Comparison

Downing Draft vs Instigator

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

Head to head
About

Downing Draft

Lead your nation as Prime Minister in this replayable political strategy game. Draft a cabinet, set national priorities, and make impactful decisions to shape your legacy. See how your choices play out and compare your performance to historical leaders.

Highlights
  • Draft a cabinet from a deck of candidates
  • Assign ministers to government offices
  • Set national priorities and economic approach
  • Commit to a signature pledge
  • Receive a full verdict on your performance
  • Share your results easily
Features
Read full description

You're the new Prime Minister. A recession is already underway, the public is restless, and the only thing standing between you and history is the government you build. Downing Draft is a quick, replayable political strategy game. Draw your ministers, assign them to the right briefs, set your priorities, and pick the signature pledge that will define your time in office - then watch how your choices play out. HOW IT PLAYS - Name your Prime Minister and party - Draft a cabinet from a rolling deck of candidates - re-roll if you don't like the hand you're dealt - Match ministers to the jobs that suit them across eight great offices of state - Choose your economic approach, governing style and three national priorities - Commit to a signature pledge and live with the consequences YOUR LEGACY When the dust settles you get a full verdict: how many years you survived, your exit approval, your election result, a scorecard across government performance, political capital, cabinet cohesion and your signature policy - plus how you compare to real prime ministers. Share your result with a single tap. Pick up and play in minutes. Optional sign-in with Apple or Google lets you save your progress and personalise your profile. For entertainment only. Player ratings and outcomes are fictional game mechanics, not factual assessments of any real person, party or government.

About

Instigator

Engage in a satirical strategy game where you manipulate global powers to start wars and conquer nations. Use espionage, sabotage, and propaganda to achieve victory, but beware of the devastating consequences, including nuclear conflict. Build your empire and survive the chaos you unleash.

Highlights
  • Global power manipulation
  • Espionage and sabotage
  • Nuclear war simulation
  • Empire building
  • Diplomatic deception
  • Multiple game scenarios
Features
Read full description

Pick a country. Start a world war. Make sure everyone thinks it was somebody else. Instigator is a satirical war strategy game about the world's worst diplomat: you. Turn the great powers against each other with leaked "private messages", spy balloons, forged dossiers and very suspicious rocket tests, then sell arms to both sides. You win by being the last country standing. Every rival, big or small, has to fall. STIR UP TROUBLE • More than a dozen dirty tricks, from a whispered rumour to The Big Stitch-Up • Cheap plots backfire more often. Deniable ones rarely do, but when they do it's a disaster: sanctions, retaliation strikes and wars you didn't order • Plant moles, leak secrets, sabotage armies and raid treasuries. Your rivals are planting moles in you, too • Pick on the same country too often and its spies start to notice PRESS THE BIG RED BUTTON • Lift the cover, hold to launch, and watch it land: mushroom clouds, shockwaves and the next morning's front page • Every power has nuclear warheads, from a nervous ten to several thousand. Nuclear winter comes for everyone BUILD AN EMPIRE • Invade your neighbours. Every country is worth something different, every game: soldiers, money, warheads, reach • A bigger empire soaks up the damage aimed at your homeland, but conquered land gets restless SURVIVE WHAT YOU STARTED • Shelters, missile shields, decoy capitals and a strategic bean reserve • Wreck the peace talks: pop the doves, seat sworn enemies side by side and swap the summit fondue for squeezy cheese before the Peace Accord reaches 100% SUPER-WEAPONS (optional purchase) • An Orbital Space Laser (slightly wobbly), a Weather Machine, a Robot Army, a Mind-Control Radio and The Dome • New in the Shipping Container: the Evil Twin, who tears up every treaty and picks a fight with its best friend, and the Forget-Me Fog, which makes the whole world forget what you did • Every one has a catch, and it gets worse each time you use it MORE WAYS TO PLAY • Daily Doom: a new country and a new twist every day, the same for everyone • Peacekeeper (optional purchase): the reverse game, and a whodunit. Somebody is starting all these wars. Find the evidence and unmask the Instigator before the Doomsday Clock strikes midnight • Fat Finger, Land Grab and Post-Truth scenarios (optional purchases) • Free seasonal specials: Night of the Living Nations at Halloween, and Season's Beatings from 1 December, where you pelt Santa's sleigh with sprouts A WORLD THAT FIGHTS BACK • 19 great powers and more than 150 smaller countries, each with its own friends, protectors and grudges • Small countries feud and swallow their neighbours, and new world powers rise right in front of you • Erratic leaders, comic incidents and a new intelligence briefing every game, so no two games play the same COME BACK FOR MORE • A Chaos Rating and 60 ranks, from Innocent Bystander to The Instigator • 38 medals (some of them secret) and free warhead skins, including a rubber duck • Three difficulties, and a star for every country you win with Every leader is fictional. Any resemblance is plausibly deniable. Contains ads. Optional purchases: Remove Ads, the Full Pass (every scenario and no ads), individual scenarios, and Weapons Crates and Shipping Containers of super-weapons.

Screenshots

Downing Draft4 screens
Instigator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Downing Draft at 5.0 against Instigator's 4.5. Instigator's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 83%). On price, ratings volume, 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. Downing Draft sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Instigator sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Downing Draft holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of Downing Draft's written reviews are positive against 100% of Instigator's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Downing Draft ships an update every 5 days, Instigator every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Downing Draft versus Instigator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDowning DraftInstigator
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better4.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB24 MB
Age rating9+17+
DeveloperNEUROCHAMPS LTDSteve North

Customer experience

Downing Draft

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative8.3%

Instigator

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Downing Draft

One-time6
  • Starter Points Pack$0.99
  • Small Points Pack$0.99
  • Parliament Week Pass$2.99
Show 3 more
  • Medium Points Pack$2.99
  • Large Points Pack$4.99
  • Parliament Pass$9.99
8 purchases

Instigator

One-time8
  • Weapons Crate$0.99
  • Fat Finger Scenario$1.99
  • Land Grab Scenario$1.99
Show 5 more
  • Post-Truth Scenario$1.99
  • Peacekeeper$2.99
  • Shipping Container$3.99
  • Remove Ads$3.99
  • Full Pass$5.99

Questions

Is Downing Draft free?
Downing Draft is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Instigator free?
Instigator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Downing Draft or Instigator?
Downing Draft is rated higher. Downing Draft averages 5.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Instigator averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do Downing Draft or Instigator have ads?
Both Downing Draft and Instigator show ads.
Which is updated more often, Downing Draft or Instigator?
Downing Draft ships an update every 5 days, and Instigator every 3 days. Most recently, Downing Draft was updated on November 5, 2026 and Instigator on November 6, 2026.

Other comparisons