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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

DomiNations vs RISK

DomiNations 4.5★ · Free + IAP 40
Winner RISK
RISK 4.7★ · Free + IAP 65

RISK is the better choice for players seeking a classic strategy game with quick matches, despite its aggressive monetization and ad issues, while DomiNations is plagued by excessive upgrade times, pay-to-win mechanics, and severe technical problems.

Full reviews: DomiNations · RISK

DomiNations, a city-building strategy game, suffers from extremely long upgrade times, a strong pay-to-win element, and frequent crashes. RISK, a digital adaptation of the classic board game, offers engaging strategic gameplay but is criticized for intrusive ads, paywalls for maps, and perceived unfair dice rolls or AI behavior.

Head to head

Features and Gameplay edge: RISKR2R9R11R23
DomiNations DomiNations offers city-building and progression, with new challenges and updates R2R11R23. However, many users find the game's balance ruined by overpowered commanders R2R9 and a lack of depth at higher levels .
RISK RISK is praised for its strategic depth, variety of maps, and online multiplayer, closely mimicking the board game experience . Users appreciate new game modes and pieces . However, some criticize the reliance on dice rolls for combat and the lack of an asynchronous play option .
Ease of Use and Progression edge: RISKR1R5R10R26
DomiNations DomiNations is criticized for extremely long upgrade and construction times, with some users reporting weeks or months for single upgrades, making progression feel like a 'time suck' or 'never ending grind' R1R5R10R26. This leads to long periods of inactivity unless players spend money R30.
RISK RISK is generally considered easy to learn and play . However, new users or returning players are forced through a long tutorial without a skip option . Progression for unlocking new maps or features can be slow without paying R108.
Reliability and Performance tieR3R7R14R15
DomiNations DomiNations is plagued by severe technical issues, including frequent crashes during attacks or when opening certain menus R3R21. Many users report being unable to log in or launch the game after updates R7R14R15.
RISK RISK also experiences crashes, often in the middle of a game or when starting one . Some users report issues with freezing ads preventing gameplay . Frequent mandatory updates are also a point of frustration .
Price and Value (Free vs. Paid) tieR10R12R13R18
DomiNations DomiNations is heavily criticized as a 'cash grab' and 'pay to win' game R10R13. Users feel forced to spend money to speed up extremely long upgrade times or to compete with players who have purchased advantages R10R12R30. The game also has numerous ads, some of which are long and intrusive R18R19R21R24.
RISK RISK is seen as having significant paywalls, with many maps locked behind purchases R68R108R118. The free version is limited by a 'token' system for playing matches . While a premium version is available, its details are unclear, and it doesn't unlock all content R118. Ads are a major complaint, often long, unskippable, or freezing the game .
Support and Fair Play tieR27R34R46R54
DomiNations DomiNations users report poor customer support, with issues like unreceived purchases not being resolved or refunded R54. Some also claim the game is 'rigged' or has unfair matchmaking, pitting weaker players against much stronger ones R34R46R27.
RISK RISK players frequently complain about unfair AI behavior, where bots seem to target the strongest player or collude against certain users . There are also concerns about players using multiple accounts and ineffective reporting systems for bad player behavior .
Pick DomiNations if

Pick DomiNations if you enjoy a long-term city-building and strategy game and are prepared for a slow progression pace or significant in-app purchases R11.

Pick RISK if

Pick RISK if you're a fan of the classic board game and want a digital version for strategic battles, especially if you plan to purchase the ad-free or map unlock options .

Evidence note: Both apps have a significant number of negative reviews related to monetization and technical issues, which is common for free-to-play games with in-app purchases. The lifetime ratings are high for both, but recent reviews for DomiNations show a strong negative skew due to persistent bugs and aggressive monetization.

Frequently asked

Are there many ads in DomiNations and RISK?
Yes, both DomiNations and RISK have many ads, with users frequently complaining about their length, intrusiveness, and tendency to freeze or prevent gameplay R18R19R21R24.
Is DomiNations a pay-to-win game?
Yes, DomiNations is widely considered a pay-to-win game, with many users stating that progression becomes extremely slow and difficult at higher levels without spending money on speed-ups or crowns R10R12R13R30.
Does RISK offer all maps for free?
No, RISK does not offer all maps for free; many maps are locked behind a paywall, and even the premium version only unlocks a limited selection, requiring additional purchases for more R68R108R118.

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. [R2] DomiNations 4/5 · US Good game, fix commanders: The game used to be better and is still great, but now, it’s become less strategic due to commanders being overpowered. You could bring an entire anti-commander squad in and it would get wiped out in one hit. The only criticism I have is that commanders are to powerful. Still great in terms of city building and progression.
  2. [R9] DomiNations 3/5 · US Pretty good: This game is probably one of the best games in the app store (although that isn’t saying much) and it’s a pretty well rounded game. However, there are quite a few bugs and the AI is pretty bad. Also whoever added the commanders deserves life in prison, those things one-shot almost every unit at level one and completely ruin the game. I mean every time I try to attack someone, Riply so
  3. [R11] DomiNations 5/5 · US My thoughts of the game: I love this game as it help me to relax. It also helps to know how war is like in real time. Good game and thank you the game developers
  4. [R23] DomiNations 5/5 · US World Domination: What I like about the game is that it updates and adds new challenges to the game, making it more interesting and entertaining.
  5. [R1] DomiNations 1/5 · US Time suck: Takes too long to advance. Plan on investing A LOT of time to this game. Click bate central....why can’t it be more like the original game ? Get ready to waste time....time you will never get back! Why 14 or 16 days to wait for n upgrade? Clean up click bait and make upgrades progress faster. Do better
  6. [R5] DomiNations 4/5 · US Build time: My only complaint is forever & 3 years to build everything - other than that - great game.
  7. [R10] DomiNations 1/5 · US Too long: DON’T PLAY ‼️‼️‼️I could play this game for 3 years straight and still be in the early stages of development. It takes weeks to months to upgrades building and literal years to complete university studies. Only play this game if you have Endless time & unlimited money. Nothing but a cash grab and they won’t fix it. DONT PLAY
  8. [R26] DomiNations 4/5 · US Too long to upgrade: When you get to the higher stages of age like atomic age, space age etc. it takes over 10 days to upgrade a lot of things. Once I upgrade three or four different things I don't play the game for a while to wait for the upgrades to finish. There should be either an incentive or faster way to upgrade.
  9. [R3] DomiNations 3/5 · US Crash Crash Crash: If you can get yourself through an entire attack without the game crashing and disconnecting from the servers. Count your blessings. Because a miracle just happened. It’s a good game otherwise. Just be prepared to attack with your troops and then lose them when the game crashes and you have to recook them all and select new ones from reinforcements, because they’re gone into the
  10. [R7] DomiNations 1/5 · US No se actualiza a tiempo: No se actualiza a tiempo
  11. [R14] DomiNations 5/5 · US I can’t login: After 11 years I can’t login!!! Its too bad
  12. [R15] DomiNations 3/5 · US Does not launch after update: Good day, the game does not launch after the update. I thought I just needed to wait. I entered the game, left it for 10 minutes, 0 progress. · translated
  13. [R12] DomiNations 3/5 · US Good game at lower levels: Always loved this game. But as I got to higher levels, more and more of the players had purchased all sorts of goodies, making them impossible or harder to beat.
  14. [R13] DomiNations 1/5 · US Would not recommend: Constant Money Grab complete pay to win. No balance between offense and defense .
  15. [R18] DomiNations 3/5 · US Good game, too much advertising: A nice game, killed off by endless advertising. Some of the ads block you phone for 2 minutes (I.e. Microsoft)
  16. [R27] DomiNations 3/5 · US Great Game: Love the concept of base PvP strategy game feels heavily dependent on spending only real problem I see is matchmaking most of the time I’m attacking players double of 3 times my age and continuous player disconnections when looking for a match
  17. [R34] DomiNations 1/5 · US Game views: Construction times are extremely long and another thing is unfair advantage on how a way stronger opponent is matched against a far weaker opponent
  18. [R46] DomiNations 1/5 · US Game play is unstable, buggy, rigged? It is still the case.: Long time player, but under the new war system the game has ‘magically’ become unstable when we are about to win a war where we were the underdogs. It’s a fun game but spend $ on it at your own risk. Latest release with ‘detachments’ is poorly executed and riddled with defects. Update 10/06/25: New war system is rigged to hold alliance
  19. [R54] DomiNations 3/5 · US Be careful. They take your money.: I have been playing this game for years. Their support is horrible and the game has bugs. In June this year my daughter bought me some credits for Father’s Day and I didn’t receive what she bought. They keep running me in circles trying to wear me down. I am done and filing formal complaints.
  20. [R19] DomiNations 1/5 · US Too many adds: Can’t close adds. Will run for more than a full minute
  21. [R21] DomiNations 3/5 · US Lots of bugs and long ads: Although a fun game, seems like each release results in more bugs than the last release. Also, some of the forced ads go for more than a minute. Now thinking about deleting game.
  22. [R24] DomiNations 3/5 · US Game vs Commercial: The game is well thought out. However, the commercials force you onto their website and push you into wasted time in a rude manner. Since the merger of ownership, the game has slowed down and level- ups look exactly the same too often.
  23. [R30] DomiNations 3/5 · US Meh: Once you get past a certain point (Atomic Age so to speak) you will literally be waiting a week to two weeks to update anything. Unless you spend big money on speed ups or crowns to facilitate completions, you will be staring at your screen doing nothing for about 90% of the time. When you think to yourself “why am I still playing this” then you know it’s about over.
  24. [R68] RISK 5/5 · US Great game!: The game is overall great. Only problem is that most maps are locked behind a paywall then with ads. But the ads only happen when you click play lol. 5/5
  25. [R108] RISK 3/5 · GB Great but expensive: I love the game, im addicted. But it’s quite annoying that you have to pay for a lot to c things. The adds are okay but there could be less. Love but prices are to expensive
  26. [R118] RISK 1/5 · US DONT PLAY THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE $15: This game is the biggest grossest money grabbing app you can play. Dont get me wrong its very fun but its tatics to make money is disgusting. There are 120 different maps to play from, you only get 4 to actually play with. Even when you drop $15 on the premium version you still only get 8 out of 120 maps. The only way to get more maps is too pay $5 for each ma

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