Imbroglio vs Shotgun King
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Imbroglio
Navigate a dynamic labyrinth filled with monsters and treasures. Build your deck to invoke powers, equip magical weapons, and choose from diverse heroes to survive and achieve a high score in this tactical deck-building game.
- Ever-shifting labyrinth
- Deck-building tactics
- Magical weapons
- Invoke special powers
- Multiple heroes
- Enigmatic enemies
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"Every individual element of Imbroglio’s design coalesces into an elegantly complex whole. Nothing is out of place. It’s the kind of game that I just want to think and talk about all the time." - Pocket Tactics review Finalist for Excellence in Design, Independent Games Festival 2017. Named best game of 2016 by iPhone GameCast. Named one of the ten best British games of 2016 by Kotaku UK. Honorable Mention for Best Mobile Game in Game Developers Choice awards 2017. Survive in an ever-shifting labyrinth filled with vicious monsters and valuable gemstones. Choose your hero, arm them with magical weapons, spend runes to invoke special powers, and fight for a high score in this deck-building tactics game where the deck is the dungeon. At least four enigmatic enemies to battle. Eight different heroes to play as. Thirty-two weapons to level up.
Shotgun King
Experience a unique twist on chess where you command a king armed with a shotgun. Fight your way through enemy pieces, strategically reload, and upgrade your abilities to reclaim your kingdom. This roguelike chess adventure offers challenging gameplay and extensive replayability.
- Chess with a shotgun mechanic
- Roguelike progression with upgrades
- 15 difficulty ranks
- Unlockable cards
- Over 100 achievements
- Endless and chase modes
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Chess, but all your army has gone over to the white side, leaving you with nothing but your royal shotgun and your wounded pride. Carried by your dark folly, you decide it's time to teach those white pieces to fear the Shotgun King. Every turn, you may either move your king or shoot at enemy pieces, after what you'll need to move again to reload your shotgun. Avoid checkmate and kill the enemy king to complete the floor. After each floor, you may choose between two random combinations of one upgrade for you and one upgrade for the other side. Choose wisely and keep on winning floors and you just may get your kingdom back. Runs may take ~20 minutes to complete. The game features 15 ranks of difficulty, unlockable cards, over 100 achievements to complete, an endless mode, and now a chase mode where you get continually assailed from all sides!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shotgun King at none against Imbroglio's 3. Shotgun King also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (762 vs 110). Imbroglio's advantage is review sentiment (90% vs 66%) and price ($3.99 vs $6.99). On rating, ads and device support 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
Imbroglio costs $3.99 and Shotgun King $6.99 up front. Imbroglio sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Shotgun King asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Imbroglio against 4.8 for Shotgun King. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shotgun King has 762 ratings behind it against 110, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 90% of Imbroglio's written reviews are positive against 66% of Shotgun King's.
Imbroglio ships an update every 2 months, Shotgun King every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Imbroglio | Shotgun King |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $6.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (110 ratings) | 4.8 (762 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 89.7% of reviews — better | 66.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 110 | 762 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #180 | #45 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 59 MB | 468 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Michael Brough | Plug In Digital |
Customer experience
Imbroglio
Shotgun King
Bugs and requests
Imbroglio
Reported bugs
5 issues- iOS 11 compatibility crashes on startup
- Character unlock not persisting after reinstall unless high score beaten
- Game crashes when opening on certain iOS versions
- Harry build exploit allowing use of outlawed range options via copied boards
- Wall shift mechanics occasionally trapping player in worst positions
Requested features
10 requests- Tutorial or better onboarding for new players
- Larger text size option for readability
- Random board generation option
- Ability to replay custom boards multiple times
- Pass/skip turn option for tactical flexibility
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- iPhone X native screen support (resolved in updates)
- Music soundtrack addition
- Option to use earlier game rulesets with progress tracking
- Randomize board button in edit screen
- More detailed help documentation
Shotgun King
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Imbroglio
- Imbroglio: Ossuary$1.99
- Imbroglio: Phlogiston$2.99
- Imbroglio: Mizzenmast$7.99
Shotgun King
No in-app purchases
