Comparison

Star Colony vs RealmForge

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

Head to head
About

Star Colony

Features
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Expand your colony, automate production, and build a space empire from nothing. Star Colony is an idle colony builder inspired by the satisfying progression of clicker and incremental games. Start small, earn credits, unlock powerful upgrades, and scale your colony into a massive operation across the stars. Keep tapping, keep upgrading, and keep growing while your empire generates progress over time. Features: • Fast and satisfying idle progression • Tap-to-earn gameplay with meaningful upgrades • Automation systems that grow your income • Space-themed colony building and expansion • Offline-style progress and incremental growth • Easy to learn, hard to put down

About

RealmForge

Forge unique artifacts that passively generate in-game currency, even when offline. Earn rewards like gift cards and PayPal by collecting, leveling up, and participating in community-driven realms. Enjoy various mini-games and daily challenges to boost your earnings.

Highlights
  • Passive Essence generation
  • Redeem Essence for gift cards/PayPal
  • Collect and level up artifacts
  • Community-driven realm progression
  • Arcade mini-games for earning sparks
  • Daily goals and achievements
  • Free weekly prize drawing
Features
Read full description

RealmForge is a cooperative idle tycoon. Every player forges from the same shared Realm, and every Artifact you forge earns Essence for you every second, even while the app is closed. ONE REALM, BUILT TOGETHER Each Realm holds a limited number of Artifacts, and every player forges from that same pool. When the community has forged them all, the Realm is complete and the next one opens for everyone. You are building the world alongside every other player and watching it fill in real time. A TRUE IDLE GAME Your Artifacts keep earning the entire time you are away. Come back and collect everything that built up. The more Artifacts you own, and the rarer they are, the faster you earn. HOW IT WORKS 1. Earn Forge Sparks by playing arcade games, finishing daily goals, spinning the wheel, watching an optional ad, or completing an offer or survey. 2. Spend Sparks to forge an Artifact and roll for rarity: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic or Legendary. 3. Every Artifact you own earns Essence automatically, every second. 4. Level up your Artifacts, then rebirth for a permanent multiplier and climb faster than before. COLLECT, LEVEL UP, REBIRTH • Holographic Artifact cards, each stamped with its Realm, its number and its rarity. • Rarer Artifacts earn dramatically faster. • Rebirth for a permanent boost and a prestige emblem that is yours alone. THE ARCADE • Tahjongy, a tile-matching puzzle. • FIRSTLIGHT Tycoon. • Codebreaker. • Sparkle, a daily word game. • New arcade games keep arriving. ALWAYS SOMETHING TO DO • Daily goals and dozens of achievements. • Login streaks with milestone rewards. • Global leaderboards for Artifacts, rarity, streaks and rebirths. • Live events with boosted earnings. • A free-entry weekly prize drawing. LOYALTY REWARDS In the United States, the Essence you build up can be redeemed for rewards such as gift cards, as a loyalty reward for playing. It is based on what you have built over time, not on chance, and no purchase is ever required to earn or redeem it. SPARK PACKS Optional Spark packs are available if you would rather skip the wait. Every Spark in the game can also be earned free, and buying Sparks never changes your odds of forging any rarity. Forge, idle, and build the Realm together. --- RealmForge is free to play, supported by ads, and offers optional in-app purchases. Players must be 18 or older, or the age of majority where they live. Essence loyalty reward redemption is available eligible users in the United States and United Kingdom. Players in other countries can earn and collect Essence, but cannot redeem it for loyalty rewards at this time. The Weekly Prize Drawing is open to eligible users in most countries; excluded countries are listed in the Official Rules. Canadian winners must correctly answer a skill-testing question. No purchase is ever required to earn or redeem Essence or to enter the Weekly Prize Drawing, and a purchase will not increase your odds of winning any prize or of forging any rarity. Void where prohibited. Full rules: realmforgeapp.com/sweepstakes.html

Screenshots

Star Colony4 screens
RealmForge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Star Colony at none against RealmForge's shown. RealmForge's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. Star Colony sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and RealmForge sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Star Colony ships an update every 3 weeks, RealmForge every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Star Colony versus RealmForge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStar ColonyRealmForge
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Ad-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.0.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB345 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperMARTIN M J LYNCHJoslin Solutions LLC

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Star Colony

One-time4
  • 50 Gems$0.99
  • 220 Gems$3.99
  • 575 Gems$7.99
Show 1 more
  • 1200 Gems$14.99
4 purchases

RealmForge

One-time4
  • Spark Pouch$4.99
  • Spark Cache$14.99
  • Spark Vault$39.99
Show 1 more
  • Spark Hoard$99.99

Questions

Is Star Colony free?
Star Colony is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RealmForge free?
RealmForge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Star Colony or RealmForge have ads?
RealmForge shows ads; Star Colony does not.
Which is updated more often, Star Colony or RealmForge?
Star Colony ships an update every 3 weeks, and RealmForge every 2 days. Most recently, Star Colony was updated on October 8, 2026 and RealmForge on October 25, 2026.

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