Comparison

TMHelper vs BoardGamePad

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

Head to head
About

TMHelper

A companion app for Terraforming Mars and its Ares Expedition expansion. It allows players to easily track global parameters, manage player boards, and keep score for up to five players. Designed for quick, touch-friendly adjustments.

Highlights
  • Track global parameters (oxygen, temperature, oceans)
  • Manage player boards with production/resource controls
  • Keep Terraforming Rating and player scores
  • Dedicated Ares Expedition mode
  • Smart, touch-first controls
Features
Read full description

TMHelper is a fast, table‑friendly companion for Terraforming Mars and Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition. Features: - Track global parameters (oxygen, temperature, oceans) at a glance - Manage player boards with quick production + resource controls - Keep Terraforming Rating and player scores for up to 5 players, color‑coded - Switch between Terraforming Mars and Ares Expedition with a dedicated Ares mode - Use smart, touch‑first controls designed for fast, mistake‑free adjustments

About

BoardGamePad

Features
Read full description

Smart scorepad that understands the rulebook — every round, every rule, every expansion, and all the fiddly bits in between. Take Dominion. BoardGamePad asks which ten Kingdom cards were on the table, because that is what decides the scoring. Gardens in the Kingdom? Your final deck size divides by ten, rounds down, and multiplies by the Gardens you bought. Playing Prosperity? Colonies are on the sheet at 10 apiece. Fairgrounds? Then it needs to know how many differently named cards you finished with. Splendor, the same way: Nobles are worth 3 each — unless you played the Cities module, in which case they are worth nothing at all, and the sheet drops them. Smart scorepad that tells you where the game was won - to learn and to improve: which round decides a game, how much of a winning score comes from it, where you beat the table average and where you quietly don't. Per round, per game, per player, per player count, per modes and optional rules. 1,250+ games and 2,250+ expansions, each one read off its own rulebook — from Uno and Catan to Spirit Island and Ark Nova. - The scoring your rulebook actually prints: majorities, tie-breaks, lookup tables, thresholds — computed, not left to you - Select the expansions and optional rules you played, and the sheet rebuilds itself around them - Live scoring and a built-in timer for the games that are scored as you play - Co-op games end the way the rulebook says they end: named victories and defeats, not a Won/Lost toggle - Every play remembered — per game, per player, per round, synced by iCloud - See which round decides a game, and whether it is the one you keep losing - Insights into every play, kept on your devices, not on somebody's server - New games and expansions added every release Score the game exactly as you played it — expansions, variants and optional rules included. A subscription supports ongoing development and new game additions. By downloading this app, you agree to Apple's Standard Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

TMHelper3 screens
BoardGamePad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: BoardGamePad at every 2 weeks against TMHelper's every 10 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. TMHelper sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and BoardGamePad sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TMHelper ships an update every 10 months, BoardGamePad every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
TMHelper versus BoardGamePad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTMHelperBoardGamePad
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB310 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMike MailyanJaroslav Cecho

In-app purchases

6 purchases

TMHelper

One-time6
  • TMHelper 7-day Free TrialFree
  • Mars$0.99
  • Earth$1.99
Show 3 more
  • Saturn$2.99
  • Jupiter$3.99
  • TMHelper Lifetime$9.99
2 purchases

BoardGamePad

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly1 Month trial$0.991 Month
  • Yearly$9.991 Year

Questions

Is TMHelper free?
TMHelper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BoardGamePad free?
BoardGamePad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do TMHelper or BoardGamePad have ads?
Neither TMHelper nor BoardGamePad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TMHelper or BoardGamePad?
TMHelper ships an update every 10 months, and BoardGamePad every 2 weeks. Most recently, TMHelper was updated on November 3, 2026 and BoardGamePad on November 5, 2026.

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