CFB Simulator vs Hardwood Empire
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CFB Simulator
Build a college football dynasty by recruiting players, developing talent, and calling plays. Manage seasons, depth charts, and injuries to achieve national championships. Navigate the transfer portal and customize your coaching abilities to lead your team to victory.
- Recruit high school prospects
- Develop player skills
- Manage depth charts and injuries
- Navigate the transfer portal
- Customize coaching abilities
- Detailed play-by-play simulation
- Customizable playoff formats
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Build your college football dynasty in the most immersive and strategic CFB simulation available. Recruit stars, develop players, call plays, and chase national championships. Every decision shapes your legacy. COACH: Start at any school and turn it into a powerhouse. Manage seasons, depth charts, injuries, and long-term growth as you build a program that rises and stays at the top. RECRUIT: Scout high school prospects, uncover hidden gems, build relationships, and battle rival programs for top talent. Recruit high school players using scouting, interest tracking, and scholarship offers. TRANSFER PORTAL: Navigate the modern era of college football by recruiting proven players to fill roster gaps. Retain your stars, replace departures, and reshape your roster every offseason. COACH PROGRESSION: Choose your coaching background and upgrade your abilities through a detailed skill tree. Earn XP from season goals and unlock perks that improve recruiting, development, and on-field performance. GAME SIMULATION: Experience detailed play-by-play action as your team competes for conference titles and playoff berths. Track stats, adjust depth charts, manage fatigue, and handle injuries throughout the season. PLAYOFF SYSTEM: Compete in customizable playoff formats, including 4, 8, 12, and 16-team brackets. Win your conference and fight through intense postseason matchups on the road to the national championship. SOCIAL MEDIA FEED: Follow the college football world through an in-game social feed that reacts to wins, losses, commitments, and transfers. Post as your coach to build your personal brand. CUSTOM LEAGUES: Create your own conference structure or use the built-in college football layout. Import your own teams and design the league you want to compete in. Start your dynasty today. Build your team. Run the league. Make history.
Hardwood Empire
Manage a college basketball program, from recruiting top talent to simulating seasons and chasing championships. This deep simulation offers detailed player stats and a dynasty mode spanning over 20 seasons.
- 365 teams across 23 conferences
- Full recruiting system
- Season simulation with detailed stats
- Player development and career tracking
- Dynasty mode for 20+ seasons
- Conference tournaments and championship bracket
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Build a college basketball dynasty from the ground up. Choose from 365 teams across 23 conferences, recruit top prospects, manage your roster, and chase championship glory season after season. If you've been waiting for a deep, modern college hoops sim on iOS — this is it. Hardwood Empire puts you in full control of your program. Scout and recruit the best players, set your lineup, develop talent, and make the tough decisions that separate contenders from rebuilds. Every season plays out with full game logs, box scores, and detailed player stats — so your dynasty actually feels like a dynasty. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT Most basketball sims are either shallow, abandoned, or loaded with microtransactions. Hardwood Empire is none of those. It's built by a solo developer who plays his own game, takes community feedback seriously, and ships updates regularly. FEATURES - 365 teams across 23 conferences - Full recruiting system — scout, pitch, and sign top prospects - Season simulation with box scores, game logs, and player stats - Player development, awards, and career tracking - Dynasty mode spanning 20+ seasons of program history - Detailed player profiles with bios, ratings, and performance data - Conference tournaments and a full championship bracket - Season awards including Player of the Year, All-Conference, and more YOUR FEEDBACK SHAPES THE GAME Join the community on Reddit at r/HardwoodEmpire to share ideas, report bugs, and help shape what gets built next. This game is actively developed and updated — your voice matters. Whether you're taking over a mid-major and grinding your way to relevance or defending a title at a powerhouse, every decision you make echoes across seasons. How long can you keep your empire standing?
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: CFB Simulator at none against Hardwood Empire's shown. Hardwood Empire's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. CFB Simulator sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Hardwood Empire sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for CFB Simulator against 4.8 for Hardwood Empire. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 966 and 863 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of CFB Simulator's written reviews are positive against 78% of Hardwood Empire's.
CFB Simulator ships an update every 4 days, Hardwood Empire every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CFB Simulator | Hardwood Empire |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (966 ratings) | 4.8 (863 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 81.0% of reviews — better | 77.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 966 — better | 863 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 49 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mani Foroughi | Finn keating |
Customer experience
CFB Simulator
Hardwood Empire
In-app purchases
CFB Simulator
- 1 Checkpoint Token$0.99
- 5 Checkpoint Tokens$2.99
- Sanctions Scenario$2.99
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- Rebuild the Program Scenario$2.99
- God Mode$3.99
Hardwood Empire
- Remove Ads.$3.99
- God Mode$4.99
Questions
Is CFB Simulator free?
Is Hardwood Empire free?
Which has better reviews, CFB Simulator or Hardwood Empire?
Do CFB Simulator or Hardwood Empire have ads?
Which is updated more often, CFB Simulator or Hardwood Empire?
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