Forge Ahead vs Idle Digging
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Forge Ahead
Mine exotic metals and precious gems, then hammer them into beautifully crafted swords. Run your own armory to display your creations and earn money to unlock even better materials and designs. Enjoy addictive gameplay that lets you earn even when offline.
- Mine exotic metals and gems
- Hammer molten metal into swords
- Run your own armory
- Unlock new materials and designs
- Earn money offline
- Addictive tap-based mechanics
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Strap on your boots and forge ahead! Mine metals, hammer them into shape, and forge the best swords you can! This is not your normal simulation game. Break rocks to discover exotic gems. Forge them into beautiful swords and show them off in your armory. The better the materials you find, the more money you make! The more money you make, the better the swords you can unlock. You will be the envy of every blacksmith in the kingdom. Stop what you are doing now, it’s hammer time! Game Features: 1. Simple but addicting mechanics Tap away at the rocks. Discover precious metals. Hammer the molten metal into sharp shiny swords. 2. Run your own Armory Show off the swords you craft on the weapons rack. Can you make the best? 3. Keep them coming! Keep finding new gems to make better swords. The better the sword the more you make! 4. Earn offline No need to always be on. You still earn money as you are signed off. Discover your inner blacksmith and forge the best swords. Watch the molten metal cool off into your beautiful creations. Good luck putting down Forge Ahead! Visit https://lionstudios.cc/contact-us/ if have any feedback, need help on beating a level or have any awesome ideas you would like to see in the game! From the Studio that brought you Happy Glass, Flip Trickster and Love Balls! Follow us to get news and updates on our other Award Winning titles; https://lionstudios.cc/ Facebook.com/LionStudios.cc Instagram.com/LionStudioscc Twitter.com/LionStudiosCC Youtube.com/c/LionStudiosCC
Idle Digging
Manage workers to dig and build houses, earning gold to upgrade tools for faster digging. Experience an addictive idle game focused on resource management and wealth accumulation.
- Manage workers
- Dig and build houses
- Earn gold
- Upgrade digging tools
- Addictive gameplay
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Welcome to Idle Digging. In this game, you will manage your workers to dig and build beautiful houses. Earn gold and upgrade your digging tools to dig faster. Enjoy the addictive digging game and become the rich!
Screenshots
Verdict
Forge Ahead and Idle Digging are too close to call on the numbers: across 10 compared parameters — price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Forge Ahead sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Idle Digging sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Forge Ahead against 4.6 for Idle Digging. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 85K and 38K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 41% of Forge Ahead's written reviews are positive against 39% of Idle Digging's.
Forge Ahead ships an update monthly, Idle Digging every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Forge Ahead | Idle Digging |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (85K ratings) | 4.6 (38K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 41.1% of reviews — better | 39.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 85K — better | 38K |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 11.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 254 MB | 286 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Lion Studios | Zplay (Beijing) Info. Tech. Co.,Ltd. |
Customer experience
Forge Ahead
Idle Digging
User reviews
Forge Ahead
From 85K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fun and addictive gameplay
- 👍 Satisfying forging process
- 🚀 Casual time-killer
Room to improve
- 🔍 Lack of clarity on ore values
- 🔍 Repetitive and limited gameplay
- 💸 Excessive ads and monetization
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
Idle Digging
From 38K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fun game
- 👍 Addictive gameplay
- 💡 Interesting concept
Room to improve
- 🔍 Too many ads
- 💰 Expensive upgrades
- 🐛 Glitches and bugs
- 🔋 Drains battery quickly
Bugs and requests
Forge Ahead
Reported bugs
2 issues- Inability to store/save forged swords
- Customers not appearing consistently
Requested features
5 requests- More ore/material variety and selection
- Additional weapon types beyond swords
- Ability to discard unwanted ores
- More detailed progression and upgrades
- Improved customer/quest system
Idle Digging
Reported bugs
3 issues- Ads not working as expected
- Progress loss after updates
- Crashes and freezes
Requested features
4 requests- More levels and content
- Offline earnings
- Customization options
- Improved ad system
In-app purchases
Forge Ahead
- Tier 1 Coins$4.99
- Remove Ads$4.99
- Remove Upgrade Ads$4.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Tier 2 Coins$6.99
- Starter Pack$8.99
- Tier 3 Coins$9.99
Idle Digging
- Diamond Pack 1$1.99
- Remove Pop-up Ads$1.99
- Special Bundle$2.99
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Diamond Pack 2$4.99
- Diamond Pack 3$9.99
- Diamond Pack 4$19.99
- Diamond Pack 5$49.99
Questions
Is Forge Ahead free?
Is Idle Digging free?
Which has better reviews, Forge Ahead or Idle Digging?
Do Forge Ahead or Idle Digging have ads?
Which is updated more often, Forge Ahead or Idle Digging?
Other comparisons
