Comparison

Shadow Rulers vs Crown Guard

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

Head to head
About

Shadow Rulers

Features
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Shadow Rulers is a global strategy game where you lead a secret organization competing for control of the world from the shadows. Expand your influence across strategic regions, challenge rival families, recruit specialized Lords, build powerful assets, manipulate global systems, and decide how your organization will rise. Every decision affects your path to power. CONTROL THE WORLD FROM THE SHADOWS Capture strategic regions and expand your global network. Use different Lords to exploit weaknesses in military power, politics, media, cyber operations, and the economy. DAILY SEASON OPERATIONS Every season lasts 30 days and creates a new strategic journey. Face a new challenge every day while major events unfold throughout the season, changing the world and forcing you to adapt your strategy. No two days of the season are exactly the same Develop powerful Influence Assets across the world, expand your organization, and generate resources that strengthen your long-term strategy. ENTER THE SHADOW MARKET Trade across strategic sectors including Defense, Energy, Technology, Banking, Pharma, and Media. Watch global signals, choose the right moment to act, and take advantage of changing market conditions. COMMAND YOUR LORDS Different Lords specialize in different forms of power. Choose the right approach for each target and exploit its weakest point before rival organizations do. FACE RIVAL FAMILIES Other shadow organizations are competing for the same world. Expand faster, defend your influence, and prevent rival families from becoming too powerful. SEASON PASS Unlock additional seasonal benefits including expanded Influence access, additional Market access, premium rewards, and access to Season Archive replays. SEASON ARCHIVE & REPLAY Revisit previously declassified operations from the current season and replay strategic scenarios without affecting your daily operation progress. GLOBAL STRATEGY Manage resources, influence, suspicion, strategic assets, world events, and long-term expansion while adapting your strategy to an evolving world. The world sees governments, corporations, wars, markets, and headlines. You see the forces behind them. MORE THAN 10 GAME MODES Shadow Rulers now offers more than 10 different ways to play. Each mode changes the rules, objectives, world conditions, and strategic challenges you face. From global wars and collapsing worlds to hidden conflicts, alliances, empires, and seasonal operations, every mode offers a different path to power. Welcome to Shadow Rulers.

About

Crown Guard

Features
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Crown Guard puts you at the Obsidian Gate as Warden, the last checkpoint between the city and the Crown. Every night a queue forms. Each petitioner presents a dossier containing a name, house, sigil, seal and a short history that may or may not reveal what matters. Then you decide. Swipe left to refuse. Swipe right to admit. The controls are simple, but every decision requires attention. THE EDICTS CHANGE EVERY NIGHT Each night begins with new Crown edicts. No steel past the arch. Wax or nothing. A particular house may be barred. Summons may be required, while certain petitioners can still pass under another order. Follow the current rules and your standing rises. Make the wrong decision and you may lose coin or attract the court's attention. When edicts conflict, you must determine which rule takes priority. THREE INVESTIGATION TOOLS The Register checks seals against official records. The Glass helps you examine the petitioner rather than the paperwork. The Search reveals what they are carrying. Each investigation consumes lamp oil, and only a limited amount is available each night. A discovered detail can completely change the correct verdict, so choosing when to investigate becomes part of the challenge. FOUR METERS Favour represents the Crown's opinion of you. Intrigue shows how closely the court is watching. Nerve represents your remaining composure. Order measures the security of the palace behind your gate. Your choices affect these values throughout the vigil. Allow one of the critical conditions to collapse and the current path can end immediately. A STORY THAT CHANGES WITH YOUR DECISIONS Twenty-eight verdicts contain additional developments revealed after your initial decision. Orders may contain unexpected contradictions, identities can become uncertain, and discoveries from one night can change how you understand events that follow. Some petitioners return multiple times, allowing previous encounters to influence later decisions. Story scenes branch according to discoveries and choices made earlier in the game. 54 PETITIONERS, 20 SCENES, 14 ENDINGS Meet fifty-four petitioners across a branching narrative containing twenty major scenes. Fourteen endings, including two secret outcomes, are determined by your meters, discoveries and previous decisions rather than a single score. The Chronicle records endings you have discovered and provides hints toward paths you have not yet completed. PROGRESSION THAT CHANGES THE RULES Advance through eight ranks, from Gate Hand to Crown's Shadow. Seven relics can be obtained from the vault using earned coin. Instead of simply increasing statistics, relics modify specific rules. A relic may prevent refusals from reducing Nerve, slow the growth of Intrigue or provide a free investigation each night. The game also includes twenty-eight marks of office and a record of completed vigils. MEDIEVAL INSPIRED PRESENTATION Crown Guard uses historical visual references inspired by medieval objects, textiles, manuscripts and decorative art. Interface elements draw from period materials, heraldry, illuminated decoration and traditional pigments. Petitioner portraits are generated at runtime from individual seeds, allowing characters to retain consistent appearances across encounters. Additional decorative elements such as filigree, coronets and drifting embers are rendered within the game. Crown Guard supports iPhone and iPad in portrait and landscape orientations, with layouts adapting to the available screen. USE YOUR OWN BACKDROP Optionally take a photograph with the camera or choose an image from your photo library and use it as the background behind the gate. The image is adjusted to keep dossiers and gameplay elements readable. Camera and photo library access are optional. Crown Guard can be played entirely offline. No account or sign-in is required.

Screenshots

Shadow Rulers4 screens
Crown Guard4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Crown Guard at none against Shadow Rulers's 5. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Shadow Rulers sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Crown Guard asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
Shadow Rulers versus Crown Guard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShadow RulersCrown Guard
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksโ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 โ€” better16.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size380 MB26 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMutaz abdalganiGABY DUPUY

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Shadow Rulers

One-time5
  • Launch WMD Pack$0.99
  • Stability Tokens x4$2.99
  • Season Pass S1$5.99
Show 2 more
  • Season Pass S2 - 30 Days$5.99
  • Media Politics Pack$6.99
None

Crown Guard

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shadow Rulers free?
Shadow Rulers is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Crown Guard free?
Crown Guard is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Shadow Rulers or Crown Guard have ads?
Neither Shadow Rulers nor Crown Guard shows ads.

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