Comparison

Musket Smoke vs Evolution Board Game

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

Head to head
About

Musket Smoke

Engage in turn-based tactical warfare inspired by Napoleonic battles. Outmaneuver opponents with a rich array of strategic options, including smoke, artillery, cavalry, and flanking maneuvers. Play solo against AI or asynchronously online with friends.

Highlights
  • Turn-based tactical gameplay
  • Solo skirmish maps with AI
  • Asynchronous online multiplayer
  • Online campaign mode
  • Pass n Play option
  • Full match replays
  • ELO-like leaderboards
Features
Read full description

Flank and charge with friends! Simple, fun and rich with tactical options. Musket Smoke is a turn-based, war game with an unusually interactive UI allowing for enormous tactical options.  Smoke, artillery, cavalry charges, morale and flanking.  It’s all here and dead simple to play. Features: • Solo training skirmish maps with AI. • Take turns online, with friends, asynchronously. • Special training zone for first-time-online players. • Online campaign - the core feature. • Pass n Play. • Full replay for online matches. • Competitive ELO like leaderboards. • Manual, tutorial, help video. • Universal app. • In-game video recoding for newer devices. • 4 round 'Mingle Phase' before deciding on who you want to play online. • Just 'Friendly Pass' with those not suitable for your first battles. It's the ideal system for great match-ups. Musket Smoke is a tactical online turn based war game. It supports both single player and multi player but the competitive asynchronous matches are the primary focus. The board game design was 'inspired by' Napoleonic warfare but streamlines it to be fast and furious, optimized for online play.  This is a ‘people first’ war game with a focus on usability and visually rich tactical options. ------------------------------------------------------- What people are saying about Musket Smoke: (US) “Hands down the most fun game I have played on the iPad period. I’m a sucker for historical wargames and musket smoke is one of the best I have played virtual or otherwise. I enjoy it so much, I plan on making some chits and buying a hex board to play it on table top!” (Canada) “One of the best strategy titles available for the iPad. Immense amounts of strategy, replayability and detail. One of the few must have titles of strategy gamers” (Ireland) “This is the first game that have regularly played online matches. While the mechanics are quite simple, you can really get yourself into to some interesting situations, especially when playing the campaign.” (Australia) One night in Naarden. This game is a blast. The campaign mode will have you on the edge of your seat, whether you're battling one of the top ten players or a newcomer. Mini matches are great fun, and the variety of armies and tactics is amazing. Even the AI is fun to play against, if you want to learn the game or perfect your strategies. Musket Smoke is a one of a kind game and will forever be in our hearts." (Croatia) “Real Strategy. Great game for the strategy gamers.” (Germany) “Seems simple at first glance, but at second glance turns out this game as a strategic, round-based strategy game … Who loves it with his favorite drink in peace weigh all options to try out individual solutions, while relaxing on the couch at sit and then burning it waits his opponent makes his turn, this game is highly recommended !!!” (Greece) “Fast, easy, deep. recommended!” (Japan) “This is without a doubt one of the most fun and most polished, with deep strategy, but easy-to-get-into-gameplay turn-based stragegy games around. And the async multiplayer is seamless.” (Austria) “... show me a better wargame today!”

About

Evolution Board Game

Adapt your species to survive and thrive in a dynamic ecosystem. Evolve traits to overcome environmental challenges and outcompete opponents. Experience a rich campaign, challenging multiplayer, and endless replayability with thousands of species combinations.

Highlights
  • Adapt species to survive
  • Evolve traits and abilities
  • Compete in dynamic ecosystems
  • Engaging single-player campaign
  • Online multiplayer matches
  • Thousands of species combinations
Features
Read full description

Evolution continues to evolve! New changes mean faster, fluid games and more content to explore. Adapt, survive, and thrive in a changing world enhanced by incredible art and thoughtful, balanced mechanics. Inspired by the award-winning board game with more than 3 million players, Evolution has arrived on iOS. "#1 Digital Board Game of the year" -Ars Technica "Best Mobile Strategy Game of the year" -Pocket Gamer NATURAL SELECTION IN ACTION In the game Evolution, you adapt your species to survive and stay one step ahead of opponents. -Watering hole running dry? Evolve a long neck to reach food in the trees. -Staring down a Carnivore? Develop a hard shell to fend off an attack. -Evolve up the food chain to become a the most successful species. TRY BEFORE YOU BUY! Unlike most board games, evolution lets you try the game for free first. Freeplay includes the tutorial, the easy and intermediate AI opponents, five campaign levels, and 1 multiplayer game a day. Pay a one-time cost to unlock unlimited functionality such as the Weekly Challenges, the Hard & Expert AI, Pass and Play, the full Campaign, Private Multiplayer Games and Asynchronous Games, and unlimited Matchmade Games. CHALLENGING AND ADDICTIVE Do you evolve protection from Carnivores, or find a way to eat if there is no Food in the Watering Hole? The ecosystem is constantly changing, and you’ve got to figure out what your opponents are up to. INTERACTIVE TUTORIAL Our friendly professor will guide you from one watering hole to the next on our learn-as-you-play tutorial, showing you how to survive in evolution before sending you off to make a name for yourself. Hone your skill as you progress from lowly Biology Intern to competing for the Nobel Prize! EXPLORE THE CAMPAIGN Explore the mysteries of Evolution Island and discover distinct Boss opponents. As you move through the campaign you’ll unlock new “Apex Species” that are masters of specific strategies; defeat them to add them to your menu of single-player opponents. MATCH MADE MULTIPLAYER One click and the game will match you with players of similar skill in a fast paced online game. Make friends in the game and set up custom games, or rank up in the ongoing seasonal tournaments and see how far you can go. ENDLESS REPLAYS, ONE PRICE This isn't a collectible card game, the full set of cards are included in the base game. Thousands of possible species combinations evolve from 17 unique trait cards, meaning no two games are ever the same. PACE & POLISH With a smooth user interface and fast, informative animations, Evolution was built to satisfy a quick fix of intense strategic battles. Easy to learn, almost impossible to master, one game and you’ll find yourself addicted. Evolution isn’t just a top tier strategy game – it’s a whole new animal. "Best Digital Board Game of the year" -Vulture "A powerhouse game poised to steal the thunder of some of the most popular games on the app store" -Touch Arcade

Screenshots

Musket Smoke4 screens
Evolution Board Game4 screens

Verdict

The call

Musket Smoke and Evolution Board Game both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 97% of Musket Smoke's written reviews are positive against 59% of Evolution Board Game's. Musket Smoke also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.0). Evolution Board Game's advantage is ratings volume (4.8K vs 104). On price, rating, update cadence 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

Both are free to download. Musket Smoke sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Evolution Board Game sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Musket Smoke against 4.7 for Evolution Board Game. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Evolution Board Game has 4.8K ratings behind it against 104, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 97% of Musket Smoke's written reviews are positive against 59% of Evolution Board Game's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Musket Smoke ships an update every 2 weeks, Evolution Board Game every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Musket Smoke versus Evolution Board Game: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMusket SmokeEvolution Board Game
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (104 ratings) — better4.7 (4.8K ratings)
Positive reviews97.3% of reviews — better59.2% of reviews
Number of ratings1044.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size198 MB531 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperWoodie DovichNorth Star Digital Games

Customer experience

Musket Smoke

All ratings99 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral4.0%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews111 reviews
Positive97.3%
Neutral0.9%
Negative1.8%

Evolution Board Game

All ratings4,797 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.9%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews284 reviews
Positive59.2%
Neutral10.2%
Negative30.6%

User reviews

Musket Smoke

From 104 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ♟️ Deep tactical strategy gameplay
  • 👥 Welcoming and helpful community
  • 🎮 Easy to learn, hard to master
  • ⚔️ Napoleonic era warfare authenticity
  • 🔄 Asynchronous multiplayer functionality

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional glitches and bugs
  • 🌧️ Weather effects (rain) affect all games simultaneously
  • 👤 Limited player base for matchmaking
  • 🎮 Steep learning curve for newcomers
  • 🎯 Experienced players dominate online matches

Evolution Board Game

From 4.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Excellent digital implementation of the board game
  • 🎨 Beautiful artwork and animations
  • 🤖 Challenging and well-designed AI opponents
  • 🕹️ Smooth and intuitive gameplay
  • 📚 Helpful tutorial and campaign mode

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 🔌 Battery-draining performance
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases for full game access
  • 🤖 Overpowered AI opponents in some cases
  • 🤝 Limited multiplayer options and matchmaking

Bugs and requests

Musket Smoke

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Glitches causing turn replays
  • Controlling opponent troops unintentionally
  • Campaign download failures
  • Multiplayer synchronization issues
  • Wind indicator missing from solo play despite manual reference

Requested features

12 requests
  • Larger maps with more units
  • Additional campaign scenarios
  • Map editor functionality
  • Offline campaign mode with full features
  • More solo/single-player content
Show 7 more
  • Ability to purchase additional maps
  • Bigger army sizes (10,000+ units)
  • Improved matchmaking system with game availability info
  • Friend system in-game
  • Historical battle scenarios
  • More unit variety and customization
  • Better solo training to reflect multiplayer unpredictability

Evolution Board Game

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Campaign progress not saving properly
  • Inability to create new accounts
  • Multiplayer games freezing or crashing
  • UI elements overlapping or not scaling correctly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add local pass-and-play multiplayer
  • Implement more customization options for creatures
  • Introduce new gameplay modes and expansions
  • Improve online matchmaking and stability
  • Optimize performance for older devices

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Musket Smoke

One-time1
  • Mini Campaign: Naarden$2.99
10 purchases

Evolution Board Game

One-time10
  • Venom$0.99
  • Stained Glass Cards$2.99
  • Promo Card Bundle$3.99
Show 7 more
  • Arms Race Promo Pack$3.99
  • Alone and Unafraid Promo Pack$3.99
  • Evolution Full Game$6.99
  • Climate$6.99
  • Flight Upgrade$6.99
  • Base Game & Climate Upgrade$9.99
  • Ultimate Bundle$19.99

Questions

Is Musket Smoke free?
Musket Smoke is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Evolution Board Game free?
Evolution Board Game is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Musket Smoke or Evolution Board Game?
Musket Smoke is rated higher. Musket Smoke averages 4.8 out of 5 from 104 ratings, while Evolution Board Game averages 4.7 from 4.8K ratings.
Do Musket Smoke or Evolution Board Game have ads?
Neither Musket Smoke nor Evolution Board Game shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Musket Smoke or Evolution Board Game?
Musket Smoke ships an update every 2 weeks, and Evolution Board Game every 11 days. Most recently, Musket Smoke was updated on November 1, 2026 and Evolution Board Game on November 11, 2026.

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