Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Boom Beach vs Clash Royale

Boom Beach 4.7★ · Free + IAP 65
Winner Clash Royale
Clash Royale 4.6★ · Free + IAP 70

Clash Royale has a slight edge due to its more engaging gameplay for many, despite both games facing significant 'pay-to-win' criticisms and issues with recent updates.

Full reviews: Boom Beach · Clash Royale

Both Boom Beach and Clash Royale, developed by Supercell, are free-to-play strategy games with in-app purchases. While Boom Beach offers a base-building and attacking experience, Clash Royale focuses on real-time card-based strategy battles. Both games are heavily criticized for becoming 'pay-to-win' and for recent updates that have negatively impacted gameplay and progression.

Head to head

Gameplay and Engagement edge: Clash RoyaleR1R5R8R12
Boom Beach Boom Beach players enjoy the base-building and attacking aspects, with some having played for many years, but recent updates have made the game overly complicated and less fun for others R5R8. Issues like repetitive maps, slow progression, and unfair matchmaking against much stronger opponents are frequently cited R1R12.
Clash Royale Clash Royale offers engaging real-time strategy battles, with many users finding it fun and addictive . However, recent updates, including new heroes and game modes, are often criticized for being unbalanced and making the game less enjoyable .
Progression and 'Pay-to-Win' tieR2R6R9R19
Boom Beach Many Boom Beach players feel the game has become 'pay-to-play' or a 'money grab,' with absurd resource costs and long upgrade times making advancement difficult without spending money R2R6R22R25. Some users lament the loss of resources after updates R9R19.
Clash Royale Clash Royale is widely criticized for being a 'pay-to-win' game, where progression is extremely difficult without spending money, especially with the introduction of new cards, heroes, and higher levels . Users feel pressured to buy passes and cards to compete .
Technical Issues and Support tieR1R4R7R10
Boom Beach Boom Beach users report numerous bugs, game crashes, and issues with accounts R4R10. Customer support is frequently described as unhelpful, automated, or non-existent, leading to lost accounts and money R1R7R10R52.
Clash Royale Clash Royale players also experience technical problems like glitches, bots, and the game not loading after updates . Similar to Boom Beach, customer support is criticized for being terrible and unhelpful, especially with account recovery .
User Experience and Updates tieR9R21R24R28
Boom Beach Recent Boom Beach updates are often met with negativity, with users finding them to make the game worse, more complicated, and less fun R9R21R28R34. Some users complain about excessive ads and offers R24.
Clash Royale Clash Royale updates are frequently criticized for ruining the game, introducing unbalanced elements like heroes and new game modes, and making the game feel worse . There are also complaints about the trophy system and card balancing .
Pick Boom Beach if

Pick Boom Beach if you prefer a base-building and attacking game with a long history, are willing to invest time or money into progression, and enjoy a more complex strategic experience despite recent updates R5R8.

Pick Clash Royale if

Pick Clash Royale if you enjoy fast-paced, real-time card-based strategy battles, are prepared for a 'pay-to-win' environment, and appreciate a game with a large player base and frequent updates, even if some are controversial .

Evidence note: Both apps have a high lifetime rating, but a significant portion of recent reviews for both are negative, heavily skewing towards 'pay-to-win' complaints and issues with recent updates. The free-to-play nature with IAPs means many negative reviews stem from friction experienced by non-paying users.

Frequently asked

Are Boom Beach and Clash Royale pay-to-win?
Yes, both Boom Beach and Clash Royale are frequently criticized by users for being 'pay-to-win' games, where progression and competitiveness are significantly hindered unless players spend money on in-app purchases R22R25R42R51.
Do these games have good customer support?
Based on user reviews, both Boom Beach and Clash Royale are reported to have poor customer support, often described as automated or non-responsive, leading to frustration, especially for account recovery issues R1R7R10R52.
Have recent updates improved these games?
Many users for both games report that recent updates have made the games worse, more complicated, or less balanced, rather than improving them R9R21R28R34.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] Boom Beach 1/5 · US Don’t bother: Game is designed where u drop In and instantly become feeder for players 20 levels higher than you. Makes it super annoying. Doesn’t help I had an account when the game came out and the useless auto support can’t find it. 0/10 do not waste your time
  2. [R5] Boom Beach 5/5 · US Best game ever: I really enjoyed this,i love upgrade my base
  3. [R8] Boom Beach 5/5 · US Greatest game of all time: I had this game for more than 10 years love it 👌🏾
  4. [R12] Boom Beach 3/5 · US Once again!!! NO UPGRADE FOR RADAR????!!!!: Once again!!! NO UPGRADE FOR RADAR????!!!! It’s been stuck on level 20 for years!!! It’s getting boring seeing the same bullSh!!!t map!!! Upgrade already
  5. [R2] Boom Beach 4/5 · US Great but the resource costs become absurd: At around level 19 the cost to upgrade buildings becomes too absurd to manage so it needs a rework.
  6. [R6] Boom Beach 3/5 · US Improvements: Takes too long to build bases and costs too much to upgrade troops. The instant troop revive needs to stay all the time as well.
  7. [R9] Boom Beach 3/5 · US A changed Boom Beach: After the last few updates I noticed I lost many resources. Maybe be still around but losing the resource to fill the resource bucket definitely changed play. Add to that when attacking in some special contests the opposing team has things like 500,000 health or very high damage abilities. In the past it was enjoyable and challenging, now it’s not worth the time, effort or mo
  8. [R19] Boom Beach 1/5 · US Lost materials: Before the last couple up dates I had a number chests of gold, lumber, stone, and silver. They are no longer there. What happen? I spent money buying these.
  9. [R4] Boom Beach 1/5 · US Game sucms: To many bugs and game doesnt even make sense worst game ive ever played
  10. [R7] Boom Beach 1/5 · US Do something Apple store? and leave the people lose the money and leave the company is stealing .: Until now in the day, July 5, 2026 they don’t return my account they give it to the thief When I want to play in this year Before from 2025 when I write in supercell ID, I see my flag in supercell ID Ukraine someone steal my supercell ID when I connect to the Games, I see my Level one where is my old
  11. [R10] Boom Beach 1/5 · US Unplayable: Unable to even boot into the app. Stuck in an account disabled loop on iOS. Messages support with zero response. Games toast if you can’t even start a new account up.
  12. [R21] Boom Beach 3/5 · US Sucks: The newest update gameplay sucks.
  13. [R24] Boom Beach 3/5 · US Wango: Spend more time with ads than playing game. Enjoy playing the game but give me a break so many ads.
  14. [R28] Boom Beach 1/5 · US Game used to be simple and fun: I have played this game since it first was released. It used to be a great way to simply have some fun without having to put too much effort into managing it. I am sorry to say that now it has become overly complicated and difficult to advance unless you pay. Due to those reasons I am giving it a one star rating. It’s a shame that the developers have done this.
  15. [R22] Boom Beach 2/5 · US Money GRAB: I’ve always enjoyed playing the game. But the last year or so has turned into a money grad. It’s impossible to advance in the game without investing a significant amount of cash.
  16. [R25] Boom Beach 1/5 · US Pay to play: I have played boom beach since it’s inception. They have joined the pay to play club recently. Not to mention the time you have to commit to even stay up in the game. Very disappointing. I would not waste my time on this. The past was fun. No more
  17. [R42] Boom Beach 3/5 · US Pay to play unfortunately: Game has been pretty fun, but with new items, it has turned into a “pay to play” game, unfortunately…
  18. [R51] Boom Beach 3/5 · GB Was a good game.: Played the game since the very beginning when it was an ok game. Now it’s just a money spinner! Far too long to upgrade anything due to constant attacks. Far to costly to attack anyone. A good game totally ruined by Supercell.
  19. [R52] Boom Beach 1/5 · US Don’t bother with their customer support…: If you switch from android to iPhone, make sure you make an account with supercell because they won’t recover your account. My account was maxed. Now it’s gone. Guess I’m done with this game. Their customer support seems to be completely automated, probably a bot or AI. No way to get ahold of a person. They don’t care about their customers. Read other 1
  20. [R34] Boom Beach 1/5 · US Not fun anymore, read the most recent reviews: Every update it gets worse, they just can’t leave it alone constantly going for a money grab they can’t help it. Way too complicated. it’s just not fun anymore. Hammerman is impossible anymore

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store