Hero Realms vs Ephod™
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.
Ephod™
Engage in real-time strategy card battles. Collect gems, buy cards, and outmaneuver opponents to reach a target score. Compete globally, climb seasonal ranks, and customize your game experience.
- Real-time matches
- Seasonal ranks and leaderboards
- Multiple game modes
- Connect with friends
- Character and theme customization
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Ephod™ is a real-time strategy card game where you collect gems, purchase cards, and outsmart opponents to score points. Manage your resources wisely and be the first to reach the target score. ◆ Key Features ◆ • Real-Time Matches – Compete with players worldwide in strategic battles • Season Ranks – Earn points, climb the ladder, and prove your skills each season • Leaderboards – Compare global and friend rankings • Multiple Modes – Ranked, Quick Match, Private, and Custom games • Friends & Likes – Connect with players you’ve met and show appreciation • Customization – Personalize your character and game themes Download now and prove your skills among players from all around the world!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Ephod™ at 4.6 against Hero Realms's 4.3. Ephod™ also leads on ratings volume (1K vs 219) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Hero Realms's advantage is review sentiment (60% vs 43%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Hero Realms sells 13 one-off in-app purchases and Ephod™ sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Ephod™ holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 219 and 1K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 60% of Hero Realms's written reviews are positive against 43% of Ephod™'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Hero Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, Ephod™ weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hero Realms | Ephod™ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (219 ratings) | 4.6 (1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.2% of reviews — better | 43.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 219 | 1K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 414 MB | 212 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | White Wizard Games | Jinhyeok Jeong |
Customer experience
Hero Realms
Ephod™
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
Ephod™
From 1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great implementation of Splendor
- 🚀 Smooth gameplay
- 💎 Faithful recreation of the board game
- 🎨 Excellent visual design
- 🤝 Enjoyable multiplayer experience
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent bugs and glitches
- 🔁 Excessive need to update the app
- 🕰️ Freezing and turn skipping issues
- 💰 Aggressive monetization with ads and coins
- 🔌 Connectivity problems and disconnections
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
Ephod™
Reported bugs
5 issues- Blank screens and loading issues
- Incorrect scoring and noble card distribution
- Account login and progress loss problems
- Unresponsive controls and buttons
- Crashes and force-quits during gameplay
Requested features
5 requests- Offline/single-player mode
- Ability to customize game settings (e.g., points target)
- Replay/review functionality
- Improved matchmaking and ranked system
- Support for more players in private games
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
Ephod™
- 3,000$1.99
- 6,600$3.99
- 11,500$6.99
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Remove Pre-Game Ads$6.99
- Stocking Pass$7.99









