Comparison

Ancient Games vs Forward Element

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

Head to head
About

Ancient Games

Explore and play a collection of ancient board games brought back to life with modern app design. Enjoy offline and online play, collect customizable game pieces, and tackle fun challenges. Save progress across all games with cloud saves.

Highlights
  • Play multiple ancient games in one app
  • Offline and online multiplayer
  • AI, friend, and random player matches
  • Collectible game pieces and boards
  • Challenges with rule variants
  • Free cloud saves across games
Features
Read full description

/!\ If you play more than one of my Ancient Games, I suggest you delete the individual apps and install this one. It will allow you to play them all and save disk storage. /!\ -Languages : English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, Spanish, German, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian, Turkish. The past is full of fascinating games that haves been mostly forgotten. The Ancient Games collection aims to resurrect them as a meticulously crafted mix between what a player wants from an historical game and what he/she expects of a modern application. Features : -Play against the IA, friends and random players from around the world (Coming back soon) -Play Online & Offline. -Multiple collectibles : boards, game pieces, dice, nameplates, etc. -Challenges (Fun rule variants) -Free cloudsave across the collection : your progress in one game is available in all the others. -Much more features to come! Currently, the collection is comprised of four games : the Royal Game of Ur, Senet, XII Scripta and Puluc, but 40 games are in the works! You can see the roadmap here : https://trello.com/b/QYtOXwJi/ancient-games-roadmap Each game will be added to the Ancient Games app and will have its own individual app as well. The privacy policy has been updated in accordance to the latest data protection laws.

About

Forward Element

Features
Read full description

Little troops. Big plans. Your turn. Lead the Green Guys against the Tan Dudes in Forward Element, a playful turn-based tactics game for iPhone and iPad. Bring infantry, tanks, aircraft, and boats together, use the terrain, and turn a clever move into a satisfying victory. LEARN YOUR SQUAD Start with 24 short tutorial missions: one for each of 22 units, plus two lessons in commanding your whole force. Then take on the 10-mission Ringfall Chain campaign and chase better medals as your tactics improve. MAKE EVERY UNIT COUNT Send Field Engineers to capture structures, buy reinforcements with Cash at production sites, and keep your force supplied. Carry troops into position, line up a Sniper shot, or soften a crowded defense with rockets and artillery. The Dossier explains each unit's role and special abilities. A NEW BATTLEFIELD, YOUR WAY Choose one of 8 curated skirmish maps, revisit any of the 34 campaign battlefields, or generate a fresh map. Set its size, biome, water, elevation, and seed, then decide how you want to win. TAKE ON THE AI OR A FRIEND - Play solo against four AI difficulty levels. - Share one device in Pass & Play, with a private screen between turns. - Host or join a nearby LAN match on compatible devices. - Use curated, campaign, or generated maps in every skirmish mode. SET YOUR OWN PACE Adjust starting Cash, income, unit limits, victory conditions, and the optional turn timer. Tap a unit to move or attack. Confirm Actions is off by default and can be enabled in Settings. PLAY A LITTLE, COME BACK LATER Save and resume your campaigns and skirmishes. Campaign, AI skirmish, and Pass & Play work offline. Nearby multiplayer uses a local connection, not internet matchmaking. Color-vision palettes, high contrast, reduced motion, subtitles, and adjustable audio help you make the battlefield your own. No ads. No in-app purchases. No account required. The troops are ready. What's your next move?

Screenshots

Ancient Games3 screens
Forward Element4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Forward Element at none against Ancient Games's 11. Forward Element also leads on ads (none vs shown). Ancient Games's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). On price 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. Ancient Games sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Forward Element asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Ancient Games versus Forward Element: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAncient GamesForward Element
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (262 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews78.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings262 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size212 MB189 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperSullivan BousiniereRichard Lavey

Bugs and requests

Ancient Games

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • Game freezes after match completion
  • Screen goes dark and becomes unresponsive post-game
  • Ad removal purchase only lasts one game
  • Paid ad removal still shows advertisements
  • Game continues playing after player wins
Show 6 more
  • Cannot make legal moves despite availability
  • XII Scripta piece stacking rules not enforced correctly
  • Purchased board content inaccessible due to subscription requirement
  • Report button links to Mail app instead of App Store
  • Text rendering issues making content hard to read
  • Online play frequently unavailable or non-functional

Requested features

10 requests
  • Two-player local multiplayer mode
  • Friends list and challenge system
  • Leaderboards and ranking system
  • Win/loss statistics and game history tracking
  • Ability to play offline while waiting for online opponents
Show 5 more
  • Permanent one-time purchase option instead of subscription
  • More ancient games added to collection
  • Harder difficulty levels beyond current maximum
  • Better XP progression for unlocking boards
  • Improved customer support contact options

Forward Element

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Ancient Games

Subscriptions1
  • AG+$3.991 Month
One-time9
  • Ancient Artifact$0.99
  • Purchase Game Edition2 variants$1.99
  • Dawn of Civilization DLC$2.99
Show 6 more
  • Purchase Game Edition$2.99
  • Skeleton Key$2.99
  • Ur Divine Edition$3.99
  • Purchase Game Edition$3.99
  • Purchase Game Edition$10.99
  • Royal Pass$12.99
None

Forward Element

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ancient Games free?
Ancient Games is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Forward Element free?
Forward Element is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Ancient Games or Forward Element have ads?
Ancient Games shows ads; Forward Element does not.

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