Comparison

Northgard vs PatternMate

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

Head to head
About

Northgard

Lead a Viking clan to explore, settle, and conquer a mysterious new continent. Manage resources, assign jobs, and survive harsh winters and dangerous foes. Choose your clan's path to victory through conquest, trade, or devotion.

Highlights
  • Build and manage settlements
  • Assign Vikings to jobs
  • Resource management and survival
  • Territory expansion and discovery
  • Multiple victory conditions
  • Story mode campaign
  • Multiplayer modes
Read full description

Northgard is a strategy game based on Norse mythology in which you control a Clan of Vikings fighting for the control of a mysterious newfound continent. After years of tireless explorations, brave Vikings have discovered a new land filled with mystery, danger and riches: NORTHGARD. The boldest Northmen have set sail to explore and conquer these new shores, bring fame to their Clan and write history through conquest, trading, or devotion to the Gods. That is, if they can survive the dire Wolves and Undead Warriors roaming the land, befriend or defeat the giants, and survive the harshest winters ever witnessed in the North. FEATURES • Build your settlement on the newly discovered continent of Northgard • Assign your vikings to various jobs (Farmer, Warrior, Sailor, Loremaster...) • Manage your resources carefully and survive harsh winters and vicious foes • Expand and discover new territory with unique strategic opportunities • Achieve different victory conditions (Conquest, Fame, Lore, Trading...) STORY MODE: RIG’S SAGA The Viking High King is murdered and his Regal Horn is stolen by a man named Hagen. This event kickstarts a saga that will take Rig, his son and heir accompanied by his right-hand man Brand through the new continent of Northgard. The continent where he will make new friends and foes and discover a much greater threat than Hagen, and the reasons behind his father’s assassination. MULTIPLAYER • Play with or against other Mobile players with up to 6 players • Includes Duel, Free for All and Teamplay modes CHOOSE YOUR CLAN In order to complete the 11 campaign chapters, the player will have to master the specificities of the 6 first clans and tame the unforgiving wilderness of Northgard. More clans are joining the fight for Northgard! • Clan of the Snake: Act from the shadows and take the lead with cunning guerilla tactics • Clan of the Dragon: Embrace the old ways and please the gods with sacrifices • Clan of the Kraken: Harness the bounty of the sea and unleash its brutal might You can unlock the clans of the Snake, Dragon and Kraken separately by buying the DLCs, or together with the Scale Bundle. • Clan of the Horse: Devote yourself to the art of blacksmithing and craft powerful Relics • Clan of the Ox: Equip ancestral equipment and prove the might of your forefathers • Clan of the Lynx: Adopt Nature’s way and lure mythical preys into ambushes You can unlock the Clans of the Horse, Ox and Lynx separately by buying the DLCs, or together with the Fur Bundle. • Clan of the Squirrel: Gather ingredients to prepare special recipes and survive the harsh winters • Clan of the Rat: Embrace the way of the Shamans and work for the clan • Clan of the Eagle: Occupy a large territory, venture outside and gather resources Unlock the clans of the Squirrel, Rat and Eagle separately by buying the DLCs, or together with the Winter Bundle. Carefully redesigned for mobile • Revamped interface • Game Center achievements • iCloud - Share your progress between iOS devices If you experience any issue with Northgard, please contact our customer support at support@playdigious.mail.helpshift.com and give us as much as possible information on your problem.

About

PatternMate

Sharpen your chess vision with over 51,000 offline tactics puzzles. Choose from three training modes to improve your rating, test your limits, or focus on specific weaknesses. Enjoy an ad-free, subscription-free experience with all puzzles included.

Highlights
  • 51,200 chess puzzles
  • Three game modes: Tactics, Survival, Practice
  • Adaptive puzzle difficulty
  • Over 40 tactic themes
  • Customizable practice rating range
  • Offline functionality
  • No ads or subscriptions
Features
Read full description

Recognize tactical patterns, then play the winning move. Train with 51,200 included puzzles, spaced repetition, Tactics, Survival, Storm, Practice and Vision, and a guided daily routine. Play offline, without an account, ads, subscriptions or in-app purchases. Customize the board, pieces, sounds and haptics. Two iOS widgets show your streak and tactics rating. Game Center needs an internet connection.

Screenshots

Northgard4 screens
PatternMate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PatternMate at none against Northgard's 10. PatternMate also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 61%) and price ($3.99 vs $8.99). Northgard's advantage is chart position (#23 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (13.6 vs 16.4). On 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

Northgard costs $8.99 and PatternMate $3.99 up front. Northgard sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. PatternMate asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Northgard ships an update every 6 weeks, PatternMate every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Northgard versus PatternMate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNorthgardPatternMate
Price$8.99$3.99 — better
Rating4.6 (3.7K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews61.4% of reviews90.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.7K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#23 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.6 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size892 MB75 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperPlaydigiousMax Schneider

Customer experience

Northgard

All ratings3,606 ratings
Positive90.2%
Neutral3.2%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews1,052 reviews
Positive61.4%
Neutral11.5%
Negative27.1%

PatternMate

Written reviews10 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%

Bugs and requests

Northgard

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Game crashes frequently
  • Menus and UI are buggy
  • Audio glitches and cuts out
  • Saves get deleted unexpectedly
  • Multiplayer is unreliable
Show 1 more
  • Achievements are not working properly

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add multiplayer mode
  • Improve tutorial and instructions
  • Add controller support
  • Optimize performance and stability
  • Add Chinese language support
Show 1 more
  • Improve clan/unit selection and management

PatternMate

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Northgard

One-time10
  • Clan of the snake$2.99
  • Clan of the Dragon$2.99
  • Clan of the Horse$2.99
Show 7 more
  • Clan of the Ox$2.99
  • Clan of the Kraken$2.99
  • Clan of the Lynx$2.99
  • Clan of the Eagle$2.99
  • Scale Bundle$6.99
  • Fur Bundle$6.99
  • Winter Bundle$6.99
None

PatternMate

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Northgard free?
Northgard costs $8.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is PatternMate free?
PatternMate costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Northgard or PatternMate have ads?
Neither Northgard nor PatternMate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Northgard or PatternMate?
Northgard ships an update every 6 weeks, and PatternMate every 9 days. Most recently, Northgard was updated on November 7, 2026 and PatternMate on November 6, 2026.

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