Comparison

Brogue vs Kaona

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

Head to head
About

Brogue

Embark on a challenging 26-level dungeon crawl to find the Amulet of Yendor. Master strategic gameplay with a focus on a smooth learning curve and intuitive design within a classic ASCII/Unicode aesthetic. Experience high fantasy with a variety of creatures and magical items.

Highlights
  • 26-level dungeon crawl
  • Strategic depth
  • Smooth learning curve
  • ASCII/Unicode display
  • High fantasy theme
  • Permadeath gameplay
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Countless adventurers before you have descended this torch-lit staircase, seeking the promised riches below. As you reach the bottom and step into the wide cavern, the doors behind you seal with a powerful magic... Welcome to the Dungeons of Doom! Brogue is a single-player strategy game set in the halls of a mysterious and randomly-generated dungeon. The objective is simple enough -- retrieve the fabled Amulet of Yendor from the 26th level -- but the dungeon is riddled with danger. Horrifying creatures and devious, trap-ridden terrain await. Yet it is also riddled with weapons, potions, and artifacts of forgotten power. Survival demands strength and cunning in equal measure as you descend, making the most of what the dungeon gives you. You will make sacrifices, narrow escapes, and maybe even some friends along the way -- but will you be one of the lucky few to return alive?" This app offers: Brogue Classic - Brian Walker's original vision and where it all started. Brogue CE - A community effort that fixes bugs and crashes and focuses on QoL. Brogue SE - A new variant by yours truly with original items, monsters, and mechanics "...on the iPad, Brogue is an even more incredible feat than it is on the Mac: there aren’t a lot of roguelikes that can jump from a keyboard to a touch-based interface without coming off worse for wear. It’s every bit as good on the iPad as it is on the Mac." - Cult of Mac "[...] it manages to make use of its ASCII visuals to create some truly impressive-looking environments [...] it’s high fantasy to the core; filled with kobolds, goblins, wands, spell scrolls, and more." - 148Apps "It's a bit weird and clunky, but yeah, it's still Brogue" - Roguelike Radio

About

Kaona

Embark on a tabletop RPG adventure inspired by Native Hawaiian stories and values. This companion app guides players through quests, narrated lore, and progress tracking, fostering harmony and wellbeing.

Highlights
  • Native Hawaiian mo'olelo and values
  • Four-player tabletop RPG
  • Fosters youth wellbeing
  • Post-apocalyptic moku setting
  • Narrated mo'olelo
  • Progress tracking
  • Supports first-time RPG players
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Enter the world of Kaona, a tabletop RPG rooted in Native Hawaiian mo'olelo and values. Kaona is a four-player tabletop roleplaying game designed to foster youth wellbeing from a Kānaka Maoli perspective by introducing the values of lōkahi (harmony). Set in post-apocalyptic moku (realms) inspired by Hawaiian stories, history, and local life, players work together to complete quests, heal corrupted rulers, and restore balance. This is the official companion app, your storyteller and guide through the game. It immerses players in narrated mo'olelo, tracks progress, and supports first-time RPG players as they journey through each moku.

Screenshots

Brogue3 screens
Kaona4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Kaona at 5.0 against Brogue's 4.6. Kaona also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 4 days) and iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.6). Brogue's advantage is ratings volume (77 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Kaona holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Brogue has 77 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brogue ships an update every 4 days, Kaona daily. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Brogue versus Kaona: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrogueKaona
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (77 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings77 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.616.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB1.2 GB
Age rating9+17+
DeveloperSeth HowardTheorycraftist Games

Customer experience

Brogue

All ratings76 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral6.6%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews99 reviews
Positive93.9%
Neutral5.1%
Negative1.0%

Kaona

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Brogue

No in-app purchases

None

Kaona

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Brogue free?
Brogue is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Kaona free?
Kaona is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Brogue or Kaona?
Kaona is rated higher. Brogue averages 4.6 out of 5 from 77 ratings, while Kaona averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Brogue or Kaona have ads?
Neither Brogue nor Kaona shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Brogue or Kaona?
Brogue ships an update every 4 days, and Kaona daily. Most recently, Brogue was updated on November 1, 2026 and Kaona on October 30, 2026.

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