Comparison

Strategery vs Ozymandias

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

Ozymandias

Experience the thrill of building a Bronze Age empire in a streamlined 4X strategy game. Expand your territory, develop cities, and raise armies. Unique victory conditions and abstracted combat ensure fast-paced, strategic gameplay.

Highlights
  • Streamlined 4X gameplay
  • Abstracted combat system
  • Hand-painted historical maps
  • Random and custom victory conditions
  • AI that doesn't cheat
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Build an empire in a single sitting. All the strategy of a classic 4X in a faster format. At the dawn of history, Bronze Age kings built the first empires. Strategize their rise to power in a uniquely streamlined 4X. Expand your borders, build cities in tactical locations then raise armies to defend them. Each turn, you receive opportunities but must choose only one. Random victory conditions make every game different; custom victory conditions support different styles of play. DISTILLED DESIGN - Focus on strategy over tactics, we’ve stripped the busywork out of 4X gameplay. - Combat abstracted into an innovative Power system, you only move armies and fleets. HISTORICAL MAPS - Hand-painted maps charting Bronze Ages around the world. - Each empire's trait and start location bring a unique set of challenges. EASY TO LEARN - The tutorial is a short story campaign about explorer, Gertrude Bell. - Climb the difficulty ladder against our AI, which never cheats to compete.

Screenshots

Strategery4 screens
Ozymandias4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Strategery at daily against Ozymandias's every 2 weeks. Strategery also leads on ratings volume (334 vs 23) and chart position (#27 vs #99). Ozymandias's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.9) and price ($3.99 vs $4.99). On review sentiment, 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

Strategery costs $4.99 and Ozymandias $3.99 up front. Strategery sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Ozymandias sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ozymandias holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Strategery has 334 ratings behind it against 23, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 69% of Strategery's written reviews are positive against 62% of Ozymandias's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Strategery ships an update daily, Ozymandias every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on September 29, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Strategery versus Ozymandias: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStrategeryOzymandias
Price$4.99$3.99 — better
Rating3.9 (334 ratings)4.3 (23 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.8% of reviews — better61.9% of reviews
Number of ratings334 — better23
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#27 — better#99
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB493 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLex FriedmanGoblinz Studio SAS

Customer experience

Strategery

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

Ozymandias

All ratings23 ratings
Positive78.3%
Neutral13.0%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive61.9%
Neutral14.3%
Negative23.8%

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

Ozymandias

From 23 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Fun and engaging 4X gameplay
  • 🚀 Quick and efficient game sessions
  • 💎 Great value for the price
  • 💡 Well-balanced strategy mechanics
  • 📱 Excellent port for mobile devices

Room to improve

  • 📱 UI too small for iPhone
  • 🧐 Font size difficult to read
  • 🔄 Game can become repetitive
  • 📉 Steep learning curve for new players
  • 📱 Unplayable on smaller iPhones

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

Ozymandias

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Crashes frequently, especially late game
  • Save progress lost after crashes
  • Game crashes when saving
  • Game restarts to beginning after crash
  • UI elements too small
Show 5 more
  • Font unadjustable and unreadable
  • Does not support both landscape orientations
  • iPad orientation issues
  • Screen does not rotate
  • Crashes randomly, progress lost

Requested features

10 requests
  • More objective cards
  • More maps
  • PvP mode on mobile
  • Cloud Saves / iCloud saves
  • Multiplayer option
Show 5 more
  • Fix iPad orientation / autorotate
  • Support both landscape orientations
  • Zoom feature for map
  • Tooltip for combat strength
  • Demo with actual gameplay

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Strategery

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

Ozymandias

One-time9
  • The World$0.99
  • The Andes$0.99
  • Sahara Desert$0.99
Show 6 more
  • Indonesia$0.99
  • Mesoamerica$0.99
  • Aegean Sea$0.99
  • Indus Valley$0.99
  • Near East$0.99
  • All Maps$3.99

Questions

Is Strategery free?
Strategery costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Ozymandias free?
Ozymandias costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Strategery or Ozymandias?
Ozymandias is rated higher. Strategery averages 3.9 out of 5 from 334 ratings, while Ozymandias averages 4.3 from 23 ratings.
Do Strategery or Ozymandias have ads?
Neither Strategery nor Ozymandias shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Strategery or Ozymandias?
Strategery ships an update daily, and Ozymandias every 2 weeks. Most recently, Strategery was updated on September 29, 2026 and Ozymandias on September 29, 2026.
Which is more popular, Strategery or Ozymandias?
Strategery currently peaks at #27 in the App Store charts, and Ozymandias at #99. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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