Comparison

Kriegspiel vs Vactics

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

Head to head
About

Kriegspiel

Engage in a strategic board game inspired by Napoleonic warfare. The objective is to capture enemy arsenals by deploying lines of communication and blocking enemy movements on a large game board. Offers online and local multiplayer, as well as AI practice.

Highlights
  • 20x25 game board
  • Capture enemy arsenals to win
  • Deploy lines of communication
  • Block enemy lines
  • Online multiplayer
  • Local multiplayer
  • AI practice mode
  • Level editor
Read full description

Inspired by the military theory of Carl von Clausewitz and the European war campaigns of Napoleon, Kriegspiel is a chess-variant played by two opposing players on a 20 x 25 game board. Capture the enemy's Arsenals to win. Deploy your Lines of Communication to keep friendly units in contact. Block enemy lines for strategic advantage. "The surprises of this Kriegspiel seem to be inexhaustible," wrote French Situationist Guy Debord. In Debord's view the game represents the totality of factors at play in wartime maneuvers, what he called "the dialectic of all conflicts." -- Play 2P online against another player -- Play 2P in person on the same device -- Practice against the computer -- Level editor for customizing formations -- Language support for French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, and English Kriegspiel is produced and maintained by Alexander R. Galloway. The game is noncommercial. There are no in-app purchases. No advertisements. No Patreon. No GoFundMe. No monetization of player data. There is literally no possible way to take your money.

About

Vactics

Engage in tactical, chess-like combat by building powerful mechs to battle robotic enemies. Face randomly generated challenges and fight for a better future in this strategic warfare game.

Highlights
  • Mech building
  • Tactical chess-like combat
  • Randomly generated challenges
  • Mech and tech upgrades
  • Extended campaign
  • Leaderboard competition
Features
Read full description

Build the mech to fight against robotic Vactics in tactical chess-like combat. The war is already over and the heroes of the city have fallen. Take on a new randomly generated challenge every time you play and join with the citizens to fight for a better future. Vactics is designed to let you play as much as you like and upgrade to the full version at any time. Unlocking the pro version of the game provides: • Access to all 18 mech types and dozens of additional tech modifiers. • Access to the full 24 colour palettes to choose from with custom app icons each. • An extended campaign with additional enemy types and areas to fight through. • An additional phase to the campaign with the true ending and all the co-pilots. • The daily district challenge where you can compete with others on the leaderboards. • Much more to discover.... -- Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Kriegspiel4 screens
Vactics4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Kriegspiel at 4.6 against Vactics's 4.0. Kriegspiel also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2). Vactics's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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. Vactics sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 3 months. Kriegspiel asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Kriegspiel holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 66 and 56 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Kriegspiel's written reviews are positive against 71% of Vactics's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kriegspiel ships an update every 6 months, Vactics every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Kriegspiel versus Vactics: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKriegspielVactics
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (66 ratings) — better4.0 (56 ratings)
Positive reviews74.2% of reviews — better70.9% of reviews
Number of ratings66 — better56
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB309 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperAlexander GallowayGerard Delaney

Customer experience

Kriegspiel

All ratings60 ratings
Positive88.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.7%
Written reviews31 reviews
Positive74.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.8%

Vactics

All ratings56 ratings
Positive73.2%
Neutral8.9%
Negative17.9%
Written reviews55 reviews
Positive70.9%
Neutral12.7%
Negative16.4%

Bugs and requests

Kriegspiel

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Vactics

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Combo attack bonus cancelled by heavy landing
  • "Restore purchases" not working after update
  • Cannot equip more than one ability
  • Inconsistent combat: adjacent Vactic not hitting
  • Cannot mount one tech in Chassis and one in Engine
Show 1 more
  • Line-of-sight for ranged enemies unclear

Requested features

20 requests
  • Add more upgrades
  • Add more game modes
  • Add online co-op
  • Add infinite wave competition
  • Add diverging paths on map like FTL
Show 15 more
  • Add small story elements at decisions
  • Add new enemies and technologies
  • Add a big boss
  • Add Russian language support
  • Improve tutorial clarity
  • Faster restart function
  • Option to confirm selection before moving
  • More customization options for mechs
  • Unlock more mechs for free
  • Add wallpapers in the art style
  • Support for lowercase game text
  • Option to change palettes easily
  • Save progress on runs
  • Adjustable difficulty settings
  • Add more content

In-app purchases

None

Kriegspiel

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Vactics

Subscriptions1
  • Subscribe to Vactics Pro$2.993 Months
One-time1
  • Vactics Pro$8.99

Questions

Is Kriegspiel free?
Kriegspiel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Vactics free?
Vactics is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Kriegspiel or Vactics?
Kriegspiel is rated higher. Kriegspiel averages 4.6 out of 5 from 66 ratings, while Vactics averages 4.0 from 56 ratings.
Do Kriegspiel or Vactics have ads?
Neither Kriegspiel nor Vactics shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Kriegspiel or Vactics?
Kriegspiel ships an update every 6 months, and Vactics every 3 weeks. Most recently, Kriegspiel was updated on October 26, 2026 and Vactics on October 24, 2026.

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