Watergate vs Dawnmaker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Watergate
This digital board game simulates the Watergate scandal. One player is a journalist uncovering evidence, while the other is the Nixon administration trying to conceal the truth. It features asynchronous multiplayer and a solo mode.
- Card-driven gameplay
- Asynchronous multiplayer
- Solo play mode
- Faithful board game adaptation
- Detailed background story
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Card-Driven Game of the Most Notorious of Political Scandals. Will Nixon triumph in his tug of war with the Press or will the truth be exposed? Nominated for Best Board Game App in the BoardGameGeek Golden Geek Awards! In Watergate, one player assumes the role of a Washington Post Journalist, while the other embodies the Nixon Administration—each with a unique set of cards. To win, the Nixon Administration must build up enough momentum to make it to the end of the presidential term, whereas the Journalist must gather enough evidence to connect two informants directly to the President. Of course, the administration will do all in its power to smother any evidence. Watergate: The Board Game is a faithful adaptation of the original board game. Languages: English, German, Dutch Play modes: Pass & Play, Cross-platform asynchronous multiplayer, Solo Includes detailed background story Game author: Matthias Cramer Publisher: Frosted Games Digital adaptation: Apps by Eerko Top 10 of all-time best 2-player-only games (BoardGameGeek). Winner Golden Geek Best 2-Player Board Game 2019 Winner Board Game Quest Awards Best Two Player Game 2019
Dawnmaker
A solo strategy game blending city building and deck building mechanics. Rebuild a world shrouded in toxic smog by constructing buildings, acquiring powerful cards, and upgrading your lighthouse to reclaim lost lands and technologies.
- City building mechanics
- Deck building gameplay
- Resource management
- Lighthouse upgrades
- Smog reclamation
- Technology recovery
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Dawnmaker is a solo strategy game combining elements of city building and deck building to create a board game-like experience. In a world covered by a toxic Smog, only you can rekindle the ancient lighthouses and bring light and life back. Construct buildings, gain new cards, generate resources and improve your central lighthouse to unlock new building space. Optimize your deck - gain increasingly powerful cards as you improve your city. Your cards and buildings interact in various ways: choose them wisely to create the most powerful combinations! Build efficient cities - make the best of your limited space by optimally positioning your buildings. Improve your lighthouse to repel the Smog and expand your city. Manage your resources - grow farms, build industries, develop science and inspire your people to create the rarest of resources: Eclairium! Reclaim the lost continent - the continent of Heksiga has been covered by a toxic Smog. Repair and improve magical lighthouses to repel that Smog and reclaim the land, region by region. Recover lost technologies - explore vestiges of the old Empire and rediscover technologies that were lost to the Smog.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Dawnmaker at 5.0 against Watergate's 3.8. Dawnmaker also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 60%) and update cadence (daily vs every 2 weeks). Watergate's advantage is price ($6.99 vs $8.99). On ratings volume, 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
Watergate costs $6.99 and Dawnmaker $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Dawnmaker holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Watergate's written reviews are positive against 100% of Dawnmaker's.
Watergate ships an update every 2 weeks, Dawnmaker daily. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Watergate | Dawnmaker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $6.99 — better | $8.99 |
| Rating | 3.8 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 128 MB | 144 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Eerko Vissering | Acram Digital |
Customer experience
Watergate
Dawnmaker
In-app purchases
Watergate
No in-app purchases
Dawnmaker
No in-app purchases









