Comparison

Empire_mobile vs BC4000

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

Head to head
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.

About

BC4000

Guide a civilization from 4000 BC to the Space Age in this turn-based 4X strategy game. Explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate as you research technologies, conduct diplomacy, and build your empire.

Highlights
  • Advance through historical eras
  • Deep strategic resource management
  • Explore and found cities
  • Engage in diplomacy and trade
  • Play offline
  • Research technologies
Features
Read full description

Begin in 4000 BC with a settler and guide your people from stone tools to the Space Age. BC4000 is a turn-based 4X strategy game where you explore the world, found cities, research technologies, conduct diplomacy, and compete with rival civilizations for supremacy. - From Antiquity to AD 2100: Advance through eras, from pre-Bronze Age to Space Age. - Deep Strategy: Balance growth, science, culture, faith, gold, and military power. - World Exploration: Scout the map, discover natural wonders, and plan perfect city sites. - Diplomacy & Trade: Make friends, rivals, pacts, and mutually beneficial deals. - Fully Offline: Play anywhere, any time—no account required. Inspired by the classic Civilization series, the game uses graphics, music, maps, and text sourced from the public domain or under Creative Commons / MPL licenses. Full attributions are listed on the project site’s license page. For details on how the app works and how your data is protected, please review: Service Terms: https://drwjf.github.io/bc4/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://drwjf.github.io/bc4/privacy.html

Screenshots

Empire_mobile4 screens
BC40003 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Empire_mobile at none against BC4000's 2. Empire_mobile also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 15.0). BC4000's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (286 vs 4). On price, review sentiment 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

Both are free to download. BC4000 sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Empire_mobile asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BC4000 holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BC4000 has 286 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Empire_mobile's written reviews are positive against 74% of BC4000's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Empire_mobile ships an update every 2 months, BC4000 every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on June 1, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Empire_mobile versus BC4000: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmpire_mobileBC4000
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)4.3 (286 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews73.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4286 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.1 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB192 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFrank-Peter PoschmannJianfeng Wu

Customer experience

Empire_mobile

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

BC4000

All ratings286 ratings
Positive83.9%
Neutral7.0%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews157 reviews
Positive73.9%
Neutral11.5%
Negative14.6%

Bugs and requests

Empire_mobile

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

BC4000

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when trying to play saved games
  • Issues with trade routes and diplomacy
  • Glitches with certain game modes and features
  • Compatibility problems on some devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add tutorial and in-depth instructions
  • Improve UI and make it more user-friendly
  • Implement a sandbox/creative mode
  • Allow customizing game rules and difficulty
  • Add online/multiplayer functionality

In-app purchases

None

Empire_mobile

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

BC4000

Subscriptions2
  • BC4000 Premium3 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • BC4000 Premium7 Days trial$2.991 Year

Questions

Is Empire_mobile free?
Empire_mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BC4000 free?
BC4000 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Empire_mobile or BC4000?
BC4000 is rated higher. Empire_mobile averages 4.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while BC4000 averages 4.3 from 286 ratings.
Do Empire_mobile or BC4000 have ads?
BC4000 shows ads; Empire_mobile does not.
Which is updated more often, Empire_mobile or BC4000?
Empire_mobile ships an update every 2 months, and BC4000 every 2 weeks. Most recently, Empire_mobile was updated on June 1, 2026 and BC4000 on September 24, 2026.

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