Comparison

ROME vs THE MACHINE

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

ROME

Lead antiquity's greatest empire in this classic strategy game. Build your civilization, command massive armies in real-time battles, and manage your economy and affairs on a turn-based campaign map. Experience epic historical warfare on your mobile device.

Highlights
  • Turn-based campaign map
  • Massive real-time 3D battles
  • Empire management (economic, civil, religious)
  • 19 playable factions
  • Intuitive touch controls
  • Mouse and keyboard support
Read full description

READ BEFORE BUYING: Please expand this description and read the full list of supported devices below to confirm that your device is supported. History’s greatest empire, now in your hands. Experience the full glory of ROME: Total War on iOS! Build and rule antiquity’s greatest empire by fighting spectacular real-time battles in huge turn-based campaigns. BUILT FOR iOS Pick up and play the classic strategy game with new features and an interface designed for mobile play. 19 PLAYABLE FACTIONS Relive the glory of the Roman Empire, or rewrite history as one of the ancient world’s great powers. COMPLETE COMMAND Direct your troops using intuitive touch controls, or play with any iPadOS-compatible mouse and keyboard. ENORMOUS 3D BATTLES Lead your armies and outwit your opponents in massive real-time clashes that shape history. SOPHISTICATED EMPIRE MANAGEMENT Direct your economic, civil and religious affairs from the Campaign Map. === ROME: Total War requires iOS 16.1 or later. You need 4GB of free space on your device, though we recommend at least double this to avoid initial installation issues. Supported iPhones: • iPhone 8/8 Plus and later • iPhone SE 2nd Generation (2020) and later Supported iPads: • iPad mini 5th Generation (2019) and later • iPad Air 3rd Generation (2019) and later • iPad 5th Generation (2017) and later • Any iPad Pro © 2002–2025 The Creative Assembly Limited. Originally developed by The Creative Assembly Limited. Originally published by SEGA. Creative Assembly, the Creative Assembly logo, Total War, ROME: Total War and the Total War logo are either trademarks or registered trademarks of The Creative Assembly Limited. SEGA and the SEGA logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. Developed for and published on iOS by Feral Interactive Limited. iOS, iPad and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Feral and the Feral logo are trademarks of Feral Interactive Ltd. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

About

THE MACHINE

Engage with a mechanical puzzle box focused on experimentation and understanding cause and effect. Install and reorder parts to observe signal flow and solve objectives. Discover new hardware and deeper systems as the machine awakens.

Highlights
  • Mechanical puzzle box gameplay
  • Experimentation and cause/effect mechanics
  • 34 unique mechanism families
  • Stateful, order-sensitive puzzles
  • Tuning and Fusion systems
  • Offline play
  • Single optional purchase for full content
Features
Read full description

THE MACHINE is a mechanical puzzle box about experimentation, cause and effect, and learning a system by touching it. Install parts. Change their order. Send an input. Watch the signal travel through the machine. Every mechanism transforms, stores, redirects, amplifies, or relieves something. Solve each puzzle by making the whole machine satisfy its objectives. As THE MACHINE awakens, new hardware, tuning, fusion, routing, and deeper systems emerge. The rules stay consistent. The possibilities do not. • 34 mechanism families, each with its own behavior and physical identity • Stateful, order-sensitive puzzles where timing matters • Tuning and Fusion systems that turn familiar parts into new hardware • Five escalating Series, including the branching DUPLEX architecture • No ads, no subscriptions, no account required • Play offline on iPhone and iPad Series I and II are included. A single optional purchase unlocks Series III–V and everything beyond. Change something. Try again. Awaken THE MACHINE.

Screenshots

ROME4 screens
THE MACHINE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: THE MACHINE at Free against ROME's $9.99. THE MACHINE also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 2 months). ROME's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (19K vs 1). On rating, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

THE MACHINE is free to download; ROME costs $9.99 up front. THE MACHINE sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ROME asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

THE MACHINE holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ROME has 19K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ROME ships an update every 2 months, THE MACHINE daily. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
ROME versus THE MACHINE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterROMETHE MACHINE
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (19K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings19K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#77 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.116.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3.7 GB12 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperFeral Interactive LtdIAN FABIAN FAGERSTROM

Customer experience

ROME

All ratings18,830 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.5%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews509 reviews
Positive78.0%
Neutral5.5%
Negative16.5%

THE MACHINE

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

ROME

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when loading campaign or battles
  • Music and sound issues (multiple tracks playing at once)
  • Unit selection and movement bugs
  • Graphical glitches (oversized units, broken textures)

Requested features

5 requests
  • Multiplayer mode
  • More playable factions (e.g. Macedon, SPQR)
  • Ability to control naval battles
  • More historical battle scenarios
  • Improved unit formation controls

THE MACHINE

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

ROME

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

THE MACHINE

One-time1
  • THE MACHINE$4.99

Questions

Is ROME free?
ROME costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is THE MACHINE free?
THE MACHINE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ROME or THE MACHINE?
THE MACHINE is rated higher. ROME averages 4.8 out of 5 from 19K ratings, while THE MACHINE averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do ROME or THE MACHINE have ads?
Neither ROME nor THE MACHINE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ROME or THE MACHINE?
ROME ships an update every 2 months, and THE MACHINE daily. Most recently, ROME was updated on October 20, 2026 and THE MACHINE on September 29, 2026.

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