# Card Thief vs Dicey Elementalist

The clearest difference is update cadence: Dicey Elementalist at monthly against Card Thief's every 4 months. Dicey Elementalist also leads on ratings volume (5.1K vs 981). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Card Thief sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Dicey Elementalist sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Card Thief against 4.7 for Dicey Elementalist. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dicey Elementalist has 5.1K ratings behind it against 981, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 70% and 70% positive.

Card Thief ships an update every 4 months, Dicey Elementalist monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Card Thief | Dicey Elementalist |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (981 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/card-thief/id1186226470/reviews) | [4.7 (5.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dicey-elementalist/id1494424699/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 981 | **5.1K** |
| Positive reviews | 69.9% of reviews | **70.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 161 MB | 205 MB |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Arnold Rauers](https://appshunter.io/developer/538013421) | [兆万 林](https://appshunter.io/developer/1509363614) |

## What reviewers say

### Card Thief

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/card-thief/id1186226470)

A solitaire-style stealth game where you play as a master thief. Sneak through darkness, steal treasure, and escape without getting caught. It offers deep strategy and roguelike replayability in short, engaging sessions.

**Highlights:** Solitaire-style stealth gameplay, 4 unique heists, Unlockable equipment cards, Hireable thieves with special rules, Mini deck-building mechanics, Daily Heist mode with leaderboards, Roguelike replayability, Offline play

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock Card Thief | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great game
- 👍 Fun and unique stealth mechanics
- 👍 Very fun for offline gaming
- 👍 New favorite card game
- 👍 Creative and addictive game

**What reviewers complain about**

- ❓ What is the goal?
- 🐛 Issueee
- 🐛 Buggy
- 🐛 Crashes on load
- 🐛 Cannot select path

**Reported bugs**

- Crystals which you can get when playing are useless
- Notch covers game information on iPhone X+
- Ads error prevents chest opening
- Hideout heists have unrealistically high scores
- Can't open hideout, game crashes

**Requested features**

- More enemies or traps to deal with
- More equipment to try out
- 4x4 layout rather than 3x3
- Endless mode
- Multiplayer compatibility


### Dicey Elementalist

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dicey-elementalist/id1494424699)

Engage in a strategic RPG combining dice rolling with deck building. Roll dice up to three times to score, then use those results to activate elemental cards. Build your deck wisely to overcome challenges and become the Dice Master.

**Highlights:** Dice rolling with Yahtzee-like scoring, Deck building mechanics, Rogue-lite random variables, Unique hero characters, Elemental card activation, Strategic deck construction

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (13)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Daily Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| The Chanter | $0.99 | one-time |
| Hoard of Diamond | $0.99 | one-time |
| The Prophet | $1.99 | one-time |
| The Telepathic | $1.99 | one-time |
| The Greedy | $1.99 | one-time |
| Super Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| Barrel of Diamond | $4.99 | one-time |
| Character Gift Box | $5.99 | one-time |
| Big Wagon of Diamond | $9.99 | one-time |
| Lost Crown | $9.99 | one-time |
| SVIP | $19.99 | one-time |
| Luxurious Character Gift Box | $34.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Super fast, responsive gameplay
- 🎨 Beautiful, unique art style
- 👍 Highly replayable and addictive
- 🕹️ Fun gameplay loop
- 💰 Reasonable in-app purchases

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bugs and glitches (e.g. freezing, crashes)
- 📢 Increasing number of ads
- 🔒 Lack of option to permanently remove ads
- 🤯 Overpowered enemies and unbalanced gameplay

**Reported bugs**

- Tavern and daily challenge bugs
- Enemies with broken abilities (e.g. Blizzard, Joker)
- Crashes and freezes during gameplay

**Requested features**

- More content and updates
- Ability to pay to remove ads permanently
- Improved balance and difficulty scaling
- Better explanation of game mechanics and status effects


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Card Thief free?

Card Thief is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Dicey Elementalist free?

Dicey Elementalist is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Card Thief or Dicey Elementalist?

Card Thief and Dicey Elementalist are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 981 and 5.1K ratings respectively.

### Do Card Thief or Dicey Elementalist have ads?

Both Card Thief and Dicey Elementalist show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Card Thief or Dicey Elementalist?

Card Thief ships an update every 4 months, and Dicey Elementalist monthly. Most recently, Card Thief was updated on September 26, 2026 and Dicey Elementalist on September 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*