Comparison

Drop Duchy vs 9 Kings

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

Head to head
About

Drop Duchy

Experience a unique blend of deckbuilding, puzzle, and rogue-lite gameplay. Build a realm by strategically placing tiles, gather resources, and lead your troops to reclaim enemy territory. Each run offers a fresh challenge with procedural generation and meta-progression.

Highlights
  • Deckbuilding, puzzle, and rogue-lite gameplay mix
  • Strategic tile placement for resource maximization
  • Real-time strategy combat and territory reclamation
  • Procedurally generated game experiences
  • Meta-progression with over 90 challenges
  • Over 110 unique cards for deck building
  • Three playable factions: The Duchy, The Order, The Republic
Features
Read full description

[TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!] A beloved PC game, now coming to mobile. Metacritic: 83. Very Positive on STEAM - 90%. Drop Duchy takes the iconic geometric puzzle gameplay we all know and love and gives it a fresh perspective: instead of simply clearing lines, you build a realm. A mix of deckbuilding, puzzle and rogue-lite, designed to hone your appetite as a block-stacking tactician. Place tile pieces as you would in a block-dropping game, but align them to maximize their activation rules. Set the right structures next to lush forests, wild rivers and grassy plains to pull out maximum resources and units. Then gather your troops, reclaim the regions under enemy control, and storm the enemy fortress along branching, decision-filled paths. Let your castle take too much damage and the run ends - but defeat is not the end: jump straight back in with a new strategy, and use the experience gained to unlock even more content. Grow in power with over 110 unique cards, trade with markets and guilds, and climb a meta progression of over 90 missions tied to three playable factions: The Duchy, The Order and The Republic. Adapt, conquer, and keep the action moving! FEATURES * An original mix of puzzle gameplay and real-time strategy * A brand new game experience with each run thanks to procedural generation * Play with Factions: The Duchy, The Order, The Republic * Meta progression: over 90 challenges designed to help you through your journey * Build the perfect deck with over 110 unique cards * An elegant and charming art direction to please your eyes * An engaging and ever-evolving soundtrack to please your ears * Choose your path between lakes, glades, forests, villages, guilds… and more!

About

9 Kings

Features
Read full description

*Try 9 Kings for free and buy the full game to unlock all Kings, new quests, multiplayer and more!* Grow your empire, craft your deck, fight massive battles and break the game with insane builds to become the King of Kings in this fast-paced roguelike kingdom builder FEATURES: -Play as one of nine kings, each with their own playstyle: stockpile gold to hire mercenaries, harness the forces of nature, warp the laws of time, dabble in dark magic or raise hordes of fiendish imps ready to fight for you -Grow your citadel as you strategically place your cards to expand your territory, upgrade buildings and towers, recruit new troops and boost them by stacking effects and spells -Craft your deck carefully by looting rival kings to combine their unique cards with yours and create new powerful synergies -Protect your kingdom as long as you can against increasingly powerful enemies and attempt to break the game with insane builds as you endure decades of war, strife and unpredictable events -Enjoy endless replayability in this roguelike autobattler: every run is different, mastery comes from experimentation and new ground can be conquered through unique challenges in Quest Mode -Climb the ranks, customize your look and prove yourself to truly be the king of kings as you battle eight rivals in async multiplayer CAREFULLY REDESIGNED FOR MOBILE Revamped interface – exclusive mobile UI with complete touch control Game Center achievements Cloud Save – Share your progress between iOS devices iPhone Duo Optimization

Screenshots

Drop Duchy4 screens
9 Kings4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: 9 Kings at 750 against Drop Duchy's 46. 9 Kings also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.6) and chart position (#69 vs unranked). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. Drop Duchy sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and 9 Kings sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

9 Kings holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 9 Kings has 750 ratings behind it against 46, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of Drop Duchy's written reviews are positive against 62% of 9 Kings's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drop Duchy ships an update weekly, 9 Kings every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Drop Duchy versus 9 Kings: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrop Duchy9 Kings
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (46 ratings)4.8 (750 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.9% of reviews62.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings46750 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank—#69 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.1 GB454 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperDoghowl Games Ltd.Playdigious

Customer experience

Drop Duchy

All ratings36 ratings
Positive86.1%
Neutral5.6%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive60.9%
Neutral8.7%
Negative30.4%

9 Kings

All ratings750 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral2.1%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews158 reviews
Positive62.0%
Neutral12.0%
Negative25.9%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Drop Duchy

One-time2
  • Base Game Offer$8.99
  • Base Game$9.99
1 purchases

9 Kings

One-time1
  • Unlock full game$9.99

Questions

Is Drop Duchy free?
Drop Duchy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is 9 Kings free?
9 Kings is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Drop Duchy or 9 Kings?
9 Kings is rated higher. Drop Duchy averages 4.6 out of 5 from 46 ratings, while 9 Kings averages 4.8 from 750 ratings.
Do Drop Duchy or 9 Kings have ads?
Neither Drop Duchy nor 9 Kings shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drop Duchy or 9 Kings?
Drop Duchy ships an update weekly, and 9 Kings every 6 days. Most recently, Drop Duchy was updated on October 24, 2026 and 9 Kings on October 25, 2026.

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