SimShockPad vs Run the Board
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SimShockPad
This interactive simulator trains users to manage critical hemodynamic situations like heart failure, bleeding, and septic shock. Make rapid, accurate decisions under pressure using a variety of therapies and advanced treatments to keep patients alive.
- Three pathological modes (heart failure, bleeding, sepsis)
- Seven combinable therapies with dose-dependent effects
- Advanced treatments for specific conditions
- Multiparameter real-time monitoring
- Adjustable difficulty and game speed
- Multilingual interface
- Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and macOS
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SimShock is a hemodynamic simulation game. It is not a teaching or instructional tool, nor is it a clinical simulator. Think of it as a home flight simulator: true to the spirit, carefully made, but still a game. One critically ill patient, vital signs changing in real time, and very little room for error. The patient may arrive with heart failure, massive hemorrhage, septic shock or an arrhythmia. Each condition behaves differently, and what saves one patient can sink another. NEW HEMODYNAMIC ENGINE A new model links heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output and vascular resistance to filling pressures. The baroreflex has two arms and can become exhausted, each patient has an individual sensitivity to each drug, and infusions have a therapeutic window: inside it they do their job; outside it, they do something else. No drug has a hard ceiling — if you overdo it, you will see the consequences. Real physiology is far more complicated. Many rules have been deliberately simplified to make the game playable. THE THREE SCREENS · Monitor — real-time ECG and pulse waveform, with systolic pressure, heart rate and venous pressure shown in traffic-light colors. Ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias may develop spontaneously during a case. · Hemodynamics — cardiac output, cardiac index, vascular resistance, capillary and pulmonary pressures, stroke volume, blood volume and ventricular work, displayed as either values or a profile. · Trends — 1-, 5- and 10-minute evolution with an event log: this is where you can see exactly where the game went wrong. ACTION BUTTONS · Norepinephrine — at high doses, increased resistance chokes the ventricle: capillary pressure rises and cardiac output falls. · Dobutamine — increases cardiac output without increasing blood pressure. At high doses: tachycardia and hypotension. · Dopamine — above 20 µg/kg/min it irritates the ventricle: ectopic beats after ten seconds, ventricular tachycardia after twenty-five. · Nitroglycerin — unloads the lungs quickly, and can take the blood pressure down with it if the patient has little to spare. · Furosemide — makes a difference in the fluid-overloaded patient, not in the dry one, no matter how high you turn it up. · Saline and transfusion — finite bags: every milliliter counts. · Antibiotics — three regimens and one source of infection. Only the regimen that covers it works, and the infection itself must be controlled (Infection Control button). · Antiarrhythmics — adenosine, diltiazem, esmolol, propranolol, procainamide and amiodarone. · Defibrillator, non-invasive ventilation and transfer to intensive care. · Transfusion — transfusing alone is not enough: the bleeding must also be controlled (Bleeding Control button). THE CONTROLS · Notes — the assistant tells you what the patient still needs to become stable. · The doctor — tap to switch between a male and female doctor. If things go wrong, the expression changes. · Events — a log of what you did and when. · Pause — freezes time. Speed makes it run faster or slower. · Difficulty — changes how the patient evolves, not the reference ranges. · Arrhythmias — from off to a randomized 30% probability, or automatic according to difficulty. · Patient — variable or standard. Switch it off if you want reproducible games. · Random — hides the condition name and switches off the traffic lights: you have to read the numbers. · Exam — ten consecutive cases with scoring. · Cockpit — switches between the classic interface and the command-station view without losing the current game. · Language, Instructions and volume from 0 to 100 next to the clock, with a separate mute control. NOTICE SimShock is a game that represents pathophysiological situations in a simplified way. It is not an educational tool or a clinical guide, and it does not provide medical advice or recommendations. Always consult healthcare professionals.
Run the Board
This app simulates the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) Certifying Exam with AI-powered cases and realistic medical scenarios. Practice all 8 case types, interpret EKGs and ultrasound clips, and receive detailed performance scores based on ABEM criteria. Includes voice input for responses and a full-length mock exam.
- AI-powered realistic cases
- All 8 ABEM case types
- Real ultrasound and EKG interpretation
- Detailed ABEM scoring reports
- Full-length mock exam simulation
- Voice input for responses
- Quick action panels
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Run the Board simulates the ABEM Certifying Exam. An AI examiner runs you through realistic cases, adapts to your clinical decisions in real time, and scores you against ABEM's published criteria. ALL 8 CASE TYPES Every case type on the new Certifying Exam: - Clinical Decision-Making - Prioritization - Reassessment - Difficult Conversations - Managing Conflict - Patient-Centered Communications - Procedures - Ultrasound BUILT FOR THE NEW FORMAT Clinical Decision-Making runs as a structured discussion, not a resuscitation drill. Cases open undifferentiated. You commit to a differential before any result is released, say what each test rules in or out, and justify your management. The examiner asks why, not just what. AI EXAMINER Each case pairs you with an examiner that presents a new patient, responds to your workup, introduces complications, and probes your reasoning. It never confirms, corrects, or hints. Mistakes show up in the patient's course, the way they do on exam day. REAL ULTRASOUND CLIPS POCUS video across cardiac, FAST, aorta, biliary, renal, DVT, lung, IVC, soft tissue, OB/GYN, ocular, and procedural guidance. You explain the study to a standardized patient, choose your own views, and interpret real pathology on screen. At least one image comes back suboptimal and you have to name the fix. 12-LEAD EKGs STEMI, NSTEMI, arrhythmias, heart blocks, PE, hyperkalemia, and more. Tap for full screen, pinch to zoom, examine each lead. EKGs update dynamically after treatment. PROCEDURE CASES Perform the procedure step by step and hear what you encounter after each one. Indications, consent with the patient, technique, complications, and post-procedure care. ABEM SCORE REPORTS Every case is scored against criteria drawn from ABEM's published standards for that case type. Clinical Decision-Making scores 9 domains. Communication cases score 5 to 6. Ultrasound scores 3. Each rated Excellent, Competent, Developing, or Needs Improvement. MOCK EXAM Full-length simulation in the Certifying Exam format. 4 Clinical Care cases at 15 minutes, then 6 Communication and Procedure cases at 10 minutes. Hard timers, structured debriefs, full performance summary. VOICE INPUT Speak your responses instead of typing. On-device transcription via WhisperKit with medical terminology support. Audio never leaves your device. QUICK ACTIONS A categorized panel of common orders, labs, imaging, exam steps, and communication phrases. Chips adapt to each case type. FREE TO TRY Your first case is free. Unlock unlimited cases, Mock Exam, and every feature with a one-time purchase. IMPORTANT Run the Board is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Case content is AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies. For practice purposes only.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Run the Board at 100% against SimShockPad's 0%. Run the Board also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.0) and ratings volume (4 vs 1). SimShockPad's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. Run the Board sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. SimShockPad asks for nothing beyond the download.
Run the Board holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of SimShockPad's written reviews are positive against 100% of Run the Board's.
SimShockPad ships an update weekly, Run the Board every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SimShockPad | Run the Board |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 136 MB | 527 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Pablo Kessler Saiz | James Napolitano |
Customer experience
SimShockPad
Run the Board
In-app purchases
SimShockPad
No in-app purchases
Run the Board
- Run the Board Pro$49.99







