Comparison

Strategery vs Subterfuge

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

Subterfuge

Engage in a week-long real-time strategy and diplomacy game. Gather intelligence, coordinate with others, and issue orders to influence the game's outcome. Master both strategic planning and player negotiation to achieve victory.

Highlights
  • Week-long real-time gameplay
  • Strategy and diplomacy mechanics
  • Intelligence gathering
  • Order issuance
  • Player coordination
  • Unlimited scheduled orders (with IAP)
  • Private game creation (with IAP)
Features
Read full description

* Multiplayer Game of the Year 2015 by Pocket Tactics * * Best Mobile Games of 2015 by CNET * * 10 Best Mobile Games of 2015 by Red Bull * Subterfuge is a week-long multiplayer game of strategy and diplomacy that plays out in real time. Gather intelligence, coordinate with other players, issue orders, and influence how the game unfolds. Master both strategy and diplomacy to come out on top. "One of the best strategy games I've played all year. And it's on my iPhone, of all places." -- Polygon "Subterfuge is the perfect mobile game for someone looking for an in-depth strategy game you can play for 5 minutes at a time or stare at your phone for 45 minutes plotting schemes and executing flawlessly timed maneuvers" -- TouchArcade "In a world of single-serving iPhone distraction, Subterfuge is a remarkable standout, a booming four-course meal of strategy, diplomacy, and damn fine gameplay." -- The Daily Dot "A diplomacy system more dynamic and tense than a Middle East peace talk." -- Gamespresso “The designers, to their credit, have created a truly bottomless puzzle. This app is hypnotizing” -- Quintin Smith (Cool Ghosts) Features unlocked by buying Level 2 Security Clearance IAP: * Play online games with other players Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Strategery4 screens
Subterfuge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Subterfuge at Free against Strategery's $4.99. Subterfuge also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (87% vs 69%). Strategery's advantage is update cadence (daily vs weekly) and chart position (#22 vs unranked). On ratings volume, 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

Subterfuge is free to download; Strategery costs $4.99 up front. Strategery sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Subterfuge sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Subterfuge holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 334 and 583 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of Strategery's written reviews are positive against 87% of Subterfuge's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Strategery ships an update daily, Subterfuge weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Strategery versus Subterfuge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStrategerySubterfuge
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating3.9 (334 ratings)4.7 (583 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.8% of reviews87.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings334583 — better
Update frequencyDaily — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#22 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLex FriedmanSecret Plan LLC

Customer experience

Strategery

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

Subterfuge

All ratings583 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral1.2%
Negative5.7%
Written reviews281 reviews
Positive87.2%
Neutral3.2%
Negative9.6%

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

Subterfuge

From 583 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great game
  • 👍 Awesome strategy game
  • 👍 Brilliant game
  • 👍 Fantastic game
  • 👍 Best strategy game

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy
  • 🐛 Crashes too much
  • 🐛 Unplayable
  • 🐛 Crashes
  • 🐛 Chat freezes

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

Subterfuge

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Queen randomly loses hire points
  • Win conditions don't trigger
  • Login screen freezes
  • Game crashes on launch
  • Notifications arrive late
Show 2 more
  • Unable to delete subs on iOS
  • Touchscreen issues (not centered, wrong button presses)

Requested features

13 requests
  • Accelerated gameplay
  • Shorter game modes
  • Alliance feature
  • More specialists
  • New game modes
Show 8 more
  • Ability to view player profiles during game
  • Option to privately tag players
  • Refresh button
  • Ability to delete subs on iOS
  • NAP Breaker medal
  • Customizable backgrounds and items
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Strategery

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

Subterfuge

Subscriptions1
  • Patron (L3)$4.991 Month
One-time3
  • Medal$0.99
  • Pack of 5 Medals$4.99
  • Level 2 Security Clearance2 variants$9.99

Questions

Is Strategery free?
Strategery costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Subterfuge free?
Subterfuge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Strategery or Subterfuge?
Subterfuge is rated higher. Strategery averages 3.9 out of 5 from 334 ratings, while Subterfuge averages 4.7 from 583 ratings.
Do Strategery or Subterfuge have ads?
Neither Strategery nor Subterfuge shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Strategery or Subterfuge?
Strategery ships an update daily, and Subterfuge weekly. Most recently, Strategery was updated on September 29, 2026 and Subterfuge on September 30, 2026.

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