Comparison

SpellForce vs DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS

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

Head to head
About

SpellForce

Build and lead your fantasy empire in this turn-based strategy game. Explore new lands, battle enemies with unique units, and evolve your heroes and soldiers with RPG mechanics. Enjoy a full fantasy saga with no microtransactions or ads.

Highlights
  • Turn-based strategy and tactics
  • Fantasy empire building
  • Hero and unit progression
  • Simultaneous turn-based combat
  • 3 playable races
  • Over 30 different units
Features
Read full description

Time for a new turn on the critically acclaimed SpellForce-Series. The epic fantasy saga is finally available on mobile devices, offering a whole new angle to the franchise. Leaving the story of its PC ancestors untouched and comes indeed 100%-story free, the Premium Game will offer turn-based strategy and tactics instead of real-time. CRAFT YOUR FANTASY EMPIRE Creating an own Kingdom turn by turn is the main goal in the 13-Mission long adventure mode or the free game, where you are facing your AI-opponents on randomly generated maps. Choose between the Dark Elves, the Orcs or Humans as playable races and ally or fight six neutral factions. Send your troops to conquer cities, to claim mines or farms and to search for treasure. EXPLORE NEW LANDS Your race’s hero will lead your army on their search for glory, treasures and valuable resources to exploit. Because your ever-expanding empire needs them to prosper. When you find new cities, you can muster new unique unitsand command them in any battle that lies ahead. BATTLE YOUR ENEMIES While your heroes explore the realms, you will meet your opponents on the battlefield and will exterminate them in simultaneous turn-based combats. Played out on hexagons, you’ll send Archers, Catapults, Knights or Dark Elf Necromancers against beasts & enemies like Spiders, Shadow Nightmares or Barbarian Berserkers. While you plan your actions, so does your enemy. When you both execute your plans, you’ll see who the better strategist is. EVOLVE YOUR SOLDIERS SpellForce: Heroes & Magic is also an Role Playing Game. Your hero and your soldiers both gain experience and they both can find magical items like swords, armor or other equipment. When you level up, you can learn new skills and of course seasoned warriors are more valuable on the battlefields than fresh recruits. Features: ● No microtransactions, no lootboxes, no ads, not a single Free2play mechanic. Just a great game. ● Craft your own fantasy empire: Expand, Explore, Exploit and Exterminate. And no, we don’t think it’s a 4X game – do you? ● Lead your Heroes: Carry the battle to your opponents and defeat them. ● A world of magic: Heroes and units can cast Lightning Strikes or Fear Spells, can stun foes or heal companions. ● Simultaneously turn-based combat: Plan your armies’ actions while your enemy does and execute them at the same time. ● Items, Level ups, Skill-Trees: Individualize your army with fully fledged RPG mechanics. ● 3 Playable Races: Orcs, Humans, Dark Elves & their iconic heroes await your commands. ● 6 Neutral Races to ally with or fight against: Gargoyles, Shadows, Elves, Dwarves, Barbarians and Trolls are either loyal companions or fearsome enemies on the battlefield. ● Over 30 different units to muster and to lead into combat. Thank you for playing ‘Spellforce: Heroes & Magic’! Get in touch with HandyGames: http://www.handy-games.com Join us on Facebook: http://www.fb.com/handygames Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://goo.gl/2Kq6yY Check news on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/handy_games Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/handygames Imprint: http://www.handy-games.com/contact/ © www.handy-games.com GmbH

About

DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS

Embark on an epic adventure in a block-based world to defeat the Dragonlord. Gather resources, craft items, and build anything from simple structures to entire towns to restore the realm. Engage in action-packed combat against familiar monsters and share your creations with friends.

Highlights
  • Explore a vast block world
  • Gather and craft items
  • Build structures and towns
  • Battle monsters
  • Specialized mobile controls
  • Share creations with friends
Read full description

Explore a world made of blocks as you gather, craft, and build to defeat the evil Dragonlord! Build everywhere from anywhere in DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS, available now on mobile. Brought to you by SQUARE ENIX! ◆ TRAVEL AND EXPLORE THE VAST WORLD OF DRAGON QUEST! In this “Block-Building RPG”, YOU are the legendary builder that has the power to build! The realm of Alefgard has been plunged into darkness by the terrible and treacherous Dragonlord, the ruler of all monsters. Venture off on the epic adventure to restore Alefgard! ◆ FACE OFF AGAINST VICIOUS FOES! You will encounter Slimes, Golems, Dragons, and more. Familiar DRAGON QUEST monsters of all sizes threaten the survival of humankind! Craft weapons, build defenses, and fight the monsters to protect your base. Use your power to build and play smart when fighting against frightening enemies in action packed combat! ◆ GATHER, CRAFT AND BUILD FROM ANYWHERE! In this world made of blocks, everything you see can be materials used to create! Farm ingredients, craft various items and build your base to unite the people roaming the ruins. From buildings to entire towns, you have the freedom to make your village your very own. The power to build is in the palm of your hands! ◆ BUILD BETTER ON MOBILE WITH SPECIAL FEATURES ADDED! Place blocks by simply tapping the screen and destroy blocks and items more easily with specialized cursors. A convenient Undo Button function has also been added to allow you to restore your work! Convert your buildings in to Build Cards to share with friends and scan their buildings to have them show up in your island! ◆ NEW DLC AS IN-APP PURCHASES New DLC added in “Terra Incognita,” the land where you can freely build and play! DLC includes: • “Magic carpet”, “Boss figure pack”, “Celestial pack”, “Dot ring” • “All in one pack” (A set of the above 4) *Please be aware of duplicate purchases. "OS: iOS 13 or later iPhone 8 or later (minimum 3GB of RAM)" *Playing this game on a non-recommended device may result in unexpected errors, such as crashing due to insufficient memory. Please be aware that we may not be able to provide support for non-recommended devices.

Screenshots

SpellForce4 screens
DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SpellForce at $0.99 against DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS's $27.99. SpellForce also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 5) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 13.0). DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (66% vs 36%). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

SpellForce costs $0.99 and DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS $27.99 up front. DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. SpellForce asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS has 164 ratings behind it against 27, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of SpellForce's written reviews are positive against 66% of DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SpellForce ships an update every 9 days, DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
SpellForce versus DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpellForceDRAGON QUEST BUILDERS
Price$0.99 — better$27.99
Rating3.9 (27 ratings)4.5 (164 ratings) — better
Positive reviews36.1% of reviews65.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings27164 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size447 MB639 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperTHQ Nordic Mobile GmbHSQUARE ENIX

Customer experience

SpellForce

All ratings26 ratings
Positive65.4%
Neutral19.2%
Negative15.4%
Written reviews36 reviews
Positive36.1%
Neutral19.4%
Negative44.4%

DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS

All ratings164 ratings
Positive84.8%
Neutral6.7%
Negative8.5%
Written reviews105 reviews
Positive65.7%
Neutral16.2%
Negative18.1%

Bugs and requests

SpellForce

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Controller support partially implemented (left stick only)
  • Game freezes/crashes
  • Challenges not reflecting completion
  • Camera zooms unexpectedly in caves
  • NPCs behaving erratically (walking on walls, jumping)
Show 5 more
  • Quest progression bugs (e.g., Divine Draught quest)
  • Save file issues (no cloud sync, iPad/iPhone sync issues)
  • Frame rate issues/stuttering
  • Game not progressing after defeating certain bosses (Helcondor)
  • Developer support link broken

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add controller support
  • Add cloud save sync
  • Allow UI customization (button placement, size)
  • Add option for free-form joystick
  • Improve optimization for better battery life and performance
Show 5 more
  • Add more advanced graphics settings
  • Allow iPad app to run on macOS
  • Add map markers for quests
  • Request for Dragon Quest Builders 2 port
  • Request for Dragon Quest Builders 3

In-app purchases

None

SpellForce

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS

One-time5
  • New Content! Magic Carpet$2.99
  • New Content! Astronomy Set$2.99
  • Boss Monster Model Set$2.99
Show 2 more
  • New Content! Pixel Ring$2.99
  • All-in-One Pack$5.99

Questions

Is SpellForce free?
SpellForce costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS free?
DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS costs $27.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SpellForce or DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS?
DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS is rated higher. SpellForce averages 3.9 out of 5 from 27 ratings, while DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS averages 4.5 from 164 ratings.
Do SpellForce or DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS have ads?
Neither SpellForce nor DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SpellForce or DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS?
SpellForce ships an update every 9 days, and DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS fortnightly. Most recently, SpellForce was updated on November 1, 2026 and DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS on October 31, 2026.

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