The iOS version is a great way to learn the game, and, as mentioned, a good surrogate when no actual people are around.
Drawbacks: various bugs have been reported (Right now, playing online, everytime I come to the end of a round, I CANNOT switch to another Le Havre game in progress ... instead, I have to wait until the other players take their turns to feed their workers!) and the AI is pretty horrible (I had it on the highest setting and I think I had twice the score of the AI in second place ... both AI opponents were ignoring the benefits of the special buildings in play and doggedly focusing on the standard coal-and-steel strategy ... I crushed them like robotic bugs).
But is it worth five bucks? Absolutely!
Drawbacks: various bugs have been reported (Right now, playing online, everytime I come to the end of a round, I CANNOT switch to another Le Havre game in progress ... instead, I have to wait until the other players take their turns to feed their workers!) and the AI is pretty horrible (I had it on the highest setting and I think I had twice the score of the AI in second place ... both AI opponents were ignoring the benefits of the special buildings in play and doggedly focusing on the standard coal-and-steel strategy ... I crushed them like robotic bugs).
But is it worth five bucks? Absolutely!