Comparison

Railroad Ink Challenge vs HexaRelic

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

Head to head
About

Railroad Ink Challenge

Roll dice and draw routes to build a transportation network. Connect exits and expand your railways and highways to score points. Avoid open connections to prevent penalties and aim for the highest score in solo or multiplayer modes.

Highlights
  • Dice rolling and route drawing
  • Network building with railways and highways
  • Connecting exits for points
  • Avoiding open connections for penalties
  • Solo play for high scores
  • Online multiplayer challenges
  • Leaderboards
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

In Railroad Ink Challenge, you have 7 rounds to make as many points as possible. Roll the dice and draw the routes to connect the exits around your board. Expand your network with railways, highways, and stations to collect points, but you will be penalized for any open connections, so plan carefully! Play solo to improve your best score, or challenge players from all over the world! HOW TO PLAY Each round you will have to roll the dice and use the available routes to build your transportation network and connect as many exits as possible. Expand your network to collect points. You’ll also score bonus points for your longest highway and railway, for building into the central spaces of your map, and for completing optional, time-dependent goals before they expire. You can also connect special structures to your network to trigger their special effects, such as duplicating routes, unlocking powerful special routes, and more. But beware: Try to not leave any open connections, as each one will cost you points at the end of the game. EXPANSIONS Forest and Desert expansions add special dice and rules to create even more intricate landscapes for your highways and railways. MODES Play solo with random objectives and join the online rankings or challenge players from all over the world with custom game configurations! The online leaderboards (Daily, Monthly, and All-Time) are completely cross-platform! • The wonderful art of the roll and write game by Marta Tranquilli, fleshed out and digitally enhanced • Network planning gameplay: try to make the best use of the available routes each round to create the perfect transportation network • Try to conquer the top of the online leaderboards (Daily, Monthly, and All-Time)! • Cross-platform, asynchronous multiplayer challenges with your friends! 100% Asynchronous multiplayer challenges Don’t like to wait while your opponents complete their turn? Fear not! With the 100% asynchronous multiplayer challenges, that is an issue of the past! Play a full game on your own, then post the challenge online! Players from all over the world will be able to play with the same dice and goals you had and try to beat your score! Who’s gonna get the best score? Railroad Ink Challenge is the official adaptation of the critically acclaimed roll and write game created by award-winning designers Hjalmar Hach & Lorenzo Silva and illustrated by artist Marta Tranquilli. To find more information about Horrible Guild, please go to https://www.horribleguild.com Having an issue? Looking for support? Please contact us: https://www.horribleguild.com/customercare/ You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/horribleguild/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/horribleguild Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/horribleguild/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@horribleguild YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/horribleguild Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/horribleguild *IMPORTANT* Railroad Ink Challenge requires iPhone 6s, iPad Mini 4, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro, iPad (2017) or later.

About

HexaRelic

Features
Read full description

■ A Hex Territory Battle Over Ancient Relics HexaRelic is a turn-based strategy game for up to 4 players. Expand your territory across a stone-tablet hex grid, lock ancient relics, and outscore your rivals. 【How to Play】 Each turn, place one tile adjacent to your territory. Surround all 6 cells around a relic to trigger a Lock — earning points, expanding the board, and unlocking bonus placements. The game ends when any player completes 5 locks. The player with the highest total score at that moment wins. 【Scoring】 Majority Lock (4+ of 6 cells yours): +3 pts Full Domination (all 6 cells): +3 pts + Erosion item Chain Bonus: consecutive locks add extra points Territory score is calculated at game end — spreading wide pays off too. 【Items】 · Erosion — overwrite one enemy tile adjacent to yours · Boundary Booster — leap to any empty cell, ignoring adjacency · Mining Drone — converts a minority lock into +1 pt automatically Knowing when to use each item is the key to victory. 【Game Modes】 · Bot Battle (Easy / Hard, up to 3 bots) · Random Match (quick online matchmaking) · Friend Battle (invite and play together) A typical match lasts 5–8 minutes — deep enough to think, short enough to replay. 【Perfect For】 · Fans of strategic tile-placement games · Players who want quick but meaningful PvP · Friends looking for a competitive mobile game together

Screenshots

Railroad Ink Challenge4 screens
HexaRelic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: HexaRelic at none against Railroad Ink Challenge's 2. HexaRelic also leads on price ($1.99 vs $3.99). Railroad Ink Challenge's advantage is chart position (#100 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). On update cadence and ads 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

Railroad Ink Challenge costs $3.99 and HexaRelic $1.99 up front. Railroad Ink Challenge sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. HexaRelic asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Railroad Ink Challenge versus HexaRelic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRailroad Ink ChallengeHexaRelic
Price$3.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.2 (205 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews48.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings205 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#100 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size283 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHorrible Guildryogo shimizu

Bugs and requests

Railroad Ink Challenge

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • Resume game feature freezes app
  • Apple ID login loop and authentication errors
  • App crashes during gameplay and tutorial
  • Game locks up after iOS updates
  • Crashes on older devices (iPad Mini 2)
Show 13 more
  • Desert expansion white screen on purchase
  • In-app purchase restoration not working
  • Server connection errors during scoring
  • Game Center account sync issues
  • Daily Challenge timeout and crashes
  • Scoring not saved to server
  • Exit scoring bug deletes game from history
  • Friend list navigation broken
  • Mountains challenge unplayable
  • Tutorial freezes at first dice placement
  • Crashes when using too many factories
  • Offline game results interfere with leaderboard
  • Password recovery impossible on iPad

Requested features

11 requests
  • Local pass-and-play multiplayer mode
  • All expansion dice sets (Rivers, Lakes, Future, Engineers, Lava, Meteor)
  • Optional tile placement mechanic
  • Personal score history and ranking
  • Larger maps with more turns
Show 6 more
  • Offline play without server dependency
  • Timer option for rounds
  • Randomized special square placement
  • View opponent boards after game completion
  • Better expansion rules reference in-game
  • Russian language support

HexaRelic

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Railroad Ink Challenge

One-time2
  • Forest Expansion$1.99
  • Desert Expansion$1.99
None

HexaRelic

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Railroad Ink Challenge free?
Railroad Ink Challenge costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is HexaRelic free?
HexaRelic costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Railroad Ink Challenge or HexaRelic have ads?
Neither Railroad Ink Challenge nor HexaRelic shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Railroad Ink Challenge or HexaRelic?
Railroad Ink Challenge ships an update every 2 months, and HexaRelic every 2 months. Most recently, Railroad Ink Challenge was updated on November 3, 2026 and HexaRelic on October 31, 2026.

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