Hero Realms vs Root Board Game
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Deckbuilding combat
- Recruit champions
- Online PVP
- Cooperative online play
- Single player campaign
- Hero leveling system
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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.
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.
- Digital board game adaptation
- Adventure and war gameplay
- 2-4 player battles
- Faction control mechanics
- Wilderness exploration
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Hero Realms | Root Board Game |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 (219 ratings) | 4.9 (5.9K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.2% of reviews | 77.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 219 | 5.9K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #14 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 432 MB | 505 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | White Wizard Games | Dire Wolf Digital |
Customer experience
Hero Realms
Root Board Game
User reviews
Hero Realms
From 219 App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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
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- Add more customization options for game setup
In-app purchases
Hero Realms
- 80 Gems$0.99
- 200 gems$2.29
- Four Journeys Campaign$3.99
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- 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
Root Board Game
- The Clockwork Expansion$5.99
- Exiles & Partisans & Vagabonds$7.99
- The Riverfolk Expansion$9.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Root: The Underworld Expansion$9.99
- Root: The Marauder Expansion$9.99
- Hirelings & Landmarks$9.99
Questions
Is Hero Realms free?
Is Root Board Game free?
Which has better reviews, Hero Realms or Root Board Game?
Do Hero Realms or Root Board Game have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hero Realms or Root Board Game?
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