Naval Tactics vs Sid Meier’s Railroads!
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Naval Tactics
Command wooden ships in tactical Age of Sail naval combat. Engage in turn-based battles on a hexagonal map, outmaneuvering opponents with strategic fleet configurations and historical missions. Compete against friends or AI in this immersive board game experience.
- Age of Sail naval combat
- Hexagonal map with Fog of War
- Online asynchronous multiplayer
- Historical missions
- Custom sandbox missions
- Single player vs AI
- Simultaneous turn-based gameplay
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"Be prepared to spend hours commanding your ships into glorious victory or crushing defeat." - SlideToPlay.com "The AI regularly cleans my clock until it gleams." - PocketTactics.com Hoist your sails and load the cannons as you embark for adventure on the high seas! Can you defeat your friends and best your enemies to become the Admiral of the Fleet? Naval Tactics: Captains of the Spanish Main is set in the Golden Age of Sail, where stout ships of wood were crewed by even stouter men. Nations at peace and at war engaged in naval actions on the high seas. Naval Tactics brings the proud tradition of great naval board games such as Wooden Ships and Iron Men to iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. TACTICAL WAR BOARD GAME From the hexagonal playing field to the potentially game changing Captain's Cards, Naval Tactics is a board game to its very roots. To succeed you will need to take your time, think three moves ahead, and mind the weather gauge! ONLINE ASYNCHRONOUS MULTIPLAYER Powered by the online system used by Starbase Orion, enjoy one of the best multiplayer experiences on the App Store with asynchronous, turn-based matches, real-time chat, unlimited number of concurrent games, automated match-making, and more! TRUE NAVAL COMBAT Naval Tactics prides itself on striving to capture the spirit of traditional naval combat in board game form. Configure your fleet using a variety of ships, from nimble Naval Cutters to massive Ships of the Line. Should you disable an opponent with bar shot or blast through their hull with double shot? Enterprising Captains will need to understand their vessels, their armaments, how they sail in relation to the wind, and the advantages of naval formations to best their fellows on the high seas. BALANCED COMPETITIVE PLAY Combining just the right amount of variety while maintaining a balanced engagement, Naval Tactics sets the bar for multiplayer naval combat on iOS. Choose your Captain's Cards, configure your fleet, outfit your ships, and embark on glorious battles knowing you will have to outwit your opponent to claim victory. HISTORICAL MISSIONS One cannot have a naval combat game without paying respect to the many true heroes who have shown their bravery on the seas. Live the Battle of Flamborough Head, the Constitution vs Guerriere, or the struggle at Trincomalee. More historical missions will be added in future updates! FEATURE SUMMARY • Age of Sail Naval Combat and Tactics • Hexagonal Map with Fog of War • Custom (Sandbox) Missions • Historical Missions • Simultaneous Turn-based Gameplay • Single Player vs AI • Top-notch Online Multiplayer • Pass-and-Play Multiplayer GUARANTEED PRICING While it is quite common for apps to become “free for a day”, Naval Tactics is not one of those apps. The standard price for Naval Tactics is $7.99 USD; it will never run a “free for a day” campaign.
Sid Meier’s Railroads!
Become a railroad tycoon by building and managing intricate railway networks. Optimize routes, transport goods and passengers, and grow your profits through shrewd business decisions and innovation. Compete with historical figures to become the greatest rail baron.
- Lay tracks and design routes
- Transport freight and passengers
- Acquire patents and trade stocks
- Build or buy industries
- Compete with historical figures
- Collect 40 famous trains
- Train Table Mode for creative building
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Become history’s greatest rail baron in Sid Meier’s Railroads!, a classic of the tycoon genre now available for iPhone and iPad. In this captivating mix of model train set and railway management simulator, lay tracks and optimise routes to establish lucrative networks of cities and industries, transporting passengers, raw materials and goods across continents. Grow profits through efficiency, innovation, and shrewd business decisions as you acquire valuable patents, trade stocks, and build or buy industries. Compete with world leaders and industrial titans to achieve the ultimate goal — becoming the greatest railroad tycoon of the age! === TRY BEFORE YOU BUY Lay the foundations of your railroad empire during the Gold Rush, then unlock the full game for more maps, trains, and 16 charming scenarios spanning the golden age of rail. CREATE AN EMPIRE OF THE RAILS Carefully lay tracks and design routes to transport freight and passengers, refining and improving operations until your railroad runs like clockwork. STEAM ACROSS 16 CHALLENGING SCENARIOS Test your entrepreneurial mettle in a mix of historical and fictional scenarios, each with a distinctive map and unique objectives. Establish the first passenger line in 1830s Great Britain, stitch together the American West during the Gold Rush, or help Santa with the Christmas rush at the North Pole! COMPETE WITH HISTORY’S BEST Take on world leaders and captains of industry. Grow your business by acquiring industries and railroad-revolutionising patents, or play the stock market and buy out the competition. BRING 40 FAMOUS TRAINS TO LIFE Play with historically important engines from early steam locomotives like Stephenson’s Planet, to the high-speed French TGV, and many iterations and innovations in between. BUILD THE MODEL RAILROAD OF YOUR DREAMS Take the pressure off in Train Table Mode. No competition, time limits, or financial constraints — just all you need to create a railroad that’s as fun to watch as it is satisfying to build. === We recommend playing Sid Meier's Railroads! on iOS 15.5 or later. You need 1.7GB of free space on your device, though we recommend at least double this to avoid initial installation issues. Supported iPhones: • iPhone 6S / 6S Plus and later • Any iPhone SE • iPod Touch (7th generation, 2019) Supported iPads: • iPad mini (5th generation, 2019) and later • iPad Air (3rd generation, 2019) and later • iPad (5th generation, 2017) and later • Any iPad Pro • If you require assistance, please contact our support team at support@feralinteractive.com © 2006-2024 Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Originally developed by Firaxis Games. Sid Meier’s Railroads!, Firaxis Games, 2K, Take-Two Interactive Software and their respective logos are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Developed for and published on iOS by Feral Interactive. iOS and the iOS logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Feral and the Feral logo are trademarks of Feral Interactive Ltd. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Sid Meier’s Railroads! at Free against Naval Tactics's $4.99. Sid Meier’s Railroads! also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.2) and update cadence (every 5 months vs every 24 months). Naval Tactics's advantage is review sentiment (78% vs 59%) and iOS requirement (11.2 vs 15.5). On ads, 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
Sid Meier’s Railroads! is free to download; Naval Tactics costs $4.99 up front. Naval Tactics sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Sid Meier’s Railroads! sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Sid Meier’s Railroads! holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sid Meier’s Railroads! has 1.4K ratings behind it against 38, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 78% of Naval Tactics's written reviews are positive against 59% of Sid Meier’s Railroads!'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Naval Tactics ships an update every 24 months, Sid Meier’s Railroads! every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Naval Tactics | Sid Meier’s Railroads! |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.2 (38 ratings) | 4.7 (1.4K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.3% of reviews — better | 59.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 38 | 1.4K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 24 months | Every 5 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.2 — better | 15.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 113 MB | 1.6 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Chimera Software, LLC | Feral Interactive Ltd |
Customer experience
Naval Tactics
Sid Meier’s Railroads!
Bugs and requests
Naval Tactics
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Sid Meier’s Railroads!
Reported bugs
3 issues- Disappearing tracks
- Routing issues and inability to connect stations
- Map freezing and becoming unresponsive
Requested features
5 requests- Larger maps
- More scenarios and campaigns
- Multiplayer mode
- Ability to buy/sell shares
- More train and engine variety
In-app purchases
Naval Tactics
- Captain Arena Entry$0.99
Sid Meier’s Railroads!
- Full Game Unlock$12.99
Questions
Is Naval Tactics free?
Is Sid Meier’s Railroads! free?
Which has better reviews, Naval Tactics or Sid Meier’s Railroads!?
Do Naval Tactics or Sid Meier’s Railroads! have ads?
Which is updated more often, Naval Tactics or Sid Meier’s Railroads!?
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