Comparison

Joust Legend vs Gladiator Manager

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

Head to head
About

Joust Legend

Experience the thrill of medieval jousting with realistic 3D graphics and motion-captured action. Compete in tournaments, upgrade your knight and horse, and master the lance to become the King's Champion.

Highlights
  • Realistic 3D jousting combat
  • Motion-captured knights and horses
  • Knight and horse customization
  • Tournament progression
  • Skill upgrades and tactical choices
  • Slow-motion replays
Features
Read full description

Experience the speed, adrenaline and lance-shattering intensity of jousting. Test your mettle and push your reactions to the limit on your quest to vanquish rival knights of the realm and become the King’s Champion... a Joust Legend! It’s 1472 and the King of France has issued a challenge to King Edward IV of England – a grand Tourney to showcase the finest warriors of these two proud nations. And so Edward announces the King’s Trials, a series of gruelling tournaments to find the finest knight in the kingdom! Joust Legend is an authentic jousting experience created using motion capture from a real jousting session with the game’s Creative Director - and champion jouster – Jason Kingsley. STUNNING MEDIEVAL COMBAT Feel every shuddering hit with beautiful 3D graphics designed for Retina screens, bone-crunching slow motion replays and fully motion-captured horses and knights. MASTER THE LANCE Compete in practice tourneys, win special prize fights for extra rewards, earn gold from big-money wagers, learn new skills and progress through the King’s Trials to become Champion. HONE YOUR TACTICS Get the edge on your opponent. Pick crucial skill ‘buffers’ before each joust. Make split-second decisions that could swing combat. Do you play it safe or gamble it all on a precision hit? SUIT UP Use winnings to customise and upgrade every facet of your knight and horse, from helms and crests to lances, armour, and more. Experiment with different combinations and boosts to see which works best for each duel. JOUST LEGEND SUPPORTS: - Game Center - iCloud. Save on one device and continue on another!

About

Gladiator Manager

Manage, train, and battle gladiators in ancient Rome. This turn-based simulation game focuses on strategic decisions, resource management, and tactical combat. Ascend to become Rome's finest lanista by winning matches, unlocking gear, and navigating a corrupt arena system.

Highlights
  • Manage and train gladiators
  • Turn-based tactical auto-battles
  • Strategic resource and roster management
  • Bribe, scout, sabotage rivals
  • Customize gear, techniques, and traits
  • Grow estate and influence skill tree
Features
Read full description

Level up your gladiators and dominate the arena! Manage, battle, bribe, and ascend to become Rome’s finest Lanista. Free to play. No ads. In-app purchases for more content. No pay-to-win. Gladiator Manager is a turn-based management sim set in ancient Rome, where tactical auto-battles reward smart decisions over reflexes. Hire and train gladiators with unique traits. Handle injuries, develop skills, balance egos, and survive in a corrupt arena system full of intrigue and betrayal. Win matches to gain influence, unlock better gear, and enter tougher tournaments. Lose, and your best fighters may be gone forever. - Bribe, scout, sabotage, or assassinate your rivals - Die, restart, and ascend to insane difficulties - Plan technique-based combat - Strategic resource, influence, and roster management - Customize gear, techniques, traits, and loyalty - Grow your estate and build out your influence skill tree - Undertake quests, survive raids, make hard calls Earn gems by completing in-game achievements. Use them to unlock new weapons, tournaments, buildings, quests, and features. If you’d like to speed things up, there are two optional in-app purchases: Pouch of Gems and Chest of Gems. Need help or want to share tactics? Join 9,000+ lanistas on Discord: https://discord.gg/H95dyTHJrB

Screenshots

Joust Legend4 screens
Gladiator Manager4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Gladiator Manager at Free against Joust Legend's $2.99. Gladiator Manager also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (81% vs 59%). Joust Legend's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Gladiator Manager is free to download; Joust Legend costs $2.99 up front. Joust Legend sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Gladiator Manager sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Gladiator Manager holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 434 and 258 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of Joust Legend's written reviews are positive against 81% of Gladiator Manager's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Joust Legend ships an update every 2 months, Gladiator Manager every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Joust Legend versus Gladiator Manager: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJoust LegendGladiator Manager
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (434 ratings)4.3 (258 ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.7% of reviews80.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings434 — better258
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size385 MB44 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperRebellion GamesRene Slump

Customer experience

Joust Legend

All ratings434 ratings
Positive75.8%
Neutral9.0%
Negative15.2%
Written reviews588 reviews
Positive58.7%
Neutral12.9%
Negative28.4%

Gladiator Manager

All ratings258 ratings
Positive81.4%
Neutral7.0%
Negative11.6%
Written reviews161 reviews
Positive80.7%
Neutral8.7%
Negative10.6%

User reviews

Joust Legend

From 434 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great graphics
  • 👍 Fun gameplay
  • 🎨 Awesome visuals
  • 💡 Addictive jousting
  • 👍 Satisfying combat

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 🕹️ Difficult controls
  • 🕰️ Repetitive gameplay
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
  • 🤔 Lack of content/features

Gladiator Manager

From 258 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Fun gameplay
  • 🚀 Addictive and engaging
  • 💎 Great value for free-to-play
  • 🎨 Beautiful visuals

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • ⚠️ Unbalanced difficulty
  • 🔍 Missing features compared to Android version
  • 🕹️ Clunky UI/UX

Bugs and requests

Joust Legend

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes on launch
  • In-app purchases not working
  • Progress reset after losses
  • Compatibility issues on older devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Multiplayer mode
  • More customization options
  • Longer campaign/story
  • Better tutorial/explanations
  • Additional game modes

Gladiator Manager

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Disappearing gladiators
  • Aqueduct construction issue
  • Crashes when viewing battle reports
  • Scaling issues on larger devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Multiplayer mode
  • More content updates
  • Ability to customize gladiators
  • Better progression system
  • Improved balance and difficulty scaling

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Joust Legend

One-time11
  • Complete Suit of Armour2 variants$1.99
  • Get Caparison$1.99
  • Complete Suit of Armour2 variants$2.99
Show 8 more
  • Own Vulcan$2.99
  • Complete Suit of Armour$4.99
  • Get Heavy Barding2 variants$4.99
  • Complete Suit of Armour$5.99
  • Get Heavy Barding$5.99
  • Complete Suit of Armour$6.99
  • Get Heavy Barding$6.99
  • Complete Suit of Armour$8.99
2 purchases

Gladiator Manager

One-time2
  • Pouch of gems$3.99
  • Chest of gems$7.99

Questions

Is Joust Legend free?
Joust Legend costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Gladiator Manager free?
Gladiator Manager is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Joust Legend or Gladiator Manager?
Gladiator Manager is rated higher. Joust Legend averages 4.0 out of 5 from 434 ratings, while Gladiator Manager averages 4.3 from 258 ratings.
Do Joust Legend or Gladiator Manager have ads?
Neither Joust Legend nor Gladiator Manager shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Joust Legend or Gladiator Manager?
Joust Legend ships an update every 2 months, and Gladiator Manager every 2 weeks. Most recently, Joust Legend was updated on October 12, 2026 and Gladiator Manager on October 15, 2026.

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