Comparison

Shogi Demon vs Idle Hex Realms

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

Head to head
About

Shogi Demon

Experience Japanese Chess with unique rules like piece reuse and promotion. Offers a guide for piece movement, multiple computer difficulty levels, handicaps, and a position editor.

Highlights
  • Piece reuse from opponent
  • Piece promotion with increased movement
  • Movement guide for pieces
  • Four computer difficulty levels
  • 22 handicap options
  • Position editor
Features
Read full description

Shogi is Japanese Chess. The difference between this and regular Chess is that the player is allowed to reuse the pieces captured from the opponent for themselves. With exceptions to the King and the Gold, any pieces that enter the zone of the opponent can be turned over to increase their range of movement. Positioning 2 or more Pawns on a vertical line is not permitted if the Pawns are not turned over. Also, although it is possible to put a King in mate with your own Pawn, it is not permitted to put a King in mate with a Pawn captured from your opponent. This is because such act is an insult to the King. - There is a guide that informs player of a possible movement of the pieces. - Four computer levels. - 22 kinds of handicaps. - Position editor.

About

Idle Hex Realms

Build and expand your empire in a post-collapse world. Collect resources, upgrade your settlements, and discover powerful Hexes to aid your progress. Enjoy incremental gameplay where your empire thrives even when you're away.

Highlights
  • Incremental idle gameplay
  • City building and upgrades
  • Resource collection
  • Unique Hexes for power-ups
  • Randomly generated maps
  • AFK progression
Features
Read full description

Idle Hex Realms is an incremental idle game (where you progress even when you are AFK), uniting multiple genres (idle, boardgames, city building, CCG). After the collapse of the Ruon empire you find yourself in one of the three remaining kingdoms trying to make a name for yourself. Your first city starts from the small land that the ruler has given to you in exchange for your services. You will be collecting resources (food, wood, stone, and gold) in order to upgrade your settlement. Once the settlement is self-sustaining, you can venture out and found a new city to get a boost on future progress. A growing empire never sleeps. Being a leader has its own benefits, as you don't have to supervise every tiny bit to keep things running. Feel free to take breaks, production will be taken care of. Just make sure you upgrade your warehouses, so there is place to stockpile the resources. While searching for the perfect location of your new city, you will meet Lorekeepers. Lorekeepers are knowledgable people as they were in charge of the Imperial Library back in the Ruon empire. They are willing to share their knowledge with you, in the form of Unique Hexes. These are special tiles with knowledge infused, making them capable of altering the environment, acting as power-ups in your gameplay. Every new city starts with a new randomly generated map and a random draw of three starting Unique Hexes from your gathered collection to help you grow your new city in various ways. This game contains In-App Purchases. Standard Apple Terms of Use applies: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Shogi Demon4 screens
Idle Hex Realms4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Idle Hex Realms at Free against Shogi Demon's $1.99. Idle Hex Realms also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 18.0). Shogi Demon's advantage is rating (3.5 vs 1.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ratings volume and ads 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

Idle Hex Realms is free to download; Shogi Demon costs $1.99 up front. Idle Hex Realms sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month. Shogi Demon asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shogi Demon holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shogi Demon ships an update every 5 months, Idle Hex Realms every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Shogi Demon versus Idle Hex Realms: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShogi DemonIdle Hex Realms
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating3.5 (2 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews40.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 months — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB61 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperNUTRACTORArtur Nagy

In-app purchases

None

Shogi Demon

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Idle Hex Realms

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Subscription$2.991 Month

Questions

Is Shogi Demon free?
Shogi Demon costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Idle Hex Realms free?
Idle Hex Realms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shogi Demon or Idle Hex Realms?
Shogi Demon is rated higher. Shogi Demon averages 3.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Idle Hex Realms averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Shogi Demon or Idle Hex Realms have ads?
Neither Shogi Demon nor Idle Hex Realms shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shogi Demon or Idle Hex Realms?
Shogi Demon ships an update every 5 months, and Idle Hex Realms every 11 months. Most recently, Shogi Demon was updated on October 29, 2026 and Idle Hex Realms on October 27, 2026.

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