Comparison

Strategery vs Dropcaps

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
Currently charting
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

Dropcaps

A strategic word game where players arrange falling letter tiles to spell words starting with large letter tiles. Explore eight themed levels at your own pace while uncovering medieval facts. Relax, enhance strategic thinking, and improve vocabulary recall.

Highlights
  • Strategic word arrangement
  • Falling letter tiles
  • Eight thematic levels
  • Uncover medieval facts
  • Vocabulary recall enhancement
  • Strategic thinking development
Currently charting
Read full description

Wise worders welcome! Dropcaps is a strategy word game inspired by Medieval manuscripts. Arrange small, falling letter tiles on a game board to spell words that start with the large letter tiles. Play through eight, thematic levels at your own pace to uncover wild and wonderful Medieval facts. Relax, sharpen your strategic thinking, and hone your vocabulary recall! Make Words. Nerd Out. Dropcaps.

Screenshots

Strategery4 screens
Dropcaps4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dropcaps at 4.4 against Strategery's 3.9. Dropcaps also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and price ($1.99 vs $4.99). Strategery's advantage is ratings volume (342 vs 5). On review sentiment, ads, monetization model 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 Dropcaps $1.99 up front. Strategery sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Dropcaps asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dropcaps holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Strategery has 342 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 68% of Strategery's written reviews are positive against 67% of Dropcaps's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Strategery versus Dropcaps: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStrategeryDropcaps
Price$4.99$1.99 — better
Rating3.9 (342 ratings)4.4 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.0% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings342 — better5
Update frequencyDaily—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#141 — better#200
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB141 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLex FriedmanJessie Contour

Customer experience

Strategery

All ratings342 ratings
Positive71.6%
Neutral2.6%
Negative25.7%
Written reviews485 reviews
Positive68.0%
Neutral7.2%
Negative24.7%

Dropcaps

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

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

Dropcaps

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Strategery

One-time2
  • $3 tip$2.99
  • War Chest$9.99
None

Dropcaps

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Strategery free?
Strategery costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Dropcaps free?
Dropcaps costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Strategery or Dropcaps?
Dropcaps is rated higher. Strategery averages 3.9 out of 5 from 342 ratings, while Dropcaps averages 4.4 from 5 ratings.
Do Strategery or Dropcaps have ads?
Neither Strategery nor Dropcaps shows ads.
Which is more popular, Strategery or Dropcaps?
Strategery currently peaks at #141 in the App Store charts, and Dropcaps at #200. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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