HardBack vs Similo
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!
Similo
A cooperative card game where players work together to guess a secret card by giving and interpreting clues. It offers both local and online multiplayer modes for a social deduction experience.
- Cooperative social deduction gameplay
- Online and local multiplayer modes
- Illustrated by Naïade
- Multiple themed card decks available
- Combine card decks for expanded play
- Intuitive clue-giving and guessing mechanics
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The official adaptation of Similo, the critically acclaimed cooperative guessing game illustrated by world famous artist Naïade. Play together with players from all over the world Online or locally with your friends in Local Pass & Play mode! Similo: Animals is included! Play with 30 cards including Horse, Rabbit, Cat, Wolf, Deer, and many others: all your favorite pets from the farm, the forest, and more. Similo: Fables and Similo: History are also available as in-app purchases, with more decks coming soon, and remember: you can also combine your decks for maximum fun! In Similo, you have 5 rounds to help the other players find the Secret Card among the twelve shown. Play more characters as Clues, to suggest similarities or differences with the Secret Card. After each Clue, the other players must discard 1 or more characters from the roster. If they discard the Secret Card, you all lose! But, if the Secret Card is the only one left, you all win! HOW TO PLAY One player acts as the Clue Giver, the other players will be the Guessers. During their turn, the Clue Giver must play 1 Character from their hand as a clue, suggesting if they have something in common or something different from the secret character. Then, the Guesser(s) must discard an increasing number of characters (1 on the first round, 2 on the second, and so on). If they remove the Secret Card, the game ends immediately and you all lose. If the Secret Card is the only one left at the end of the fifth round, you all win! PASS & PLAY AND ONLINE MULTIPLAYER MODES Play with your friends with the local pass and play mode, or join games with players from all over the world with online multiplayer! • The wonderful art of the card game by Naïade, fleshed out and digitally enhanced • Social deduction gameplay, try to decrypt the minds of your friends and create the perfect clues • Local Pass & Play Mode for 2 to infinite players, the perfect party game • Online Multiplayer Mode! Join 1 on 1 matches with people from all over the world To find more information about Horrible Guild, please go to https://www.horribleguild.com Having an issue? Looking for support? Please contact us: https://www.horribleguild.com/customercare/ You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitch! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/horribleguild/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/horribleguild Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/horribleguild/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/horribleguild Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/horribleguild Languages available: English, Italian, German, Spanish, French. *IMPORTANT* Similo: The Card Game requires iPhone 5s, iPad Mini 2, iPad Air, iPad Pro, iPad (2018) or later.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Similo at 4.5 against HardBack's 3.8. Similo also leads on price ($1.99 vs $4.99). HardBack's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and chart position 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 Similo $1.99 up front. Similo sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. HardBack asks for nothing beyond the download.
Similo holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 39 and 26 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 54% of HardBack's written reviews are positive against 47% of Similo's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
HardBack ships an update every 2 weeks, Similo every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HardBack | Similo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 3.8 (39 ratings) | 4.5 (26 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 53.7% of reviews — better | 47.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 39 — better | 26 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #54 — better | #135 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 281 MB | 255 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Fowers Games Inc. | Horrible Guild |
Customer experience
HardBack
Similo
In-app purchases
HardBack
No in-app purchases
Similo
- Similo: History$1.99
- Similo: Fables$1.99
- Similo: Spookies$1.99
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- Similo: Myths$1.99
- Similo: Wild Animals$1.99
- Similo Epic Bundle$3.99







