Comparison

Strategery vs Dice by PCalc

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

Head to head
About

Strategery

Engage in a rapid world domination game on your iOS device. Compete against AI or friends in strategic battles with customizable options and randomly generated maps for endless replayability.

Highlights
  • Offensive and defensive strategy gameplay
  • Play for short or long sessions
  • Four difficulty settings
  • Online battles with matchmaking
  • Pass-and-play multiplayer
  • Automatically saves games
  • Randomly generated maps
  • Customizable gameplay options
Features
Read full description

Dominate the world. One blob at a time. World domination isn't a very fashionable ambition these days, but that doesn't mean you can't pretend. Strategery is a battle between your pegs and the green, orange, blue, and red blobs that dare to stand in your way. It's also a little bit of App Store history. Strategery first launched in 2008, back when the App Store was barely a few months old. Macworld named it the Best Strategy Game of 2009. Slate called it their latest iPhone gaming habit. Daring Fireball said the gameplay had a great feel. And a Macworld reviewer named Lex Friedman wrote that there was no game he played on his iPhone more. That reviewer now makes Strategery. Life is funny. HOW IT'S PLAYED The world is made of blobs. Every blob holds pegs — your pegs, ideally. Pick a blob you own, point at a neighboring blob you don't, and roll. More pegs, better odds. Win the roll and the blob changes color. Lose it and, well, you still have your other blobs. Keep going until the whole map is your color and everyone else is looking for the rematch button. Your turn, your dice, your questionable decisions Bigger stacks of pegs win more rolls. Usually. Every blob you hold earns you more pegs Last color standing dominates the world. Politely. THREE WAYS TO CONQUER Solo: Play against the computer. It has no friends, no feelings, and no plans this evening. It will happily lose to you all night. (Or not. You choose how clever it gets to be.) Online: Play against your friends. Take turns from wherever you are. A push notification lets you know when it's your move, or when someone has done something regrettable to your blobs. Pass and play: One phone, one couch, several rivals. Hand it over, let them try, and try not to gloat. CLASSIC OR CHAOS Classic is the game you remember: dice, blobs, and your own poor judgment. Chaos adds starred blobs. Capture one and the wheel spins. Your conquest has consequences. Either way, you pick how much world there is to dominate. A WAR WITH NO CASUALTIES Blobs don't bleed. Pegs don't feel pain. Nothing explodes, nobody gets hurt, and the only thing that ever gets conquered is a colorful shape on a map. Somebody's pride may be wounded when you take their last blob, but that's between the two of you. For iPhone and iPad. Contains no violence, several dice, a healthy number of blobs, and a reasonable amount of whimsy. Strategery was originally designed by Sumul Shah, Courtland Idstrom, and Peter Ju. This version comes from Lex Friedman, who is one person and would be delighted by a rating or review. It's not strategy. It's Strategery.

About

Dice by PCalc

This app simulates polyhedral dice with realistic 3D graphics for tabletop role-playing games. It allows for custom dice creation, saving presets, and supports various game mechanics like advantage/disadvantage and modifiers. It also offers companion apps and AR functionality.

Highlights
  • Physics-based dice simulation
  • Near-photorealistic 3D graphics
  • Custom dice creation with text, emoji, or images
  • Save named presets for quick rolls
  • Support for advantage/disadvantage and modifiers
  • Companion Apple Watch app
  • Augmented Reality (AR) support
Features
Read full description

Dice by PCalc, is a physics-based simulation of polyhedral dice for use in tabletop role-playing games with dungeons and/or dragons. Featuring near-photorealistic 3D graphics, it comes with a variety of gorgeous dice sets. Throw multiple dice with advantage or disadvantage, and any given modifier, and the app will automatically calculate the correct total. You can save named presets to quickly roll the attack of your favorite sword, or figure out exactly how much damage your bard took from those seventeen giant rats. Flick dice to fire them across the screen when the numbers don’t go your way. Create custom dice with any text or emoji on the faces, or import your own images, and easily share your dice with friends. Supports split screen and slide-over on the iPad, so you can put it alongside your other RPG apps, and speech synthesis that can read out the list of dice and the results. Also comes with a companion Apple Watch app, so you'll never be without a D20 again. Even supports AR! The ideal app for every member of your party!

Screenshots

Strategery4 screens
Dice by PCalc4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dice by PCalc at 4.9 against Strategery's 3.9. Dice by PCalc also leads on review sentiment (91% vs 69%) and price ($1.99 vs $4.99). Strategery's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 6 weeks). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and chart position 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

Strategery costs $4.99 and Dice by PCalc $1.99 up front. Strategery sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Dice by PCalc sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dice by PCalc holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 334 and 329 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of Strategery's written reviews are positive against 91% of Dice by PCalc's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Strategery ships an update daily, Dice by PCalc every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Strategery versus Dice by PCalc: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStrategeryDice by PCalc
Price$4.99$1.99 — better
Rating3.9 (334 ratings)4.9 (329 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.8% of reviews90.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings334 — better329
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#26 — better#72
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.014.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB313 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLex FriedmanTLA Systems Ltd.

Customer experience

Strategery

All ratings334 ratings
Positive71.0%
Neutral2.7%
Negative26.3%
Written reviews465 reviews
Positive68.8%
Neutral7.3%
Negative23.9%

Dice by PCalc

All ratings329 ratings
Positive98.2%
Neutral1.2%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews64 reviews
Positive90.6%
Neutral6.3%
Negative3.1%

User reviews

Strategery

From 334 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Online play
  • 💡 Challenging gameplay
  • 👍 Simple and addictive
  • 👍 Great strategy game
  • 👍 Excellent game

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 🔋 Battery draining
  • 🔒 Online play issues
  • 🔒 Cannot create account
  • 🔒 Multiplayer not working

Dice by PCalc

From 329 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Stunning visual design and graphics
  • 🎲 Realistic physics engine for dice rolling
  • 🎨 Extensive customization options for dice
  • 📱 Works seamlessly across iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS
  • 🔊 Satisfying sound effects and haptic feedback

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Apple Watch app crashes frequently
  • 🔋 High battery consumption and device heating
  • 📐 UI takes up significant space in portrait mode
  • 🎥 Camera angles awkward when rolling multiple dice
  • 📚 Steep learning curve for interface navigation

Bugs and requests

Strategery

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Game freezes when opponent is eliminated
  • Armies disappear after switching apps
  • Cannot log in or create account
  • Game crashes on newer iOS versions

Requested features

8 requests
  • Pinch to zoom for maps
  • More map options and sizes
  • Ability to redeploy armies
  • Online multiplayer with random opponents
  • Ability to play more than 2 players online
Show 3 more
  • Stats and leaderboards
  • Automatic army placement option
  • Ability to skip replay at end of game

Dice by PCalc

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Apple Watch app crashes on launch (watchOS)
  • Apple Watch app glitches and stutters after initial rolls
  • Apple Watch app no longer functions on Apple Watch Ultra 2
  • Physics-based rolling doesn't always appear realistic

Requested features

12 requests
  • Apple Watch app stability and functionality
  • Reroll options with drop settings for Warhammer 40k
  • Multiplayer/shared dice rolling mechanic
  • Additional polyhedral dice (3, 5, 7, 14, 16, 24, 30-sided)
  • More color options, especially green and purple
Show 7 more
  • Default D10 as 1-10 instead of 0-9
  • Drop lowest dice feature for stat rolling
  • Themed environments (forest, dungeon, cave, pub)
  • Better support for non-D&D game mechanics
  • Ability to control dice list options from side panel
  • Better camera control and angles
  • Auto-remove dice on new roll option

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Strategery

One-time2
  • $3 tip$2.99
  • War Chest$9.99
4 purchases

Dice by PCalc

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$1.99
  • Large Tip$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Enormous Tip$9.99

Questions

Is Strategery free?
Strategery costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Dice by PCalc free?
Dice by PCalc costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Strategery or Dice by PCalc?
Dice by PCalc is rated higher. Strategery averages 3.9 out of 5 from 334 ratings, while Dice by PCalc averages 4.9 from 329 ratings.
Do Strategery or Dice by PCalc have ads?
Neither Strategery nor Dice by PCalc shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Strategery or Dice by PCalc?
Strategery ships an update daily, and Dice by PCalc every 6 weeks. Most recently, Strategery was updated on September 29, 2026 and Dice by PCalc on September 26, 2026.
Which is more popular, Strategery or Dice by PCalc?
Strategery currently peaks at #26 in the App Store charts, and Dice by PCalc at #72. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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