Comparison

The Elder Scrolls vs TownsFolk

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

Head to head
About

The Elder Scrolls

Build and manage your own castle and dynasty across generations. Make crucial decisions, customize your stronghold, and send heroes on quests to protect your kingdom. Your choices shape your legacy.

Highlights
  • Build and customize your castle
  • Manage your dynasty across generations
  • Make impactful kingdom decisions
  • Train subjects and assign workstations
  • Complete epic quests with heroes
  • Equip heroes with epic gear
Features
Read full description

From Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning developer behind Skyrim and Fallout Shelter, comes The Elder Scrolls: Castles – a new mobile game that puts you in control of your very own castle and dynasty. Oversee your subjects as the years come and go, families grow, and new rulers take the throne. BUILD YOUR DYNASTY Tell your story for generations - each day in real life covers the span of an entire year in The Elder Scrolls: Castles. Train your subjects, name heirs, and maintain order to help your kingdom flourish. Will you keep your subjects happy and ensure a long life for their ruler? Or will they grow discontent and plot assassination? MANAGE YOUR CASTLE Customize your castle from the ground up, adding and expanding rooms, placing lavish decorations and inspirational monuments, and even assign subjects to workstations to ensure your castle has the resources to thrive for years to come! RULE YOUR KINGDOM Make key decisions that impact your legacy. Will you risk a limited supply of food to aid a neighboring kingdom? How should a heated spat between your subjects be settled? Your choices determine if your rule will inspire prosperity or lead your castle to peril. COMPLETE EPIC QUESTS Create heroes, equip them with epic gear, and send them to battle against classic Elder Scrolls foes to collect valuable items and keep your kingdom growing.

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

The Elder Scrolls4 screens
TownsFolk4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: TownsFolk at none against The Elder Scrolls's shown. TownsFolk also leads on review sentiment (73% vs 49%) and device support (5 vs 3). The Elder Scrolls's advantage is ratings volume (13K vs 3.3K) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. The Elder Scrolls sells 39 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for The Elder Scrolls against 4.7 for TownsFolk. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13K and 3.3K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 49% of The Elder Scrolls's written reviews are positive against 73% of TownsFolk's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
The Elder Scrolls versus TownsFolk: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Elder ScrollsTownsFolk
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (13K ratings)4.7 (3.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews49.1% of reviews73.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13K — better3.3K
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size686 MB256 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperBethesdaShort Circuit Studio

Customer experience

The Elder Scrolls

All ratings13,152 ratings
Positive89.2%
Neutral4.0%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews1,191 reviews
Positive49.1%
Neutral18.1%
Negative32.8%

TownsFolk

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

User reviews

The Elder Scrolls

From 13K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fun and addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Unique Elder Scrolls-themed mechanics
  • 💡 Interesting character relationships and decision-making
  • 🎨 Beautiful visuals and music

Room to improve

  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly
  • 💰 Aggressive monetization with paywall-locked content
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and sync issues
  • 🕹️ Clunky controls and UI

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

The Elder Scrolls

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to select rooms without selecting characters
  • Accidental character movement due to poor UI
  • Inconsistent resource collection when game is closed

Requested features

4 requests
  • Multiple save files or restart option
  • More customization options for castle and characters
  • Improved character management tools
  • Deeper integration with Elder Scrolls lore and characters

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

39 purchases

The Elder Scrolls

One-time39
  • Event Bundle$0.99
  • Pouch of Gems - 50% discount$0.99
  • Imperial Decoration: Discount$1.99
Show 36 more
  • Legendary Shield Spellbreaker$1.99
  • Legendary Axe: Warlock Butcher$1.99
  • Pouch of Gems$1.99
  • Event Bundle$2.99
  • Potions and Scrolls$2.99
  • Imperial Decoration$3.99
  • Witch-Hunting Reinforcements$4.99
  • Small Starter Bundle$4.99
  • Emperor's Pass (7 days)$4.99
  • Sack of Gems$4.99
  • Magical Craftsmen$5.99
  • Legendary Event Subject Bundle$6.99
  • Redguard Bundle: New Blood$7.99
  • Holiday Feast Bundle$9.99
  • Satchel of Gems$9.99
  • Potions and Scrolls$9.99
  • Dwemer Furnace Bundle$9.99
  • Emperor's Pass (14 days)$9.99
  • Magical Craftsmen$9.99
  • Weekly Bundle: Silversmith$11.99
  • Put Your Dukes Up - Discount$11.99
  • A Bit of Everything$11.99
  • Decoration Pack$12.99
  • But make it fashion - discount$13.99
  • Emperor's Pass (30 days)$13.99
  • Large Starter Bundle$14.99
  • Weekly Bundle: It's Adore-able$17.99
  • Imperial Coffer of Gems$19.99
  • Weekly Bundle : A Noble Path$19.99
  • Weekly Bundle: A Mage's Touch$19.99
  • Biggest Bundle (Big Discount)$19.99
  • Emperor's Pass (1 year)$19.99
  • Strongbox of Gems$19.99
  • Put Your Dukes Up$29.99
  • Weekly Bundle: Silversmith$29.99
  • Imperial Coffer of Gems$99.99
2 purchases

TownsFolk

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

Questions

Is The Elder Scrolls free?
The Elder Scrolls 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, The Elder Scrolls or TownsFolk?
TownsFolk is rated higher. The Elder Scrolls averages 4.6 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while TownsFolk averages 4.7 from 3.3K ratings.
Do The Elder Scrolls or TownsFolk have ads?
The Elder Scrolls shows ads; TownsFolk does not.
Which is updated more often, The Elder Scrolls or TownsFolk?
The Elder Scrolls ships an update every 2 weeks, and TownsFolk every 2 weeks. Most recently, The Elder Scrolls was updated on October 25, 2026 and TownsFolk on October 24, 2026.

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