Comparison

Pointless Wars vs Dragon River

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

Head to head
About

Pointless Wars

Engage in strategic battles against friends or AI in this multiplayer and single-player war game. Choose your troops and defend your castle across 20 unique levels, or compete in an 8-player tournament. The objective is to have fun battling for no reason.

Highlights
  • Two-player mode
  • Single-player campaign
  • 20 unique levels
  • 8-player tournament mode
  • Troop selection
  • Castle defense
Features
Read full description

Welcome, and join the battle by declaring war.... for no reason whatsoever. Play against your friends and family in two-player mode, where you each get to choose your arsenal of troops to take each other down! In the single-player campaign, you fight against an enemy AI whose only purpose is to destroy your castle. There are 20 fun-packed levels, each a little different than the one before. If one is too hard, just skip to the next one! Defend against the onslaught by sending out troops, but you don't get to choose your arsenal..... The fun doesn't stop there! You can play up to 8 players in tournament mode. Battle to the top of the bracket in individual battles, and see who will come out on top! With so many Pointless Wars happening, we hope you have fun battling your opponents for no reason! Good luck out there!

About

Dragon River

Read full description

Cross the river. Guard the general. Claim the Jade Mandate. Dragon River turns traditional Xiangqi into a cinematic 3D battlefield while preserving the rules and tactical clarity of Chinese chess. • Play offline against three AI difficulty levels • Face a friend in local two-player mode • Choose tactical, cinematic, orbit, or top-down cameras • Use legal-move guidance, move history, undo, and saved matches • Switch between English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese • Tune graphics quality for your device No account and no cross-app tracking. The free version shows limited non-personalized ads; rewarded videos during a match are optional and start only when you tap them. One optional purchase removes every ad permanently. Your settings and saved matches stay on your device.

Screenshots

Pointless Wars4 screens
Dragon River3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Pointless Wars at none against Dragon River's shown. Pointless Wars also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Dragon River's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 22 months). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Pointless Wars sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Dragon River sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pointless Wars ships an update every 22 months, Dragon River every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Pointless Wars versus Dragon River: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPointless WarsDragon River
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (10 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings10 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 22 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size249 MB53 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperPeter BrumbachHaosheng Li

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Pointless Wars

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99
1 purchases

Dragon River

One-time1
  • Permanent Ad Removal$4.99

Questions

Is Pointless Wars free?
Pointless Wars is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dragon River free?
Dragon River is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Pointless Wars or Dragon River have ads?
Dragon River shows ads; Pointless Wars does not.
Which is updated more often, Pointless Wars or Dragon River?
Pointless Wars ships an update every 22 months, and Dragon River every 10 days. Most recently, Pointless Wars was updated on October 24, 2026 and Dragon River on October 7, 2026.

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