A turn-based space 4X for iPhone
“Clean the plate after buckwheat and the hull after a hyperjump right away.”
A turn-based space strategy game for iPhone. Coming soon to the App Store.
Turn 1 · Scouting
You have a capital, a scout and a map with almost nothing on it. Every system you reveal brings planet types, bonuses and, maybe, a neighbor.
“A Precursor beacon activated. It sends coordinates. Or a soup recipe. Translation is disputed.”
Turn 9 · Colonies and planets
A new colony starts with one citizen and grows on its own. The Terrans favor terrestrial worlds, the Ul'Mara oceans, the Consortium ice.
“Colonists worship a shipping container labeled FRAGILE. Morale is oddly high.”
Turn 20 · Economy and science
Push science and production, and keep an eye on fleet upkeep: without credits, colonies may revolt.
“The root network is unhappy: the fleet drinks more sap than an entire planet.”
Turn 28 · Diplomacy
Trade treaties, non-aggression pacts, peace or war. Pull too far ahead and your neighbors grow alarmed — and a few turns later it is no longer just alarm.
“Everyone else signs treaties out of politeness.”
Turn 36 · Espionage
A scout in a rival system can scan, sabotage, steal technology or start a revolution.
“Too soon: unrest has not built up yet.”
Turn 43 · Random events
Pirates, flares, refugees, Precursor stations… Every event has its own choice, and it changes the course of the game.
“Local pirates demand a toll. They call it a road-safety startup.”
Turn 50 · War and battle
Orbital battles, planetary assaults, victories and losses. Sometimes the enemy falls back, sometimes you do. Nobody knows how it will end.
“The enemy wreckage is already growing moss.”
Turn 60 · Victory
You can crush everyone. You can take most of the galaxy. Or you can build the Stargates and hold out while the whole galaxy flies at you. Your rivals go for victory by the same paths.
“The galaxy is yours — until accounting notices.”
“The Stargates open like spores on the wind. The Ul'Mara grow into infinity.”
Turn 79 · technological victoryEach race loves its own worlds and moves at its own pace. The AI plays the same races.
Blue · diplomats and traders
The calmest race for your first match. More credits, easier deals — keep the neighbors on pacts while you build the Gates.
+10% credits+10 diplomacy
Loves terrestrial worlds. Opens ice worlds with its own tech.
“Accounting approved the victory report.”
Orange · industrial machines
Builds faster than anyone. Hard to negotiate with, but by the first war their fleet is already waiting.
+20% production−10 diplomacy
Loves ice worlds. Oceans only after Waterproofing.
“Victory report saved. Errors: 0.”
Green · a living collective
Grows like mold on bread. Science comes slower, so they win by numbers — but the neighbors notice the growth fast.
+15% population growth−15% science
Loves ocean worlds. Deserts only after Moisture Retention.
“Both sides vanished into a cloud of ink.”
4X stands for explore, expand, exploit, exterminate. I wanted a whole match — scouting, colonies, diplomacy, war — to fit into one evening and into a pocket.
Hour in Space is a space 4X strategy game for iPhone: three empires, 30 or 50 star systems, 18 technologies and four ship classes. A typical match is 55–80 turns, and a turn is a couple of taps. The game saves after every turn, so a match can stretch over a few commutes.
The rivals are the heart of the game. The AI goes for the same victories you do: it builds Stargates, takes systems, fights wars. You can follow its progress in the Empire Overview, and if it gets there first, you lose.
When someone runs away with the game, the others get alarmed: they sign truces and strike together, and sometimes they invite you. Capturing the Gates system destroys the Gates, so the endgame is almost always a siege. The controls are built for iPhone in landscape.
Sometimes it ends like this
“A rival opened the Stargates first. Your empire makes the history books — as a footnote.”