Comparison

Subterfuge vs Kingdom Command

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

Head to head
About

Subterfuge

Engage in a week-long real-time strategy and diplomacy game. Gather intelligence, coordinate with others, and issue orders to influence the game's outcome. Master both strategic planning and player negotiation to achieve victory.

Highlights
  • Week-long real-time gameplay
  • Strategy and diplomacy mechanics
  • Intelligence gathering
  • Order issuance
  • Player coordination
  • Unlimited scheduled orders (with IAP)
  • Private game creation (with IAP)
Features
Read full description

• Multiplayer Game of the Year 2015 by Pocket Tactics * • Best Mobile Games of 2015 by CNET * Subterfuge is a week-long multiplayer game of strategy, diplomacy, and betrayal that plays out in real time. Check in for ten minutes, a few times a day: read the sonar, schedule your orders, and reply to the ally who insists the fleet massing on your border is "purely defensive." Then close the game and get on with your day while your plans execute. BUY ONCE, PLAY ANYWHERE Buying the game on mobile gives you full access to the Steam version. DRIVE THE TIME MACHINE Drag the Time Machine forward and watch tomorrow unfold. See where every visible sub will be, how combat resolves, and what your factories will have produced by Thursday. Then, schedule your own orders to execute at any moment, hours or days ahead. Launch the invasion at 4:12 a.m. without setting an alarm but remember everyone else has a Time Machine too. DEPTH THAT FITS AROUND YOUR LIFE A game of Subterfuge lasts a week or more, but a session lasts minutes. It was designed by two new parents who wanted Diplomacy-grade scheming without giving up their evenings. The strategy happens in your head and on your schedule. THE REAL MAP IS THE OTHER PLAYERS Every alliance, border pact, joint strike, and deception in Subterfuge happens in chat. None of it is enforced by the game. A treaty is worth exactly as much as the person who signed it, intel is worth exactly as much as its source, and the player feeding you sonar reports may be feeding your rival the same. Winning means reading people as sharply as you read the map. NO DICE. NO LUCK. ONLY PEOPLE. The Time Machine can show you tomorrow because there is no randomness. Every battle can be forecast down to the last driller before it happens. Recruit powerful specialists to tilt the math and bend the rules. The only truly unknowable variable in Subterfuge is human intention. COMMUNITY CROSSPLAY SINCE 2015 Join a cross-platform player pool that has kept Subterfuge alive and updated for over a decade. Play the same game from your desk and your phone. Open the war room on a second monitor at work, then answer a treacherous counter-offer from the school pickup line. A TYPICAL WEEK • Day 1: Nine polite introductions. Four proposed alliances. One of them is sincere. • Day 2: You and your neighbor agree to keep borders demilitarized. You both start counting drillers. • Day 4: Your ally proposes a joint strike on the olive. Olive has just proposed the same about your ally. • Day 5: Drill a mine. Sonar picks up a "defensive" fleet drifting towards it, thirty hours out. Plenty of time. You schedule your counter, draft two very different messages, and head to lunch. • Day 6: The trap you scheduled yesterday ago springs mid-meeting, exactly as planned. You watch it from your desk and say nothing. • Day 7: Trap closed. Olive's mine captured. • Day 8: Victory. Your former ally sends a simple message: "Well played. Rematch?"

About

Kingdom Command

Engage in turn-based strategic warfare where you conquer lands, build armies, and outwit opponents. Simultaneous turns require anticipating enemy moves for victory. Enjoy deep strategy with no luck involved, perfect for playing at your own pace.

Highlights
  • Turn-based online multiplayer
  • Deep strategic gameplay
  • No luck-based combat
  • Play at your own pace
  • Varied gameplay with items and research
  • High replayability
Features
Read full description

Kingdom Command is a turn-based game with simple rules yet deep strategic gameplay. To win, you must conquer lands and castles, build your army, and outwit your opponent. "Reminds me of Defender of the Crown!" The turns are simultaneous, meaning that all players' orders will be executed at the same time. Therefore you must guess what your opponents are up to. - Turn-based online multiplayer games: Do your move when you have time, you get a push message when it is your turn again. The game is designed for multiplayer only - a better single player campaign is being developed. - Deep Strategic Gameplay You must anticipate your opponents movements, and plan ahead. What to build, where to go, what to conquer. - No Luck There are no dices involved. Units engage in combat using clearly defined rules. - Play When You Have Time Multiplayer are typically played one or two moves each day, which is great as it adds a level of excitement in your life to have a game going. Matches can also be played "live", with all players connected until one has won. - Varied Gameplay Different items are available to buy from the market each round. In addition, random technlogies can be researched. This makes each game unique. Combined with a varied set of maps, the game has a very high replayability value. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Subterfuge4 screens
Kingdom Command3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Subterfuge at 4.7 against Kingdom Command's 3.0. Subterfuge also leads on ratings volume (585 vs 2). Kingdom Command's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 87%) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Subterfuge sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Kingdom Command sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Subterfuge holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Subterfuge has 585 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 87% of Subterfuge's written reviews are positive against 100% of Kingdom Command's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Subterfuge ships an update every 10 days, Kingdom Command fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Subterfuge versus Kingdom Command: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSubterfugeKingdom Command
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (585 ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews87.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings585 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB234 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSecret Plan LLCSynthetic Mind AB

Customer experience

Subterfuge

All ratings585 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral1.2%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews299 reviews
Positive87.0%
Neutral3.3%
Negative9.7%

Kingdom Command

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Subterfuge

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Queen randomly loses hire points
  • Win conditions don't trigger
  • Login screen freezes
  • Game crashes on launch
  • Notifications arrive late
Show 2 more
  • Unable to delete subs on iOS
  • Touchscreen issues (not centered, wrong button presses)

Requested features

13 requests
  • Accelerated gameplay
  • Shorter game modes
  • Alliance feature
  • More specialists
  • New game modes
Show 8 more
  • Ability to view player profiles during game
  • Option to privately tag players
  • Refresh button
  • Ability to delete subs on iOS
  • NAP Breaker medal
  • Customizable backgrounds and items
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard

Kingdom Command

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Subterfuge

Subscriptions1
  • Patron (L3)$4.991 Month
One-time3
  • Medal$0.99
  • Pack of 5 Medals$4.99
  • Level 2 Security Clearance2 variants$9.99
10 purchases

Kingdom Command

One-time10
  • Volcano$0.99
  • King of the Hill$0.99
  • Plymwell Sea$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Duke$0.99
  • Merchant$0.99
  • Ship Builder$0.99
  • Wizard$0.99
  • Engineer$0.99
  • Dragon breeder$0.99
  • Tyrant$0.99

Questions

Is Subterfuge free?
Subterfuge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Kingdom Command free?
Kingdom Command is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Subterfuge or Kingdom Command?
Subterfuge is rated higher. Subterfuge averages 4.7 out of 5 from 585 ratings, while Kingdom Command averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Subterfuge or Kingdom Command have ads?
Neither Subterfuge nor Kingdom Command shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Subterfuge or Kingdom Command?
Subterfuge ships an update every 10 days, and Kingdom Command fortnightly. Most recently, Subterfuge was updated on October 16, 2026 and Kingdom Command on October 6, 2026.

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