Comparison

Potion Explosion vs Charterstone

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

Head to head
About

Potion Explosion

This is a digital adaptation of an award-winning puzzle board game where players collect magical ingredients to brew powerful potions. Engage in tactical gameplay, trigger chain reactions, and compete against AI or players worldwide to score the most points.

Highlights
  • Official adaptation of award-winning board game
  • Solo mode against AI
  • Online multiplayer with worldwide leaderboard
  • Tactical gameplay with strategic depth
  • The Fifth Ingredient expansion available
  • Magical universe with enhanced digital elements
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

"Voted best 50 mobile games of 2017" ** The Fifth Ingredient expansion is now available! You'll meet the Professors, concoct unbelievable new Potions and unleash a new ingredient, the Ghost Ectoplasm, in this madcap expansion! The Fifth Ingredient also adds Reward and Scolding tokens. ** The official adaptation of Potion Explosion, the award-winning puzzle board game. Play this game solo or against players from all over the world with Solo, Online and Local Pass & Play modes! In Potion Explosion, you will explode ingredients, trigger chain reactions and gather it all in your caldron. You will then use your hard-earned unicorn tears, fairy dandruff and other magical ingredients to craft powerful mixtures with wacky effects! May the best wizard win! HOW TO PLAY At the beginning of the game, each player is given potions to complete with specific effects and ingredients. You will have to select ingredients in the dispenser; once your selected ingredient is removed, the ingredients above will slide down. If two ingredients of the same nature collide, they explode and you get them too! You can then use your ingredients to cook up your potions. You only have a limited tank space to store remaining ingredients from one turn to another, so choose carefully! Once a potion is completed, you score points, get to use its powerful effect and pick another potion to craft. The wizard with the most points wins! PREPARE FOR THE POTIONS EXAM IN SOLO Play against up to 3 adjustable AIs to sharpen your potion crafting skills! OR PROVE YOUR MASTERY IN MULTIPLAYER MODE! Play against wizards from all over the world online and get to the top of the worldwide leaderboard! To sum up, the game features include: • The magical universe of the board game, fleshed out and digitally enhanced • A tactical gameplay, allowing for different playstyles and strategies • A Solo mode against up to 3 adjustable AIs • An online Multiplayer Mode with a worldwide leaderboard • The Fifth Ingredient expansion: new rules and even more challenges with the arrival of Professors, new Potions and the new Ghost Ectoplasm ingredient. Available from the game shop! To find more information about Asmodee Digital, please go to http://www.asmodee-digital.com/potionexplosion Having an issue? Looking for support? Please contact us: https://asmodee.helpshift.com/a/potion-explosion/ You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asmodeedigital/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/asmodeedigital Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asmodeedigital/ You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/asmodeedigital Languages available: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Polish, Simplified Chinese, Japanese. *IMPORTANT* Potion Explosion requires an iPhone 5 (or newer), iPad 4th Generation (or newer), iPad Mini 2 (or newer), or iPod Touch 6th Generation (or newer)

About

Charterstone

This is a digital adaptation of a campaign strategy board game where players build the new Eternal City. It features a series of interconnected games, each with unique rules and objectives. Your decisions influence the campaign's progression and outcome, with no negative player interactions.

Highlights
  • Campaign strategy game
  • Build the Eternal City
  • Discover new buildings and mechanics
  • Manage workers and resources
  • Online and local multiplayer
  • AI opponents
  • Full 12-game campaign
Features
Read full description

The official digital adaptation of Jamey Stegmaier’s board game - Charterstone! It’s a campaign strategy game with high replayability, where players build the new Eternal City! Build and discover in Charterstone! Just take a look at the honors the board game received: 2018 Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming Nominee 2017 Meeples' Choice Nominee 2017 Golden Geek Most Innovative Board Game Nominee 2017 Golden Geek Board Game of the Year Nominee 2017 Golden Geek Best Strategy Board Game Nominee 2017 Golden Geek Best Board Game Artwork & Presentation Nominee 2017 Cardboard Republic Architect Laurel Nominee The campaign is divided into a series of separate games. Each game will have its own unique rule and bonus objective. Each game will build upon the previous one and add something new! Your decisions and play style will affect the progress and the end of the campaign. What’s more, there are no negative interactions between players. In other words, you score points on the back of your own strategy, not by undermining your opponents. It’s especially important when playing against your friends or family in online or hot-seats multiplayer! So what is the game about? Can you convince the forever king to declare your village the new Eternal City? • Pick one of the 6 unique characters to lead your charter • Discover new buildings, scoring possibilities and game mechanics • Strategize and manage your workers, buildings and resources • Watch the ruleset, and the village, expand from game to game • Build upon your progress from previous games • Uncover the story as you progress through the campaign What can you expect? • Official Charterstone rules, consulted with Jamey Stegmaier himself • Play with AI, friends or both - great experience for both solo and group play • Online cross-platform multiplayer • Hot-seats style local multiplayer • AI opponents - Easy, Medium or Hard • Full 12 games Campaign • Single Game mode - a flexible and adjustable mode for a quick match! • Save your map at any time and play it later with your friends • Pre-set and randomly generated maps • Awesomely animated board game map, buildings, cards, characters and more! • Full replayability - no two campaigns will be the same • Beautiful art by Mr. Cuddington and Gong Studios • Unique experience of a board game with the convenience of a digital platform • No negative interactions between players - no backstabbing! WARNING: Charterstone: Digital Edition needs at least 2GB of RAM to work properly. Some older devices like iPad Air, iPad Mini and Mini 2, iPad 4 or iPad 6 only have 1GB of RAM. Get it now!

Screenshots

Potion Explosion4 screens
Charterstone4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Charterstone at none against Potion Explosion's 1. Potion Explosion's advantage is rating (4.1 vs 3.6) and price ($3.99 vs $9.99). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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

Potion Explosion costs $3.99 and Charterstone $9.99 up front. Potion Explosion sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Charterstone asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Potion Explosion holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Potion Explosion has 282 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of Potion Explosion's written reviews are positive against 35% of Charterstone's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Potion Explosion ships an update every 11 days, Charterstone every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Potion Explosion versus Charterstone: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPotion ExplosionCharterstone
Price$3.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.1 (282 ratings) — better3.6 (14 ratings)
Positive reviews40.2% of reviews — better35.4% of reviews
Number of ratings282 — better14
Update frequencyEvery 11 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#115 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size192 MB329 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperHorrible GuildAcram Digital

Customer experience

Potion Explosion

All ratings273 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral8.8%
Negative19.8%
Written reviews239 reviews
Positive40.2%
Neutral18.8%
Negative41.0%

Charterstone

All ratings14 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%
Written reviews130 reviews
Positive35.4%
Neutral15.4%
Negative49.2%

User reviews

Potion Explosion

From 282 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics and animations
  • 🧠 Engaging and strategic gameplay
  • 🕹️ Smooth offline experience
  • 💰 Good value for the price

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔌 Drains battery quickly
  • 🕰️ Online games prone to freezing and synchronization issues
  • 🤖 AI opponents too difficult or too easy

Charterstone

From 14 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics and animations
  • 🎮 Faithful digital adaptation of board game
  • 🎵 Great music and sound design
  • 🤖 Competent AI opponents
  • 📱 Smooth UI and intuitive interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 📖 Poor tutorial for new players
  • 🔤 Text too small on mobile devices
  • ⚠️ Game-breaking bugs in campaign mode
  • 🔌 Compatibility issues with older devices

Bugs and requests

Potion Explosion

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to complete online games
  • Incorrect scoring and game state displayed
  • Potions and ingredients not functioning as expected

Requested features

4 requests
  • Notification system for online games
  • Ability to undo moves
  • Random selection of professors
  • More challenging AI opponents

Charterstone

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • Game crashes when entering online lobby
  • Loading screen stuck at 0% or 1%
  • Freezes on opponent's turn during campaign
  • Game 6 and Game 9 specific crash issues
  • Incorrect turn assignment in multiplayer
Show 10 more
  • Potion Master card awards incorrect VP
  • Minion selection shows all players' minions instead of own
  • Influence calculation picks wrong winner
  • Robot placement objective scoring broken
  • Charterstone roll mechanic not working correctly
  • Game stuck in loop selecting companion
  • Campaign advancement pile selection error
  • Meeple drag action causes freeze
  • App crashes after naming village
  • Online sync issues between platforms

Requested features

8 requests
  • Font size adjustment slider
  • Pinch zoom functionality
  • Ability to create custom maps for single games
  • Skip forced confirmation actions
  • Better building information visibility
Show 3 more
  • Notification settings in-game
  • Backup save functionality
  • Ability to see available buildings at a glance

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Potion Explosion

One-time1
  • The Fifth Ingredient$1.99
None

Charterstone

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Potion Explosion free?
Potion Explosion costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Charterstone free?
Charterstone costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Potion Explosion or Charterstone?
Potion Explosion is rated higher. Potion Explosion averages 4.1 out of 5 from 282 ratings, while Charterstone averages 3.6 from 14 ratings.
Do Potion Explosion or Charterstone have ads?
Neither Potion Explosion nor Charterstone shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Potion Explosion or Charterstone?
Potion Explosion ships an update every 11 days, and Charterstone every 3 weeks. Most recently, Potion Explosion was updated on October 24, 2026 and Charterstone on October 24, 2026.

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