HardBack vs Morels
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HardBack
Build a deck of letters to craft words and earn prestige in this unique word game. Specialize in genres, push your luck for extra cards, and race to become a celebrated 19th-century novelist. Challenge AI opponents or play with friends.
- Deck-building with letter cards
- Genre specialization for bonuses
- Push-your-luck card drawing
- Hotseat and online multiplayer
- AI opponents
- Hardcore mode with no word repeats
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Hardback is a deck-building word game, a prequel to Paperback. As an aspiring 19th-century novelist, you work to pen your next masterpiece, earning prestige along the way. Specialize your deck in certain genres to exploit card combinations, and press your luck to draw extra cards — but make sure you can still string a word together! Players build a deck of letters with various powers and race to 60 fame points to win. Features: 1-5 player hotseat and online async 3 levels of computer opponents to challenge you. Gameplay No wilds in your deck - any card can be wild. Push your luck for more cards with the Ink system. Match genre colors to gain bonus abilities on your cards. Fight over the coveted award cards. Timeless Classic cards stay in play, until someone uses them. New hardcore mode - can't repeat a word!
Morels
This is a digital adaptation of a beloved card game where players forage for delicious mushrooms in a dappled forest. Compete against others or AI, cook your finds, and strategically collect varieties to win. Includes an expansion with new cards and gameplay elements.
- Digital adaptation of a strategy card game
- Online asynchronous 2-player games
- Local pass & play mode
- Solo play against AI
- Game modifiers for varied gameplay
- Interactive tutorial
- In-app rulebook
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*** Foray is now available! Foray expands Morels with 13 new types of cards including new items, characters, weather, and a more dynamic forest. Last fall, crackling fires wreathed the mountains. This spring, light-wielding thunderstorms roiled the valleys. Now, with summer come early and a glowing moon overhead, the soil is moist and black and delicious mushrooms are peeking up all over the forest. The Foray is on! *** The official digital adaptation of the beloved card game Morels. The woods are old-growth, dappled with sunlight. Delicious mushrooms beckon from every grove and hollow with many tasty varieties awaiting the savvy collector. Forage, sautée with butter over the fire, and cook your way to victory! Highlights: -Elegant digital conversion of the card game by Brent Povis -Online asynchronous 2 player games -Local pass & play -Solo play against 3 AI difficulty levels -Game modifiers: try a new way to play! -Interactive tutorial -In-app rulebook -Translated into: English, German, French, Italian and Spanish -No ads or microtransactions. Awards & Honors: 2014 International Gamers Award - General Strategy: Two-players Nominee 2014 Games Magazine Best New Card Game Winner 2014 Fairplay À la carte Winner 2012 Golden Geek Best Card Game Nominee 2012 Golden Geek Best 2-Player Board Game Nominee
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Morels at 4.9 against HardBack's 3.8. Morels also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 54%) and ratings volume (485 vs 39). HardBack's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 12.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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
HardBack costs $4.99 and Morels $4.99 up front. Morels sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. HardBack asks for nothing beyond the download.
Morels holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Morels has 485 ratings behind it against 39, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of HardBack's written reviews are positive against 90% of Morels's.
HardBack ships an update every 2 weeks, Morels fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HardBack | Morels |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $4.99 |
| Rating | 3.8 (39 ratings) | 4.9 (485 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 53.7% of reviews | 89.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 39 | 485 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 281 MB | 128 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Fowers Games Inc. | MOSSBARK GAMES LLC |
Customer experience
HardBack
Morels
Bugs and requests
HardBack
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Morels
Reported bugs
4 issues- Foray cards not functioning properly
- Destroying Angel card causing game to get stuck
- Shiitake log not always creating bonus
- Butter and cider extras not working together
Requested features
4 requests- Online synchronous 2-player mode
- In-game messaging for online play
- Faster end-game scoring
- More player accounts and leaderboards
In-app purchases
HardBack
No in-app purchases
Morels
- Foray$2.99
