Comparison

Iron Roads vs Eldershyft

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

Head to head
About

Iron Roads

Optimize and grow your railway network in this challenging 2D train management game. Lay tracks, buy trains, and set routes to efficiently transport passengers and cargo. Enjoy board game-inspired mechanics for a cerebral optimization experience.

Highlights
  • 2D top-down train management
  • Lay tracks and set routes
  • Transport passengers and cargo
  • Board game-inspired mechanics
  • Resource token system
  • Universal purchase for iOS and macOS
Features
Read full description

"Finally, a deep and fun train management game designed perfectly for phones. Iron Roads is so much more than just a desktop game crammed onto a small screen!" Optimise and grow your railways in this challenging train management game. Earn resource tokens by refining your network until your towns are thriving. Avoid queues, jams, or angry passengers to be recognised as the unsung train hero you know you are. Iron Roads is a top-down 2D train management game in which you lay tracks, buy trains, and set their routes until you have an efficient network carrying passengers and cargo between your towns and factories. With board game-inspired mechanics such as resource tokens, geographically-induced space constraints, and innovative track order systems, Iron Roads will appeal to players who relish the more cerebral, optimisation elements of train simulation games, as opposed to more realistic business sim/tycoon-type games. Ultimately, your goal is to set up an efficient rail network that keeps your passengers happy and on-time. Features: - "Try before you buy" model. Download for free, and unlock the entire game with a one off purchase - Universal purchase. Buy once for iOS, macOS, tvOS - iCloud saves, enabling seamless gameplay across your devices

About

Eldershyft

A unique match-3 puzzle game where you move entire paths on a hexagonal board to create cascades and combos. Build a mystical island, tame beasts, and choose your strategy to achieve high scores or complete challenges.

Highlights
  • Hexagonal board path movement
  • Cascading matches and combos
  • Endless and Challenge modes
  • Beast management and island building
  • Stackable bonuses and abilities
  • Full VoiceOver support
  • Color-blind and high contrast settings
Features
Read full description

Eldershyft is a match-3 puzzle game with unique gameplay. Instead of swapping individual tiles, you move entire paths across a hexagonal board in 6 directions, opening up cascades, combos, and strategies. Set before the days of Eldermyth, you take control of the Curator of Lands to build the mystical Island whilst trying to tame the Beasts that have followed you from your realm. 

As you grow stronger, will you choose to focus your powers on board manipulation, Beast management or score multipliers? Or, maybe a combination of them all! Two ways to play - Endless Mode: Push for the highest score on the world leaderboard. Survive as long as possible as enemy pressure escalates and the Island becomes more complex - Challenge Mode: Settle the Island by reaching level 5 on each land type in the least amount of turns possible. Each turn counts even more in this mode Deep strategy. Pure puzzle - Cascading matches and board refill from 6 directions reward planning and positional awareness - Ever changing board from multiple different mechanics at play - A rich progression system with stackable bonuses, passive and consumable abilities, and permanent multipliers - No timers. No pay-to-win. Pure strategic depth Fully accessible - Complete VoiceOver support with full gameplay narration, accessible drag-and-drop path building, as well as colour-blind and high contrast settings Try for free before purchasing the full game!

Screenshots

Iron Roads4 screens
Eldershyft4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Eldershyft at 5.0 against Iron Roads's 4.4. Eldershyft also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 42%). Iron Roads's advantage is device support (5 vs 2) and ratings volume (31 vs 8). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Iron Roads sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Eldershyft 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

Eldershyft holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 31 and 8 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of Iron Roads's written reviews are positive against 50% of Eldershyft's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Iron Roads ships an update fortnightly, Eldershyft every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Iron Roads versus Eldershyft: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIron RoadsEldershyft
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (31 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews41.7% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings31 — better8
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size74 MB7 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperCowleyfornia StudiosKIERAN HARTNETT

Customer experience

Iron Roads

All ratings31 ratings
Positive83.9%
Neutral3.2%
Negative12.9%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive41.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative50.0%

Eldershyft

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Iron Roads

One-time10
  • Horseshoe Isle$1.99
  • Forgotten Valley$1.99
  • Desert Dew$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Mistra$1.99
  • Futura$1.99
  • Full game$2.99
  • Full game$4.99
  • Full game$6.99
  • Full Game$6.99
  • Full game$8.99
2 purchases

Eldershyft

One-time2
  • Rival Curators$1.99
  • Full base game unlock$2.99

Questions

Is Iron Roads free?
Iron Roads is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Eldershyft free?
Eldershyft is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Iron Roads or Eldershyft?
Eldershyft is rated higher. Iron Roads averages 4.4 out of 5 from 31 ratings, while Eldershyft averages 5.0 from 8 ratings.
Do Iron Roads or Eldershyft have ads?
Neither Iron Roads nor Eldershyft shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Iron Roads or Eldershyft?
Iron Roads ships an update fortnightly, and Eldershyft every 3 weeks. Most recently, Iron Roads was updated on October 20, 2026 and Eldershyft on October 8, 2026.

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