Comparison

Gen Con vs Board Game Guru

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

Head to head
About

Gen Con

Navigate and enhance your convention experience with this official guide. Discover events, manage your schedule, connect with friends, and utilize an interactive map to explore the venue. Event hosts can also use it for electronic badge scanning.

Highlights
  • Event browsing and searching
  • Ticket purchasing
  • Personal event schedule
  • Friend messaging
  • Interactive convention map
  • Electronic badge scanning
Features
Read full description

Make the most of your Gen Con experience with the Official Gen Con Mobile App: your handy electronic guide to The Best Four Days in Gaming. Browse and search for events, purchase tickets, view your event schedule, message with your friends, find your way with the interactive convention map, learn about what's happening at the convention, and more! Event hosts will also use this tool to scan badges for events using electronic ticketing. We're releasing new versions with added features and fixes often, so please keep your app up to date! Report issues or give us feedback through our Technical Support forum at gencon.com/forums

About

Board Game Guru

This app helps board game enthusiasts deepen their understanding of their collection. It provides strategies, tactics, and community-driven content to enhance gameplay and discover new possibilities within existing games.

Highlights
  • In-depth game strategies and tactics
  • BoardGameGeek collection import
  • Community-driven game requests
  • Player-focused interface with rankings
  • Randomized 'who goes first' options
  • Game comparison and sharing tools
Features
Read full description

Board Game Guru is built for people who want to get more out of the games they already own. Instead of letting great games sit on the shelf, Guru helps you go deeper — bringing together strategies, insights, and tools to improve your play and rediscover your collection. Key features: • Structured insights: clear, organized strategies that go beyond the rulebook • Play strategically: understand what matters in each game and make better decisions • BoardGameGeek integration: import your collection and find your games instantly • Advanced search: find games by name, designer, publisher, duration, weight, and more • Community-driven: request strategies, suggest changes, and help shape what gets covered next • Designed for players: clean interface with search, favorites, and curated lists • Stay updated: get notified when new insights are available for your games • First player tools: quick, fun ways to decide who goes first • Versus: compare, rank, and share your favorite games Why use Board Game Guru? Because great games have more to offer. Guru turns your collection into an endless source of new experiences! Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Gen Con4 screens
Board Game Guru4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Board Game Guru at 71% against Gen Con's 30%. Board Game Guru also leads on rating (3.2 vs 3.0). Gen Con's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (41 vs 5). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Board Game Guru sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Gen Con asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Board Game Guru holds the better App Store score, 3.2 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Gen Con has 41 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 30% of Gen Con's written reviews are positive against 71% of Board Game Guru's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Gen Con ships an update fortnightly, Board Game Guru every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Gen Con versus Board Game Guru: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGen ConBoard Game Guru
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (41 ratings)3.2 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews30.0% of reviews71.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings41 — better5
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.5 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB57 MB
Age rating4++12
DeveloperGen Con, LLC.Bruno Oliveira

Customer experience

Gen Con

All ratings41 ratings
Positive39.0%
Neutral14.6%
Negative46.3%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive30.0%
Neutral15.0%
Negative55.0%

Board Game Guru

All ratings5 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%

In-app purchases

None

Gen Con

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Board Game Guru

Subscriptions2
  • BGGuru Premium Monthly$1.991 Month
  • BGGuru Premium Annual$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • BGGuru Premium Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is Gen Con free?
Gen Con is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Board Game Guru free?
Board Game Guru is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Gen Con or Board Game Guru?
Board Game Guru is rated higher. Gen Con averages 3.0 out of 5 from 41 ratings, while Board Game Guru averages 3.2 from 5 ratings.
Do Gen Con or Board Game Guru have ads?
Neither Gen Con nor Board Game Guru shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Gen Con or Board Game Guru?
Gen Con ships an update fortnightly, and Board Game Guru every 10 days. Most recently, Gen Con was updated on November 2, 2026 and Board Game Guru on October 30, 2026.

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