Comparison

Armchair Commander vs Empire_mobile

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

Head to head
About

Armchair Commander

Engage in historical turn-based strategy simulations of World War 2 and the Cold War. Create and play an unlimited number of missions, command over 50 countries with diverse units, and experience dynamic political systems. Master strategic command to conquer your enemies.

Highlights
  • Unlimited player-created missions
  • Command 50+ countries
  • Turn-based wargame simulation
  • Customizable maps and scenarios
  • Simulated politics and alliances
  • Historical generals
Features
Read full description

Relive history! This is the only game out there with an unlimited number of missions you can play - there are thousands of them… many created by committed players! Play or create your own missions in World War 2 and all the way through the Cold War. Learn to master the skill of the commander and conquer every enemy! Wargame & Turn-based Simulation From the Battle of Stalingrad to the Normandy landings, it’s got the vast majority of WW2 covered. Play as Germany, the Soviet Union, Republic of China, United States, Great Britain, or really any of the 50+ countries with more coming soon. Attack enemy strongholds and defend your cities with 20+ land, naval, and air units. Even the same unit has special functionalities differing by country! Campaigns & Conquests There are currently about 30 or so missions and conquest maps. The missions can be played through the story line, and the conquests (you get to choose your country) feature 1939-1943 Europe and 1937-1941 Asia. All the campaign maps can be downloaded and modified at your own will, as seen in the following section... Sandbox & Custom Maps Like I said, you can create your own maps; you can even upload them for the world to see! The map editor is readily available for use inside the base game. Every aspect of a mission is customizable: a country’s alliance, resources, cities, airports, troops, veterency, troop attack distance, winning conditions, and even which troops have generals can be customized. Simulated Politics From custom events to war declarations, this recent addition allows dynamic games of multiple alliances and betrayals; custom events can also be made to reflect historical events with different types of consequences (changes to resources, alliances, unit experience). Aid can also be given to allies like Lend Lease in the real WW2. Historical Generals Hundreds of generals - with more coming by each update - from various countries around the world. Generals are not tied to specific units; they can be sacked from a unit on the spot and be replaced at any time. About Me I’m an indie student developer, so this app is very flexible in terms of update content. Please feel free to contact me if you want to make suggestions or collaborate to make the game better. Game Engine: Unity3d (c# + python)

About

Empire_mobile

Engage in a turn-based strategy war game on a computer-generated map. Capture cities to produce units for offense and defense, aiming to eliminate your opponent. Games can be lengthy and saved across sessions.

Highlights
  • Turn-based strategy gameplay
  • Computer-generated maps
  • City capture and production
  • Unit production (armies, fighters, ships)
  • Exploration and tactical combat
  • Save and resume games
Features
Read full description

Empire is a strategy and tactics war game, pitting you against the computer. The game is played on a computer generated map that contains land areas, sea areas, and cities. The object of the game is to eliminate the opponent by capturing cities and destroying the enemy forces. Cities once captured have production capability, and can produce units such as armies, fighters, destroyers, submarines, or carriers for offense or defense. Of course, the computer is trying to crush your forces and take over the world, as are you. Early in the game, exploration is most predominant, followed later by planned offensives and holding actions, till eventual victory or defeat. Warning, typical games can take as long as ten hours, and some people find the game addictive. The program keeps the game state in a disk file, and a single game usually takes multiple computer sessions. Since you can store the game on some cloud service (e.g. iCloud) you may also continue a game with the Mac version of Empire (https://apps.apple.com/de/app/empire/id1287139467?mt=12) and vice versa. Special credit goes to the author of the original game, Walter Bright.

Screenshots

Armchair Commander4 screens
Empire_mobile4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Empire_mobile at none against Armchair Commander's 6. Armchair Commander's advantage is ratings volume (1.1K vs 6) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Armchair Commander sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Empire_mobile asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Armchair Commander holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Armchair Commander has 1.1K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Armchair Commander's written reviews are positive against 67% of Empire_mobile's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Armchair Commander ships an update every 3 weeks, Empire_mobile every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Armchair Commander versus Empire_mobile: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArmchair CommanderEmpire_mobile
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (1.1K ratings) — better4.3 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews79.2% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings1.1K — better6
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.012.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size145 MB10 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperSegment GamesFrank-Peter Poschmann

Customer experience

Armchair Commander

All ratings1,132 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral4.9%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews250 reviews
Positive79.2%
Neutral9.6%
Negative11.2%

Empire_mobile

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Armchair Commander

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inability to save progress
  • Community maps not loading
  • Sandbox mode not functioning properly
  • Generals and units not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • More terrain and map options
  • Diplomacy and alliance features
  • Custom unit and general creation
  • Larger map sizes and global maps
  • Multiplayer and online features

Empire_mobile

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Armchair Commander

One-time6
  • 1000 Coins$1.99
  • 5000 Coins$4.99
  • Soviet Generals$4.99
Show 3 more
  • Allied Generals$4.99
  • German Generals$5.99
  • 15000 Coins$9.99
None

Empire_mobile

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Armchair Commander free?
Armchair Commander is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Empire_mobile free?
Empire_mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Armchair Commander or Empire_mobile?
Armchair Commander is rated higher. Armchair Commander averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while Empire_mobile averages 4.3 from 6 ratings.
Do Armchair Commander or Empire_mobile have ads?
Neither Armchair Commander nor Empire_mobile shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Armchair Commander or Empire_mobile?
Armchair Commander ships an update every 3 weeks, and Empire_mobile every 2 months. Most recently, Armchair Commander was updated on November 2, 2026 and Empire_mobile on November 3, 2026.

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