Hero Realms vs Payback Arcade
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
Read full descriptionHide 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.
Payback Arcade
Experience a competitive card game of insults and comebacks digitally. Practice solo to master the game, then challenge others online and climb the leaderboards to prove your punchline prowess. Enjoy fast-paced card battles optimized for mobile devices.
- Digital card game adaptation
- Solo practice mode
- Online multiplayer matches
- Leaderboards
- Optimized for phone and iPad
- Save profile and progress with Apple ID
Read full descriptionHide full description
Payback is the fast, chaotic card game where anyone can make a comeback. Be the first to get rid of all your cards. Payback Arcade is the official app of the Payback party card game, with over 15,000 decks delivered in 50+ countries. Learn it in two minutes, then play solo against CPU opponents or online against real players. HOW TO PLAY • Play a card equal to or higher than the pile. Play pairs and triples to empty your hand faster. • Can't play? Pick up the pile, or take a chance and flip the top card of the deck. • Four of the same card in a row burns the pile, and you go again. • Clear your hand, then your face-up cards, then your face-down cards. The last three are pure blind luck. SPECIAL CARDS • Burn: destroy the pile and play again. • Ghost: pass your turn without changing the pile. • Skip: skip the next player. • Reset: drop the pile back to zero. • Mirror: send the pile back to whoever acted last. PLAY SOLO • Classic: you against three CPU players. • Duel: go one-on-one with Uncle Ronnie. • Nightmare: face tougher CPU players for bigger points. • Helpful tips in your first games teach you the rules as you play. PLAY ONLINE • Quick Play: jump straight into a match, no account needed. • Classic: the full Payback experience against real players. • Duel: prove your skill head to head. • Explosive: three matching cards in a row burn the pile. • Bullet: lightning-fast turns for quick games. • Rooms: create a room for any mode, invite friends with a code or link, and rematch instantly. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS • Earn a grade from D to S+ after every game. • Rank up from Bronze to Silver, Gold, Platinum, Master, and Champion. • Compare games played and win rates with the top players. Browse every card in the deck, including previews of the Dark Wizard and Mystery expansions. Want to play in person? Get the physical Payback card game from the official shop. Free to play. Sign in with Apple, create an account, or play as a guest.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Payback Arcade at 5.0 against Hero Realms's 4.3. Payback Arcade also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 60%) and in-app purchases (none vs 13). Hero Realms's advantage is ratings volume (219 vs 3). 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
Both are free to download. Hero Realms sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Payback Arcade asks for nothing beyond the download.
Payback Arcade holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hero Realms has 219 ratings behind it against 3, 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 100% of Payback Arcade's.
Hero Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, Payback Arcade every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hero Realms | Payback Arcade |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (219 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 219 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 432 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | White Wizard Games | Great Guy Games, LLC |
Customer experience
Hero Realms
Payback Arcade
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
Payback Arcade
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Hero Realms
- 80 Gems$0.99
- 200 gems$2.29
- Four Journeys Campaign$3.99
Show 10 moreShow fewer
- 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
Payback Arcade
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Hero Realms free?
Is Payback Arcade free?
Which has better reviews, Hero Realms or Payback Arcade?
Do Hero Realms or Payback Arcade have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hero Realms or Payback Arcade?
Other comparisons















