Comparison

Slay vs Through the Ages

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

Head to head
About

Slay

Engage in a turn-based strategy game set in medieval times. Conquer enemy territories, expand your own, and strategically upgrade your units from peasants to powerful barons. Balance resource management to avoid bankruptcy and achieve victory.

Highlights
  • Territory capture and expansion
  • Unit upgrades (Peasants to Barons)
  • Strategic combat and castle sieges
  • Resource management and bankruptcy risk
  • Turn-based multiplayer
  • AI opponents
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Slay is a simple to learn game of strategy and cunning set in medieval times. The island is divided up between the six players, and you must try to capture your enemies' land and link up your own territories to create larger and stronger ones. You begin capturing land by attacking with your peasants. Once your territories become richer you can combine peasants to make stronger and stronger people (Spearmen, Knights and then Barons) who can kill weaker enemy troops, or knock down their castles. Just be careful that you don't create too many expensive men or the territory will go bankrupt! "This game is pure strategy! It's a work of genius. Brilliant AI. Engaging turn-based multiplayer strategy. Sid Meier, eat your heart out!" - GameSpy.com "I love this game! I play it all the time, and when I'm not, I think about wanting to play it." - PocketNow.com "At first glance, Slay looks elementary, but hidden beneath are cunning strategy elements that must be finely balanced for success" - PC Magazine "Deceptively delightful. The graphics are simple, but the strategy is complex." - Download.com For the latest news on all my games follow @SeansGames on Twitter!

About

Through the Ages

Lead a civilization from its beginnings to the modern era. Expand your resources, develop technologies, and build armies to defend or attack. Construct wonders and choose governments to achieve victory in this deep strategy game.

Highlights
  • Civilization development
  • Resource management
  • Technology research
  • Military expansion
  • Government selection
  • Wonder construction
  • Card-driven gameplay
  • Solo and online multiplayer
Features
Read full description

Through the Ages is based on a highly acclaimed civilization board game by well-known designer Vlaada Chvátil. The original game is recognized as a modern classic board game. ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES Become a chieftain of a small civilization at the dawn of humankind's history. Expand your farms and mines to ensure you have enough resources to grow your civilization. This is our chance to make history! Develop various technologies, improve armies to defend your cities, or attack other civilizations nearby. Choose the best government that fits your goals and build magnificent wonders to achieve memorable victory at the end of the modern era. CARD-DRIVEN GAMEPLAY Through the Ages is a card-driven, turn-based board game that gives you countless options on what to do and how to play. Thanks to the pool of hundreds of cards, every game is unique, allowing you to build a mighty civilization. PLAY SOLO OR ONLINE You can play against AI-driven world leaders with various difficulties, or you can jump into online games against other players. Thanks to the ELO system, the game will find you opponents of the same level as you are. Clash with them and discover whose strategy leads to victory. You can also participate in some of the many championships, including the official World Championship in Through the Ages. PLENTY OF CHALLENGES The game offers more than 30 challenges that change the winning conditions or rules, so you must adapt your strategy to lead your civilization to victory. Prove that you understand how civilization works and become the mighty world leader.

Screenshots

Slay4 screens
Through the Ages4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Through the Ages at every 10 days against Slay's every 3 months. Through the Ages also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.6) and ratings volume (5.1K vs 266). Slay's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $9.99) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Slay costs $4.99 and Through the Ages $9.99 up front. Slay sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Through the Ages sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Through the Ages holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Through the Ages has 5.1K ratings behind it against 266, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Slay's written reviews are positive against 88% of Through the Ages's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Slay ships an update every 3 months, Through the Ages every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Slay versus Through the Ages: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSlayThrough the Ages
Price$4.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.6 (266 ratings)4.9 (5.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.4% of reviews87.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2665.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#144#41 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB188 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperSean O'ConnorCGE Digital s.r.o.

Customer experience

Slay

All ratings266 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral2.3%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews536 reviews
Positive74.4%
Neutral6.7%
Negative18.8%

Through the Ages

All ratings5,140 ratings
Positive97.8%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews814 reviews
Positive87.7%
Neutral3.8%
Negative8.5%

User reviews

Slay

From 266 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⭐ Classic and timeless game
  • 🕹️ Simple yet engaging gameplay
  • 🧠 Challenging and strategic
  • ⏱️ Great for quick play sessions
  • 🔁 High replayability with many maps

Room to improve

  • 🎨 Dislike for recent graphical updates
  • 🔍 Difficulty distinguishing territories
  • 🔊 Annoying sound effects
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs

Through the Ages

From 5.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent tutorial
  • 👍 Great implementation of board game
  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Challenging AI
  • 👍 Lots of replay value

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🐛 Connectivity issues with online play
  • 🐛 Bugs in challenge mode
  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with older devices

Bugs and requests

Slay

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Multiplayer not working
  • Progress not saving in custom levels
  • Graphical issues on newer devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Option to revert to classic graphics
  • Ability to choose starting color
  • Larger/randomized map sizes
  • Online/multiplayer mode
  • Level editor or custom map creation
Show 1 more
  • Stats tracking and achievements

Through the Ages

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes during challenge mode
  • Connectivity issues with online play
  • Compatibility problems on older devices
  • Freezing during gameplay

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add pass-and-play mode with AI
  • Ability to mix human and AI players
  • More customization options for game settings
  • Expansion content (new leaders, wonders, etc.)
  • Ability to slow down AI turns for better observation

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Slay

One-time12
  • Snowflakes$0.99
  • Countries 1$0.99
  • Countries 2$0.99
Show 9 more
  • Patterns 1$0.99
  • Patterns 2$0.99
  • Patterns 3$0.99
  • Patterns 4$0.99
  • US States$0.99
  • Mythical Creatures$0.99
  • Whole row of 18 pages$9.99
  • Whole 3rd row$9.99
  • Whole 4th row$9.99
1 purchases

Through the Ages

One-time1
  • New Leaders and Wonders$4.99

Questions

Is Slay free?
Slay costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Through the Ages free?
Through the Ages costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Slay or Through the Ages?
Through the Ages is rated higher. Slay averages 4.6 out of 5 from 266 ratings, while Through the Ages averages 4.9 from 5.1K ratings.
Do Slay or Through the Ages have ads?
Neither Slay nor Through the Ages shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Slay or Through the Ages?
Slay ships an update every 3 months, and Through the Ages every 10 days. Most recently, Slay was updated on September 24, 2026 and Through the Ages on September 26, 2026.
Which is more popular, Slay or Through the Ages?
Slay currently peaks at #144 in the App Store charts, and Through the Ages at #41. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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