Comparison

Through the Ages vs Hero Realms

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

Head to head
About

Through the Ages

Lead a civilization from its beginnings to the modern era. Expand your resources, develop technologies, and build armies to defend or attack. Construct wonders and choose governments to achieve victory in this deep strategy game.

Highlights
  • Civilization development
  • Resource management
  • Technology research
  • Military expansion
  • Government selection
  • Wonder construction
  • Card-driven gameplay
  • Solo and online multiplayer
Features
Read full description

Through the Ages is based on a highly acclaimed civilization board game by well-known designer Vlaada Chvátil. The original game is recognized as a modern classic board game. ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES Become a chieftain of a small civilization at the dawn of humankind's history. Expand your farms and mines to ensure you have enough resources to grow your civilization. This is our chance to make history! Develop various technologies, improve armies to defend your cities, or attack other civilizations nearby. Choose the best government that fits your goals and build magnificent wonders to achieve memorable victory at the end of the modern era. CARD-DRIVEN GAMEPLAY Through the Ages is a card-driven, turn-based board game that gives you countless options on what to do and how to play. Thanks to the pool of hundreds of cards, every game is unique, allowing you to build a mighty civilization. PLAY SOLO OR ONLINE You can play against AI-driven world leaders with various difficulties, or you can jump into online games against other players. Thanks to the ELO system, the game will find you opponents of the same level as you are. Clash with them and discover whose strategy leads to victory. You can also participate in some of the many championships, including the official World Championship in Through the Ages. PLENTY OF CHALLENGES The game offers more than 30 challenges that change the winning conditions or rules, so you must adapt your strategy to lead your civilization to victory. Prove that you understand how civilization works and become the mighty world leader.

About

Hero Realms

Engage in strategic deckbuilding combat, recruit powerful champions, and level up your heroes. Enjoy PvP, co-op against AI bosses, or a single-player campaign. The free version offers core gameplay with optional expansions.

Highlights
  • Deckbuilding combat
  • Recruit champions
  • Hero leveling system
  • Online PvP
  • Cooperative play vs AI
  • Single-player campaign
  • Multiple character classes
Features
Read full description

Become a hero! Choose your class, perform mighty actions, and recruit powerful champions to your cause as you grow in power. Awarded Origins Fan Favorite Best Card Game. From the makers of the award-winning Star Realms® Deckbuilding Game, Hero Realms® combines the fun of deckbuilding games with the interactivity of trading card game-style combat. As you play, use Gold to add new actions and champions to your deck. When played, those actions and champions generate powerful effects, give you additional gold, and attack your opponent and their champions. If you reduce your opponent's health to zero, you win! [Non-Collectible Deck Building Game] Hero Realms does not require you to collect new cards. You start every game with a basic deck, and will acquire cards from the shared center row to build up your deck and defeat your opponent. Victory rewards skill, and not your collection of rare cards! [Level Up Your Heroes] Create a hero from one of several classes (free players start with the Fighter and Wizard available). Level them up with new skills, abilities and equipment, and take them to battle in thrilling Online PVP. Hero Realms uses fair match making, only allowing matches between equal levelled heroes. However, if you feel daring, you can choose to engage in combat against higher levelled opponents for additional XP and bragging rights. [Cooperative Online Play] Hero Realms also features online co-operative play. Battle against challenging AI bosses with another human player as a partner. Free players have access to the Pirate Lord mission, with other co-op missions available with the Base Set purchase. [Single Player Campaign] For offline play, take on the Welcome to Thandar campaign. Fight your way through scripted, story-based chapters against varied AI opponents. [Free Version] Free players will get to experience: - Addictive Deckbuilding Game with Player VS Player Combat. - Play VS the AI - Play with the Fighter and Wizard character classes - Level-up your characters up to Level 3 - Play the first 3 missions in the Welcome to Thandar campaign - Play the Pirate Lord co-op mission Purchasing the Base Set will unlock the full Hero Realms experience: - Unlocks hard AI difficulty level - Unlocks the Cleric, Ranger, and Thief character classes - Level-up your characters to Level 12 - Unlocks the entire Welcome to Thandar campaign. - Unlocks the Necromancers, Inquisition, and Orc Riot co-op missions. Please note that Hero Realms purchases are not compatible with Family Sharing.

Screenshots

Through the Ages4 screens
Hero Realms4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Hero Realms at Free against Through the Ages's $9.99. Through the Ages's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (88% vs 60%). On update cadence, 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

Hero Realms is free to download; Through the Ages costs $9.99 up front. Through the Ages sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Hero Realms 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

Through the Ages holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Through the Ages has 5.1K ratings behind it against 219, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Through the Ages's written reviews are positive against 60% of Hero Realms's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Through the Ages ships an update every 10 days, Hero Realms every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Through the Ages versus Hero Realms: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThrough the AgesHero Realms
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (5.1K ratings) — better4.3 (219 ratings)
Positive reviews87.7% of reviews — better60.2% of reviews
Number of ratings5.1K — better219
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#54 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size188 MB435 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperCGE Digital s.r.o.White Wizard Games

Customer experience

Through the Ages

All ratings5,140 ratings
Positive97.8%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews816 reviews
Positive87.7%
Neutral3.8%
Negative8.5%

Hero Realms

All ratings219 ratings
Positive80.8%
Neutral5.0%
Negative14.2%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive60.2%
Neutral10.5%
Negative29.3%

User reviews

Through the Ages

From 5.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent tutorial
  • 👍 Great implementation of board game
  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Challenging AI
  • 👍 Lots of replay value

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🐛 Connectivity issues with online play
  • 🐛 Bugs in challenge mode
  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with older devices

Hero Realms

From 219 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great game mechanics
  • 🚀 Smooth and polished app
  • 💡 Diverse game modes (PvP, co-op, campaign)
  • 👍 Faithful adaptation of the physical card game
  • 💡 Character progression and leveling system

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 🔒 Lack of local multiplayer (pass-and-play)
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases for additional content
  • 🌐 Lack of language support (e.g., no French, Spanish)
  • 🔍 Unclear tutorial and explanations of game mechanics

Bugs and requests

Through the Ages

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes during challenge mode
  • Connectivity issues with online play
  • Compatibility problems on older devices
  • Freezing during gameplay

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add pass-and-play mode with AI
  • Ability to mix human and AI players
  • More customization options for game settings
  • Expansion content (new leaders, wonders, etc.)
  • Ability to slow down AI turns for better observation

Hero Realms

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when trying to play online
  • Inability to access purchased content
  • Freezing and black screen issues
  • Incorrect character level progression
  • Matchmaking problems and long wait times

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more expansions and additional content
  • Implement a friends list and social features
  • Improve the campaign mode with more levels and challenges
  • Add an option to check the contents of your deck before playing
  • Implement a turn timer to prevent players from stalling

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Through the Ages

One-time1
  • New Leaders and Wonders$4.99
10 purchases

Hero Realms

One-time10
  • 80 Gems$0.99
  • 200 gems$2.29
  • Four Journeys Campaign$3.99
Show 7 more
  • 500 Gems$4.99
  • Hero Realms: Call to Arms$4.99
  • Journeys Expansions$4.99
  • Journeys Promo Expansion$4.99
  • Dungeons Expansion$7.99
  • 1200 Gems$9.99
  • Hero Realms Base Set$9.99

Questions

Is Through the Ages free?
Through the Ages costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Hero Realms free?
Hero Realms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Through the Ages or Hero Realms?
Through the Ages is rated higher. Through the Ages averages 4.9 out of 5 from 5.1K ratings, while Hero Realms averages 4.3 from 219 ratings.
Do Through the Ages or Hero Realms have ads?
Neither Through the Ages nor Hero Realms shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Through the Ages or Hero Realms?
Through the Ages ships an update every 10 days, and Hero Realms every 2 weeks. Most recently, Through the Ages was updated on November 8, 2026 and Hero Realms on November 2, 2026.

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