Comparison

Strategery vs ECHO

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

ECHO

Features
Read full description

Your echoes are your teammates. ECHO is a time-loop puzzle: every run is recorded, and when you press ECHO, your past self replays it - step by step, loop after loop. Hold plates for each other, open doors across time, and thread paths no single runner could ever take. EASY TO LEARN, DEEP TO MASTER - 100 campaign levels across ten decades, from gentle first steps to choreographed finales - Mechanics that weave together: chained doors, counter-doors, double doors, fragile floors, beat walls, paradox boards and mirror echoes that replay your run backwards - Handcrafted signature levels where every single step must be planned FOUR WAYS TO PLAY - Campaign: 100 levels with a carefully tuned difficulty curve - Daily puzzle: one fresh board every day - keep your streak alive - Zen: endless generated puzzles in six difficulties - Time challenge: how many boards can you solve in one run against the clock? MADE WITH CARE - Completely offline: no account, no ads, no tracking, no data collection - Music is synthesized live on your device - no two sessions sound the same - Home-screen widget that grows with your streak - and hides a secret level - Game Center leaderboards and achievements - Available in 7 languages ECHO is free and complete from the first minute. The only purchases are voluntary tips for the developer - they unlock nothing. Your past self is waiting.

Screenshots

Strategery4 screens
ECHO4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ECHO at Free against Strategery's $4.99. ECHO also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2). Strategery's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 3 days) and chart position (#26 vs unranked). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

ECHO is free to download; Strategery costs $4.99 up front. Strategery sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. ECHO asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Strategery ships an update daily, ECHO every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Strategery versus ECHO: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStrategeryECHO
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating3.9 (334 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews68.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings334 — better—
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 3 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#26 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLex FriedmanLucas Hesseldieck

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

ECHO

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

ECHO

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Strategery free?
Strategery costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is ECHO free?
ECHO is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Strategery or ECHO have ads?
Neither Strategery nor ECHO shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Strategery or ECHO?
Strategery ships an update daily, and ECHO every 3 days. Most recently, Strategery was updated on September 29, 2026 and ECHO on September 18, 2026.

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