Comparison

Star Realms vs Oceans Board Game

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

Oceans Board Game

Explore a vast underwater world where survival hinges on adaptation. Discover mysterious traits and face bizarre creatures in this digital adaptation of a popular board game. Play for free or unlock the complete game for endless replayability.

Highlights
  • Underwater exploration
  • Adaptation mechanics
  • Deck building
  • Strategy gameplay
  • Multiplayer modes
  • Scenario challenges
Features
Read full description

Enter a vast, underwater cosmos: a mysterious interconnected world of tentacles, sharp teeth, and black ink, where your survival depends on your ability to adapt in a continually changing environment. But this is just on the surface… Lurking below the surface lie mysteries so bizarre they hardly seem natural. The Deep is a deck of mysterious traits you’ll discover over the course of many games. These over-powered traits represent the unknown: the undiscovered wonders of the deep ocean. Based on the hit board game, Oceans offers a beautifully crafted strategy game experience. The reef and 20 deep cards are completely free to play (and ad-free!), and you may also join one multiplayer game per day free. A one-time upgrade to the Complete Game features 87 Deep Cards, 21 Scenarios, and multiple hard AI personalities for endless replay fun. You can now play online against others on any platform, in real time or asynchronously. Purchasing the Complete Game allows you to create your own decks for use in singleplayer and multiplayer, and create your own multiplayer games. Venture into the deep at your own risk!

Screenshots

Star Realms3 screens
Oceans Board Game4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Star Realms at 4.5K against Oceans Board Game's 598. On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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 10 one-off in-app purchases and Oceans Board Game 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Star Realms against 4.6 for Oceans Board Game. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Star Realms has 4.5K ratings behind it against 598, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 57% of Star Realms's written reviews are positive against 51% of Oceans Board Game's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Star Realms ships an update every 10 days, Oceans Board Game every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Star Realms versus Oceans Board Game: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStar RealmsOceans Board Game
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (4.5K ratings) — better4.6 (598 ratings)
Positive reviews57.0% of reviews — better51.4% of reviews
Number of ratings4.5K — better598
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
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
Size509 MB216 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperWhite Wizard GamesNorth Star Digital Games

Customer experience

Star Realms

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

Oceans Board Game

All ratings598 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral4.2%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews107 reviews
Positive51.4%
Neutral15.9%
Negative32.7%

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

Oceans Board Game

From 598 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Beautiful artwork and visuals
  • 🕹️ Smooth and intuitive gameplay
  • 🧠 Engaging strategic depth
  • 🎶 Excellent soundtrack
  • 🤖 Challenging AI opponents

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 📱 Small text and UI elements on mobile
  • 🔄 Unstable after updates
  • 💰 In-app purchases required for full experience
  • 🕹️ Limited multiplayer options

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

Oceans Board Game

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Inability to restore purchased content
  • Cards not functioning as intended
  • Game freezing during late-game phases
  • Inconsistent save/load behavior
  • Graphical glitches and visual bugs

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more AI difficulty levels
  • Implement online multiplayer
  • Improve tutorial and onboarding
  • Increase card variety and depth
  • Provide better accessibility options

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Star Realms

One-time10
  • Crisis: Bases and Battleships Set$1.99
  • Crisis: Events Set$1.99
  • Crisis: Heroes Set$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Crisis: Fleets and Fortresses$1.99
  • Command$1.99
  • Gambit Set$3.99
  • Cosmic Gambit$3.99
  • Full Version$4.99
  • Colony Wars$4.99
  • Frontiers$4.99
10 purchases

Oceans Board Game

One-time10
  • Deep Pack 1, Pass and Play$0.99
  • Deep Pack 2$0.99
  • Deep Pack 6$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Deep Pack 7$0.99
  • All Packs Discounted$0.99
  • All Packs Discounted$1.99
  • All Packs Discounted$3.99
  • Multiplayer Pack$3.99
  • Full Deck and Hard AI$4.99
  • Complete Game$7.99

Questions

Is Star Realms free?
Star Realms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Oceans Board Game free?
Oceans Board Game is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Star Realms or Oceans Board Game?
Star Realms is rated higher. Star Realms averages 4.6 out of 5 from 4.5K ratings, while Oceans Board Game averages 4.6 from 598 ratings.
Do Star Realms or Oceans Board Game have ads?
Neither Star Realms nor Oceans Board Game shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Star Realms or Oceans Board Game?
Star Realms ships an update every 10 days, and Oceans Board Game every 2 weeks. Most recently, Star Realms was updated on November 6, 2026 and Oceans Board Game on November 3, 2026.

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