Comparison

Lore Seeker vs Mateforge

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

Head to head
About

Lore Seeker

Engage in a retro turn-based strategy game with deck-building elements. Explore, collect cards, and strategically battle enemies in a challenging 'permanent death' experience. Enjoy offline play with no ads or data collection.

Highlights
  • Turn-based strategy
  • Deck-building mechanics
  • Map exploration
  • Card and item collection
  • Faction selection
  • Permanent death mode
  • Offline play
Read full description

Lore Seeker is a retro turn based strategy & deck-building game. You'll... - explore the map - collect cards & items - choose your faction - adjust your deck strategically - battle your enemies Use various cards to summon troops, weaken enemy troops, buff your own, or deal damage. You can also use cards to bend the rules of the game, draw additional cards, gain control of enemy troops, and assemble powerful combinations. Fair warning: this is a harsh 'permanent death' game - when you die, you have to restart all the way at the beginning of the act you were playing. There's no 'easy mode' to get around this. ***** Question & answers: Q: Can I play this game online with my friends? A: No, this game is single-player only. Q: Does your game display any advertisements? A: No, there are no ads here and there never will be. Q: Do I need to be online and logged in in order to play your game? A: No, there are no accounts or log-ins and you can play offline any time you want. Lore Seeker won't use any of your cellular data, nor collect any of your behavioral data or personal information. Q: How much content is there? A: This is a small game - there are 2 acts with 4 missions each, and a 4-player draft map. The first act is designed to be easier and introduce the game, while act 2 is much more challenging. The booster draft map is a different experience every time. Q: Will this game drain my battery? A: No, the game is light and iPhones/iPads are very powerful devices. The strain on your battery life will be limited. Music by Matthew Pablo Please visit this awesome artist's website at http://www.matthewpablo.com

About

Mateforge

Features
Read full description

Mateforge is a single-player chess roguelike deckbuilder. Command an army of chess pieces, cast powerful spell cards, and survive an ever-collapsing board across an endless run of battles. Each round the board crumbles beneath you — capture every enemy before it does. Between fights, draft upgrades, recruit and merge pieces, forge your deck, and grow stronger for the boss waiting ahead. FEATURES - Chess meets roguelike — pieces move by real chess rules, but the board falls apart every turn - Build your deck — craft custom decks from 29 spell cards: lightning, meteors, freezes, teleports and more - Evolve your pieces — defeat bosses to permanently evolve your army through 3 tiers of power - Merge & recruit — fuse pieces into stronger ones and expand your squad - Boss battles — face bosses with shields, swift moves and spawning, scaling in difficulty - Daily challenge — a new rule-bending mutator every day - Meta progression — earn shards and unlock permanent perks that carry across runs - Endless runs — no two are ever the same - 6 languages — English, Türkçe, Deutsch, Français, Español, Italiano How far can you get before the board swallows you?

Screenshots

Lore Seeker4 screens
Mateforge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Lore Seeker at none against Mateforge's shown. Lore Seeker also leads on iOS requirement (13.6 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lore Seeker ships an update weekly, Mateforge every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Lore Seeker versus Mateforge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLore SeekerMateforge
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.6 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size191 MB9 MB
Age rating+124+
DeveloperJelle Van den EyndeSalih Eksioglu

In-app purchases

None

Lore Seeker

No in-app purchases

None

Mateforge

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lore Seeker free?
Lore Seeker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mateforge free?
Mateforge is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Lore Seeker or Mateforge have ads?
Mateforge shows ads; Lore Seeker does not.
Which is updated more often, Lore Seeker or Mateforge?
Lore Seeker ships an update weekly, and Mateforge every 5 days. Most recently, Lore Seeker was updated on October 7, 2026 and Mateforge on October 12, 2026.

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