The Elder Scrolls vs TownsFolk
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Elder Scrolls | TownsFolk |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (13K ratings) | 4.7 (3.3K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 49.1% of reviews | 73.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 13K — better | 3.3K |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 686 MB | 256 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bethesda | Short Circuit Studio |
Customer experience
The Elder Scrolls
TownsFolk
User reviews
The Elder Scrolls
From 13K App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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
The Elder Scrolls
- Event Bundle$0.99
- Pouch of Gems - 50% discount$0.99
- Imperial Decoration: Discount$1.99
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- 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
TownsFolk
- Shadow of Empires bundle$2.99
- TownsFolk: A new world$8.99
Questions
Is The Elder Scrolls free?
Is TownsFolk free?
Which has better reviews, The Elder Scrolls or TownsFolk?
Do The Elder Scrolls or TownsFolk have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Elder Scrolls or TownsFolk?
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