Comparison

Turmoil vs TownsFolk

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

Head to head
About

Turmoil

Engage in a 19th-century oil rush simulation. Acquire land, build pipe networks, and manage resources to outwit rivals and become a successful oil entrepreneur. Upgrade technology, invest in town shares, and rise to become the mayor.

Highlights
  • Real-time strategy oil field management
  • Pipe network construction
  • Technology upgrades and new tools
  • Town share investment and mayor competition
  • Randomly seeded world for replayability
  • DLC with new campaigns and challenges
Features
Read full description

Turmoil is a casual business simulation game inspired by the oil rush in 19th-century North America. It is developed by Dutch game studio Gamious and published by LTGames. In Turmoil, you are up against time and rivals on your path to becoming a succesful oil entrepreneur. Start raking in the oil money and watch the town grow along with you! [Game Features] *Real-Time Strategy, Oil Field Management Acquire land at the town auction, and uncover oil with dowsers, moles, or scans. Create an efficient pipe network to get the oil above ground, and buy wagons and silos to transport and store it. Wait for the right price to sell, or use natural gas to raise the oil price yourself! *Upgrade Technology, Expand Your Connections There are dozens of upgrades and new tools that will improve your oil drilling operation. You will need them to drill through rocks, deal with natural gas pockets, and prevent oil spillage! Don't forget to visit the saloon, the people there may have some very juicy business proposals for you! *Buy Stocks, Become a Mayor Start from the bottom and rise to the top! Turmoil is not all about money, you also need town shares. Use your hard-earned cash to outbid your rivals at the stock auction and become the new mayor to win the game! *Randomly Seeded World, Challenge Your Limits Different settings and randomly generated levels provide an almost unlimited variety of oil-drilling challenges. Challenge other players to find out who's the real deal! *The Heat Is On, Get Ready for the New DLC! An entirely new campaign offers you the same oil-drilling fun, but with challenging twists and interesting bonuses. The addition of magma in the underground creates danger but also offers opportunies. You can also find underground artefacts and sell them in the village, but collecting them all might be more profitable! Play card games in the saloon to earn even more money!

About

TownsFolk

Lead settlers to build and expand a thriving colony in a mysterious and dangerous world. Manage resources, make critical decisions, and overcome challenges to ensure your settlement's survival. Explore the unknown, face disasters, and appease a demanding king.

Highlights
  • Build and expand settlements
  • Explore unknown territories
  • Survive challenges and disasters
  • Roguelite strategy gameplay
  • Skirmish and puzzle modes
  • Handcrafted pixel art visuals
  • Weekly challenge mode
Features
Read full description

TownsFolk – Build. Survive. Explore. Lead a group of settlers into the unknown and build a thriving colony in a world full of mystery and danger. Manage scarce resources, make tough choices, and face the unpredictable frontier. Will your town prosper or fall? Lead, Expand, Survive: • Build & Expand – Grow your village by managing Food, Gold, Faith, and Production. • Explore the Unknown – Clear the fog, discover treasures, and uncover dangers. • Survive Challenges – Overcome disasters, wild animals, and moral dilemmas. • Appease the King – Deliver tribute, or risk your colony’s fate. Game Features: ▪ Roguelite Strategy – New challenges every playthrough. ▪ Skirmish Mode – Test survival skills in standalone scenarios. ▪ Puzzle Challenges – Solve strategic puzzles for rewards. ▪ Pixel Art World – Handcrafted visuals & atmospheric music. ▪ Deep, Minimalist Gameplay – Easy to start, challenging to master. ▪ Weekly Challenge Mode – A new scenario every week with leaderboards. ▪ Factions – 5 unique Factions, each with their own strengths, stories, and playstyles. Can you build a settlement that withstands the test of time? Download TownsFolk today! Play for Free – Upgrade Anytime TownsFolk lets you jump in for free! Enjoy the How to Play missions, test your skills in Puzzle Missions, and try out Skirmish Mode with a fixed setup. Want more? A one-time in-app purchase unlocks the full Campaign and lets you customize settings in Skirmish Mode for endless replayability.

Screenshots

Turmoil4 screens
TownsFolk4 screens

Verdict

The call

Turmoil and TownsFolk both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 73% of TownsFolk's written reviews are positive against 38% of Turmoil's. TownsFolk also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 weeks). Turmoil's advantage is ratings volume (20K vs 3.3K). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Turmoil sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and TownsFolk sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TownsFolk holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Turmoil has 20K ratings behind it against 3.3K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of Turmoil's written reviews are positive against 73% of TownsFolk's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Turmoil ships an update every 5 weeks, TownsFolk every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Turmoil versus TownsFolk: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTurmoilTownsFolk
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (20K ratings)4.7 (3.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews37.6% of reviews73.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings20K — better3.3K
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size602 MB256 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperXiamen Leiting Network Technology Co., Ltd.Short Circuit Studio

Customer experience

Turmoil

All ratings20,090 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral3.0%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews474 reviews
Positive37.6%
Neutral11.0%
Negative51.5%

TownsFolk

All ratings3,260 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral2.1%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews651 reviews
Positive73.0%
Neutral8.6%
Negative18.4%

User reviews

Turmoil

From 20K App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⭐ Excellent game
  • 🕹️ Simple yet compelling gameplay
  • 💰 No microtransactions
  • 🕰️ Relaxing and soothing experience
  • 🧠 Requires strategic thinking

Room to improve

  • 💰 Paywall to access full game
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔒 Concerns over privacy policy
  • 🔌 Requires internet connection even for offline play
  • 💳 Issues with in-app purchases not working

TownsFolk

From 3.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fun game
  • 👍 Solid tutorial
  • 👍 Portrait mode
  • 👍 Great city sim game
  • 👍 Interesting mechanics

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and freezes
  • 🔋 Drains battery
  • 💰 Requires payment after tutorial
  • 🔍 Needs better balancing
  • 🔍 Needs deeper gameplay

Bugs and requests

Turmoil

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Tutorial level gets stuck
  • Progress not saving properly
  • Language settings not working
  • Leaderboard issues with cheaters

Requested features

5 requests
  • Offline play option
  • More content and maps
  • Multiplayer mode
  • Ability to restore purchases
  • More difficulty levels

TownsFolk

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Tutorial freezes the game
  • Can't build anything and days don't progress
  • Save data reverts or gets corrupted

Requested features

2 requests
  • Creative/easy mode to keep progress
  • Leaderboards and daily challenges

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Turmoil

One-time6
  • The Heat Is On DLC(Discount)$0.99
  • Deeper Underground(Discount)$0.99
  • Classic Campaign(Discount)$1.99
Show 3 more
  • The Heat Is On DLC$1.99
  • Deeper Underground$1.99
  • Classic Campaign$2.99
2 purchases

TownsFolk

One-time2
  • Shadow of Empires bundle$2.99
  • TownsFolk: A new world$8.99

Questions

Is Turmoil free?
Turmoil is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TownsFolk free?
TownsFolk is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Turmoil or TownsFolk?
TownsFolk is rated higher. Turmoil averages 4.5 out of 5 from 20K ratings, while TownsFolk averages 4.7 from 3.3K ratings.
Do Turmoil or TownsFolk have ads?
Turmoil shows ads; TownsFolk does not.
Which is updated more often, Turmoil or TownsFolk?
Turmoil ships an update every 5 weeks, and TownsFolk every 2 weeks. Most recently, Turmoil was updated on October 29, 2026 and TownsFolk on October 29, 2026.

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