Star Realms vs Ephod™
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Deckbuilding gameplay
- Player vs Player combat
- AI battles
- Campaign mode
- Online multiplayer
- Pass and Play mode
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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.
Ephod™
Engage in real-time strategy card battles. Collect gems, buy cards, and outmaneuver opponents to reach a target score. Compete globally, climb seasonal ranks, and customize your game experience.
- Real-time matches
- Seasonal ranks and leaderboards
- Multiple game modes
- Connect with friends
- Character and theme customization
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Ephod™ is a real-time strategy card game where you collect gems, purchase cards, and outsmart opponents to score points. Manage your resources wisely and be the first to reach the target score. ◆ Key Features ◆ • Real-Time Matches – Compete with players worldwide in strategic battles • Season Ranks – Earn points, climb the ladder, and prove your skills each season • Leaderboards – Compare global and friend rankings • Multiple Modes – Ranked, Quick Match, Private, and Custom games • Friends & Likes – Connect with players you’ve met and show appreciation • Customization – Personalize your character and game themes Download now and prove your skills among players from all around the world!
Screenshots
Verdict
Star Realms and Ephod™ both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 57% of Star Realms's written reviews are positive against 43% of Ephod™'s. Star Realms also leads on ratings volume (4.4K vs 1K). Ephod™'s advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, 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
Both are free to download. Star Realms sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Ephod™ sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Star Realms against 4.6 for Ephod™. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.4K and 1K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 57% of Star Realms's written reviews are positive against 43% of Ephod™'s.
Star Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, Ephod™ weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Star Realms | Ephod™ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (4.4K ratings) | 4.6 (1K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 56.5% of reviews — better | 43.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4.4K — better | 1K |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 470 MB | 212 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | White Wizard Games | Jinhyeok Jeong |
Customer experience
Star Realms
Ephod™
User reviews
Star Realms
From 4.4K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Ephod™
From 1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great implementation of Splendor
- 🚀 Smooth gameplay
- 💎 Faithful recreation of the board game
- 🎨 Excellent visual design
- 🤝 Enjoyable multiplayer experience
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent bugs and glitches
- 🔁 Excessive need to update the app
- 🕰️ Freezing and turn skipping issues
- 💰 Aggressive monetization with ads and coins
- 🔌 Connectivity problems and disconnections
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
Ephod™
Reported bugs
5 issues- Blank screens and loading issues
- Incorrect scoring and noble card distribution
- Account login and progress loss problems
- Unresponsive controls and buttons
- Crashes and force-quits during gameplay
Requested features
5 requests- Offline/single-player mode
- Ability to customize game settings (e.g., points target)
- Replay/review functionality
- Improved matchmaking and ranked system
- Support for more players in private games
In-app purchases
Star Realms
- High Alert: Invasion$1.99
- Crisis: Bases and Battleships Set$1.99
- Crisis: Events Set$1.99
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- 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
Ephod™
- 3,000$1.99
- 6,600$3.99
- 11,500$6.99
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Remove Pre-Game Ads$6.99
- Stocking Pass$7.99








