Comparison

Star Realms vs Dominion

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

Head to head
About

Star Realms

Engage in thrilling space combat with this popular deckbuilding game. Build your deck, outmaneuver opponents, and conquer the galaxy. Offers both single-player campaigns and multiplayer battles.

Highlights
  • Deckbuilding gameplay
  • Player vs Player combat
  • AI battles
  • Campaign mode
  • Online multiplayer
  • Pass and Play mode
Features
Read full description

Star Realms is a hugely popular space combat deckbuilding game. Download and play today to find out why Star Realms is the winner of SXSW 2014 Board Game of the Year, 7 Golden Geek Awards from BoardGameGeek, including Best Mobile Game, and 2 Dice Tower awards! Reviews: "My readers are going to have a seizure about how good Star Realms is." -Owen Faraday, pockettactics.com “Good on all levels, thumbs up!” -Tom Vasel, The Dice Tower “This game is superb! I think it’s a brilliant game. Beautiful artwork, second to none.” -Tim Norris, Grey Elephant Gaming “What can I say? Star Realms is excellent.” - Lenny, ISlaytheDragon.com “I desperately wanted to play again and again. It's just consistently fun every time.” -The Critical Boardgamer Star Realms combines addictive deck building game play with exciting Trading Card Game (TCG) style combat! Designed by Magic the Gathering Hall of Famers Darwin Kastle and Rob Dougherty (of the Ascension Deckbuilding Game), Star Realms provides tons of playability for free, and a one-time upgrade to be able play with your friends and more on any device. Free Version •Universal Application: Play on iPhone, iPod, iPad, iPad Mini, and Ipad Air. •Addictive Deckbuilding Game with Player VS Player Combat. •Tutorial teaches you to play in minutes. •Stunning visuals. •Play VS the AI. •6 mission campaign mode. Full Game Additional Features •Play the AI on 3 different difficulty settings. •9 additional campaign missions. •Battle friends face to face with Pass and Play. •Online play with global rankings. •Challenge a friend online.

About

Dominion

Build a powerful deck to expand your kingdom and earn victory points in this acclaimed deck-building strategy game. Explore vast card combinations, compete against AI or other players online, and enjoy endless replayability with numerous expansions.

Highlights
  • Deck-building mechanics
  • Kingdom expansion
  • AI opponent
  • Online multiplayer
  • Daily puzzles
  • Cross-platform play
  • Expansion packs
Read full description

Expand a small kingdom to a mighty Dominion! Play the Spiel des Jahres winner beloved by millions of boardgame hobbyists around the world. This is the officially licensed implementation. REIGNING DECKBUILDER Discover the game that defined a genre, Dominion was first to popularize deck-building and remains a staple of tabletop. GROW YOUR KINGDOM Collect as many Victory Points as you can by building a powerful deck. Your deck starts out a small sad set of Estates and Coppers, but you hope that by the end of the game it will be brimming with Gold, Provinces, and the inhabitants and structures of your kingdom. BUILD YOUR ENGINE Choose wisely among the 10 cards available in the tableau to create the strongest combos to dominate your opponent. COLLECT ALL EXPANSIONS Make your games more exciting with additional cards and rules from up to 15 expansions including the recent Plunder expansion! NEAR INFINITE VARIETY Over one hundred thirty-two septillion possible Kingdom combinations, 500+ cards, 15 and counting expansions, and ongoing promo packs make Dominion one of the most extensive and replayable boardgames in the hobby. COMPETE WITH THE COMPUTER Sharpen your skills with solitaire style solo play against a robust AI, with four levels of difficulty. Our innovative AI learns through self-play. Earn Achievements and win in Recommended Sets against each AI level. PLAY FRIENDS OR STRANGERS Play with up to 6 players online through your device or pass and play among your friends. Join ranked or unranked matchmaking, with realtime and asynchronous modes. Set up a private table for a family game, challenge a stranger in the lobby, or invite a friend! DAILY PUZZLE A daily ritual to relax with over a cup of coffee. Try the Daily Dominion, a free puzzle level available to players around the world. Practice your strategy to keep up a winning streak and climb the leaderboard. CROSS-PLATFORM PLAY Play from any supported device, whenever you want, after verifying your email in-game. Join games with opponents on platforms other than your own. JOIN THE COMMUNITY With an active Discord and online community, make new friends or challenge new people to a game. Export and share kingdoms and game summaries to compare strategies. FREE TO PLAY Download the game that started it all for free! The base set of Dominion is available at no charge. Try the rotation of expansion cards in the Daily at no cost once per day. Jump into a lobby game with expansions enabled to try before you buy. Only the host needs to own the expansions. INTRODUCTION TO TABLETOP Learn the ropes in this easy to pick-up, hard to master title. Play one of the most highly regarded strategy tabletop games of all time through our simple tutorial. The core loop is easy to follow, but offers a wealth of strategy to explore. • 1 - 6 player support • Five-hundred plus cards • Solo play against 4 AI difficulties • Async & real-time multiplayer • Ranked & unranked matchmaking • Lobby & Private game tables • Cross platform multiplayer • Cross platform purchases • Daily challenge • Challenging AI that learns through self-play • Recommended Sets • Customize, save & share Kingdoms • Achievements, Stats & Leaderboards • Pass & Play mode • Automated score-keeping & hints • Smart-play options to streamline gameplay • Jumbo mode for readability on phones • Turbo mode to zoom through games quickly • Tutorial & Rules • 4 languages: English, Japanese, German, French • 15+ expansions plus three promo packs

Screenshots

Star Realms3 screens
Dominion2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dominion at 4.9 against Star Realms's 4.6. Dominion also leads on review sentiment (68% vs 57%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). 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. Star Realms sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Dominion sells 17 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dominion holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.5K and 5.1K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of Star Realms's written reviews are positive against 68% of Dominion's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Star Realms ships an update every 10 days, Dominion every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Star Realms versus Dominion: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStar RealmsDominion
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (4.5K ratings)4.9 (5.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews57.0% of reviews68.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4.5K5.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size509 MB423 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperWhite Wizard GamesTemple Gates Games LLC

Customer experience

Star Realms

All ratings4,453 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral2.1%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews405 reviews
Positive57.0%
Neutral10.9%
Negative32.1%

Dominion

All ratings4,729 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews355 reviews
Positive68.5%
Neutral12.4%
Negative19.2%

User reviews

Star Realms

From 4.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great game
  • 👍 Excellent implementation
  • 💡 Lots of content and features
  • 🚀 Fast and smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Challenging AI

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🐛 Issues with online play and connectivity
  • 🐛 Unbalanced AI difficulty
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
  • 🐛 Confusing UI and navigation

Dominion

From 5.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 🎮 Faithful adaptation of the board game
  • 👍 Challenging AI opponents
  • 🎨 Great visual design and animations
  • 📱 Convenient mobile experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches (e.g. crashes, card interactions not working as expected)
  • 🤖 Inconsistent or overpowered AI behavior
  • 💰 Expensive expansion packs
  • 🕰️ Slow animation speed for AI turns
  • 🔀 Lack of customization options (e.g. disabling certain cards, saving game setups)

Bugs and requests

Star Realms

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Game freezes and crashes on launch
  • Online games getting stuck or timing out
  • Inability to scrap or play certain cards
  • Incorrect card behavior and interactions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add undo/rewind functionality
  • Improve offline/single-player experience
  • Implement better matchmaking and player communication
  • Provide more detailed game statistics and analytics

Dominion

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Possession card not working correctly
  • Victory points not displayed properly
  • Inability to rejoin games after server disconnects

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to select specific card sets for randomized games
  • Option to complete games against AI when opponents forfeit
  • More detailed game statistics and player history tracking
  • Improved matchmaking filters for online play
  • Shareable in-app purchases for family members

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Star Realms

One-time12
  • High Alert: Invasion$1.99
  • Crisis: Bases and Battleships Set$1.99
  • Crisis: Events Set$1.99
Show 9 more
  • Crisis: Heroes Set$1.99
  • Crisis: Fleets and Fortresses$1.99
  • Command$1.99
  • Gambit Set$3.99
  • Cosmic Gambit$3.99
  • High Alert: First Strike$3.99
  • Full Version$4.99
  • Colony Wars$4.99
  • Frontiers$4.99
17 purchases

Dominion

One-time17
  • Alchemy$4.99
  • Intrigue$4.99
  • Cornucopia$4.99
Show 14 more
  • Guilds$4.99
  • Seaside$9.99
  • Renaissance$9.99
  • Menagerie$9.99
  • Prosperity$9.99
  • Dark Ages$9.99
  • Adventures$9.99
  • Empires$9.99
  • Plunder$9.99
  • Nocturne$9.99
  • Rising Sun$9.99
  • Hinterlands$9.99
  • Launch Bundle$99.99
  • Expansion Bundle$109.99

Questions

Is Star Realms free?
Star Realms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dominion free?
Dominion is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Star Realms or Dominion?
Dominion is rated higher. Star Realms averages 4.6 out of 5 from 4.5K ratings, while Dominion averages 4.9 from 5.1K ratings.
Do Star Realms or Dominion have ads?
Neither Star Realms nor Dominion shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Star Realms or Dominion?
Star Realms ships an update every 10 days, and Dominion every 5 days. Most recently, Star Realms was updated on October 29, 2026 and Dominion on October 29, 2026.

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