction, but it’s pricey. And You get left out of tournaments if you go this route. Second, the player pool is very limited, a reflection, I think, on what users think of the app versus first edition. As a result, the matchup system is broken and you end up playing against people who are just at such a higher level than you it’s not fun. Lastly, there’s no real forums if you’re not a Discord user (I’m not) so, with all the changes to 2nd edition, it’s really hard to learn how to get better. Subscription cancelled. Further Edit: The AI is too simplistic for single player. And there’s no ‘hard level’ which might actually help you learn against real human opponents. So again, if you don’t Discord, then you can’t really learn to play better. Not for new players or casual players at all. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Top 1v1 game *2026-02-24* This is definitely one of best 1v1 games although the setup looks simple the well designed factions make it a complex strategy game. And almost every game comes down to the wire, where your adrenaline gets pumping. It has a little bit of a learning curve, but it has an amazing community to help you get through the early stages. You have access to lots of live tournaments and opportunities to play with people online. Definitely recommend! ### 5/5 — Perfect digital play *2025-10-25* I love the physical summoner wars games. The digital adaptation is great, especially since you can play over multiple days. It’s so fun to play a quick turn, or even play every turn back-to-back since both you and your opponent are addicted 😂 ### 5/5 — I’m a chess player *2025-10-02, version 2.6.9* This has become a new obsession. It’s like a chess game married to fantasy. ### 5/5 — Best Duel game *2025-09-15, version 2.6.9* I have played this game for many years and I have not found a better game yet. ### 5/5 — Amazing digital version of a great game *2025-09-05, version 2.6.9* A fantastic app, such good work bringing a great tabletop game to devices! Plays great, free to download and jump in and very reasonable prices for in app purchases for more factions ### 5/5 — Great Game *2025-08-23, version 2.6.9* This is a fun game that can be played online 2 player 1v1, or single player. All of the factions feel very different, yet they are all interesting and balanced! Highly recommend. ### 5/5 — Класс! *2025-06-20* Игра замечательная, хотелось бы, что бы добавили перевод на русский ### 5/5 — Chess + Magic *2025-05-22, version 2.6.6* This is simple the best game in its genre, a must try if you like tactical games and hand management. ### 5/5 — Wow! Top 5 board game of all time! *2024-11-18* This game is so impressive. I own over 200 board games and this one is my most tabled and one of my favorites. This app does such a great job of implementing the game. I am so impressed! Thank you plaid hat game! If you are reading this you have already wasted too much time and should have downloaded already! ### 5/5 — Simply the best *2024-10-11, version 2.5.0* Better than all the rest Better than any game Any game I've ever met --- *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.*