Comparison

Hero Realms vs Ephod™

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

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.

Highlights
  • Real-time matches
  • Seasonal ranks and leaderboards
  • Multiple game modes
  • Connect with friends
  • Character and theme customization
Features
Read full description

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

Hero Realms4 screens
Ephod™4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hero Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, Ephod™ weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Hero Realms versus Ephod™: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHero RealmsEphod™
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (219 ratings)4.6 (1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.2% of reviews — better43.3% of reviews
Number of ratings2191K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size414 MB212 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperWhite Wizard GamesJinhyeok Jeong

Customer experience

Hero Realms

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

Ephod™

All ratings1,010 ratings
Positive88.7%
Neutral3.9%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews178 reviews
Positive43.3%
Neutral14.6%
Negative42.1%

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

Ephod™

From 1K App Store ratings

What 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

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
5 purchases

Ephod™

One-time5
  • 3,000$1.99
  • 6,600$3.99
  • 11,500$6.99
Show 2 more
  • Remove Pre-Game Ads$6.99
  • Stocking Pass$7.99

Questions

Is Hero Realms free?
Hero Realms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ephod™ free?
Ephod™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Hero Realms or Ephod™?
Ephod™ is rated higher. Hero Realms averages 4.3 out of 5 from 219 ratings, while Ephod™ averages 4.6 from 1K ratings.
Do Hero Realms or Ephod™ have ads?
Neither Hero Realms nor Ephod™ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hero Realms or Ephod™?
Hero Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, and Ephod™ weekly. Most recently, Hero Realms was updated on September 21, 2026 and Ephod™ on September 24, 2026.

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