Comparison

Hero Realms vs Root Board Game

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

Head to head
About

Hero Realms

Engage in strategic deckbuilding combat, recruiting champions and using gold to acquire new cards. Battle opponents online or cooperatively against AI, with a single-player campaign available. Level up your hero and unlock new classes and missions.

Highlights
  • Deckbuilding combat
  • Recruit champions
  • Online PVP
  • Cooperative online play
  • Single player campaign
  • Hero leveling system
Features
Read full description

Become a hero! Choose your class, perform mighty actions, and recruit powerful champions to your cause as you grow in power. Awarded Origins Fan Favorite Best Card Game. From the makers of the award-winning Star Realms® Deckbuilding Game, Hero Realms® combines the fun of deckbuilding games with the interactivity of trading card game-style combat. As you play, use Gold to add new actions and champions to your deck. When played, those actions and champions generate powerful effects, give you additional gold, and attack your opponent and their champions. If you reduce your opponent's health to zero, you win! [Non-Collectible Deck Building Game] Hero Realms does not require you to collect new cards. You start every game with a basic deck, and will acquire cards from the shared center row to build up your deck and defeat your opponent. Victory rewards skill, and not your collection of rare cards! [Level Up Your Heroes] Create a hero from one of several classes (free players start with the Fighter and Wizard available). Level them up with new skills, abilities and equipment, and take them to battle in thrilling Online PVP. Hero Realms uses fair match making, only allowing matches between equal levelled heroes. However, if you feel daring, you can choose to engage in combat against higher levelled opponents for additional XP and bragging rights. [Cooperative Online Play] Hero Realms also features online co-operative play. Battle against challenging AI bosses with another human player as a partner. Free players have access to the Pirate Lord mission, with other co-op missions available with the Base Set purchase. [Single Player Campaign] For offline play, take on the Welcome to Thandar campaign. Fight your way through scripted, story-based chapters against varied AI opponents. [Free Version] Free players will get to experience: - Addictive Deckbuilding Game with Player VS Player Combat. - Play VS the AI - Play with the Fighter and Wizard character classes - Level-up your characters up to Level 3 - Play the first 3 missions in the Welcome to Thandar campaign - Play the Pirate Lord co-op mission Purchasing the Base Set will unlock the full Hero Realms experience: - Unlocks hard AI difficulty level - Unlocks the Cleric, Ranger, and Thief character classes - Level-up your characters to Level 12 - Unlocks the entire Welcome to Thandar campaign. - Unlocks the Necromancers, Inquisition, and Orc Riot co-op missions. Please note that Hero Realms purchases are not compatible with Family Sharing.

About

Root Board Game

Experience a digital adaptation of a popular tabletop board game. Engage in strategic woodland warfare as 2 to 4 players vie for control of a vast wilderness, leading diverse factions to victory.

Highlights
  • Digital board game adaptation
  • Adventure and war gameplay
  • 2-4 player battles
  • Faction control mechanics
  • Wilderness exploration
Features
Read full description

Play the digital adaptation of the beloved tabletop board game. Root is a game of adventure and war where 2 to 4 players battle for control of a vast wilderness. The nefarious Marquise de Cat has seized the great woodland, intent on harvesting its riches. Under her rule, the many creatures of the forest have banded together. This Alliance will seek to strengthen its resources and subvert the rule of Cats. In this effort, the Alliance may enlist the help of the wandering Vagabonds who are able to move through the more dangerous woodland paths. Though some may sympathize with the Alliance’s hopes and dreams, these wanderers are old enough to remember the great birds of prey who once controlled the woods. Meanwhile, at the edge of the region, the proud, squabbling Eyrie have found a new commander who they hope will lead their faction to resume their ancient birthright. The stage is set for a contest that will decide the fate of the great woodland. It is up to the players to decide which group will ultimately take root.

Screenshots

Hero Realms4 screens
Root Board Game4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Hero Realms at Free against Root Board Game's $9.99. Root Board Game's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (5.9K vs 219). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Hero Realms is free to download; Root Board Game costs $9.99 up front. Hero Realms sells 13 one-off in-app purchases and Root Board Game sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Root Board Game holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Root Board Game has 5.9K ratings behind it against 219, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Hero Realms's written reviews are positive against 77% of Root Board Game's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hero Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, Root Board Game every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Hero Realms versus Root Board Game: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHero RealmsRoot Board Game
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.3 (219 ratings)4.9 (5.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.2% of reviews77.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2195.9K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#13 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size432 MB505 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperWhite Wizard GamesDire Wolf Digital

Customer experience

Hero Realms

All ratings219 ratings
Positive80.8%
Neutral5.0%
Negative14.2%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive60.2%
Neutral10.5%
Negative29.3%

Root Board Game

All ratings5,424 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.1%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews397 reviews
Positive77.1%
Neutral8.6%
Negative14.4%

User reviews

Hero Realms

From 219 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great game mechanics
  • 🚀 Smooth and polished app
  • 💡 Diverse game modes (PvP, co-op, campaign)
  • 👍 Faithful adaptation of the physical card game
  • 💡 Character progression and leveling system

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 🔒 Lack of local multiplayer (pass-and-play)
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases for additional content
  • 🌐 Lack of language support (e.g., no French, Spanish)
  • 🔍 Unclear tutorial and explanations of game mechanics

Root Board Game

From 5.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Faithful adaptation of the board game
  • 🎨 Charming visuals and animations
  • 🕹️ Smooth gameplay
  • 🧠 Helpful tutorials for learning the game
  • 🕹️ Great way to practice and learn the game

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🕹️ AI could be improved, makes questionable decisions
  • 🕹️ Lack of undo button frustrating
  • 🕹️ Replaying opponent moves can be tedious
  • 🕹️ Animations can be slow, need option to speed up

Bugs and requests

Hero Realms

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when trying to play online
  • Inability to access purchased content
  • Freezing and black screen issues
  • Incorrect character level progression
  • Matchmaking problems and long wait times

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more expansions and additional content
  • Implement a friends list and social features
  • Improve the campaign mode with more levels and challenges
  • Add an option to check the contents of your deck before playing
  • Implement a turn timer to prevent players from stalling

Root Board Game

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes and freezes during gameplay
  • Issues with async game notifications and state
  • Bugs with specific faction mechanics (e.g. Vagabond)

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add undo button
  • Implement option to skip/speed up opponent moves
  • Include expansion factions and maps
  • Add match history and player stats tracking
  • Improve async game notifications and stability
Show 1 more
  • Add more customization options for game setup

In-app purchases

13 purchases

Hero Realms

One-time13
  • 80 Gems$0.99
  • 200 gems$2.29
  • Four Journeys Campaign$3.99
Show 10 more
  • 500 Gems$4.99
  • Hero Realms: Call to Arms$4.99
  • Journeys Expansions$4.99
  • Journeys Promo Expansion$4.99
  • Dungeons Expansion$7.99
  • 1200 Gems$9.99
  • Hero Realms Base Set$9.99
  • 2500 Gems$19.99
  • 6500 Gems$49.99
  • 14000 Gems$99.99
6 purchases

Root Board Game

One-time6
  • The Clockwork Expansion$5.99
  • Exiles & Partisans & Vagabonds$7.99
  • The Riverfolk Expansion$9.99
Show 3 more
  • Root: The Underworld Expansion$9.99
  • Root: The Marauder Expansion$9.99
  • Hirelings & Landmarks$9.99

Questions

Is Hero Realms free?
Hero Realms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Root Board Game free?
Root Board Game costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hero Realms or Root Board Game?
Root Board Game is rated higher. Hero Realms averages 4.3 out of 5 from 219 ratings, while Root Board Game averages 4.9 from 5.9K ratings.
Do Hero Realms or Root Board Game have ads?
Neither Hero Realms nor Root Board Game shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hero Realms or Root Board Game?
Hero Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, and Root Board Game every 4 days. Most recently, Hero Realms was updated on October 21, 2026 and Root Board Game on October 22, 2026.

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