# Mars - the Arrival — Scientific Mars settlement sim

> Scientific simulation game of building and managing a Mars colony. (iPhone/iPad app by Stefan Nyul.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-the-arrival/id1458927524 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Stefan Nyul](https://appshunter.io/developer/1458927523)
- Category: Games, Education, Simulation, Strategy
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.10/5 from 26 App Store ratings · 32 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 2.6 GB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2020-04-21
- Data updated: 2026-09-01
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-the-arrival/id1458927524/reviews.md

## What is Mars?

Settle on MARS in a mixture of game and scientific simulation. Take control over a tiny group of 10 settlers and choose a landing site on the barren Mars. Develop your venture from one single landing module into a thriving settlement with hundreds of specialized buildings and even more inhabitants. 

Research & development of new technologies as well as exploration of the Red Planet are key for establishing a permanent presence in this hostile environment.

And you are not alone. Other settlements, each one controlled by a real human somewhere on Earth, are starting to grow everywhere and a competition for being the most successful Mars colony has already begun.

Features:
- Scientific orientated building & simulation of a Mars settlement
- Background story in 6 phases with according phase goals
- Mars simulation in 30x real time (even running when app is not active)
- Choosing one of 7 Earth organizations providing (dis-)advantages
- Research & development of 152 individual technologies
- Construction, maintenance & repair of 51 individual building
- 35 individual building enhancements (no level 1,2,3...)
- Sending Mars exploration teams and analyzing found soil samples
- Production & dispatching of 23 different resource/module types
- Assignment of 5 settler types to all activities in the settlement
- Settler life cycle including children and elders
- 3D view of own settlement in authentic Mars topography
- Panning & zooming of the Mars surface in high resolution 3D 
- 100% usable without Internet connection 
- Optional online: ranking list & other settlements on Mars surface 
- Unlocking of advanced app functionalities step by step
- Tutorial explaining all app functionalities
- Contains some Ads but only after 15 Minutes of game and very decent 
- Contains In-App-Purchases but NO PAY TO WIN!
- This is a peaceful app! NO FIGHTING, NO KILLING, NO WAR!

## Key features

- Scientific Mars settlement simulation
- Research and development of technologies
- Exploration of the Red Planet
- Building and managing specialized structures
- Managing settler types and life cycles
- 3D view of settlement and Mars surface
- Offline playability

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| MAA Gold Membership | $1.99 | one-time |
| Sponsors contract | $2.99 | one-time |
| Logistics contract | $0.99 | one-time |


## Recent user reviews (10 of 32)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-the-arrival/id1458927524/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Having issues

*2026-07-07*

Need a fix the application is no longer function after launch it just goes dark

### 5/5 — Peak however

*2026-02-12, version 1.5.0*

this game needs an IKEA R&D so the settlers can carry blåhaj

### 2/5 — Great Time Management, Poor OPTIMIZATION!

*2025-11-23*

First I will say the game is good and the prices you pay for the few option is reasonable.

I have been playing for 6 plus months and enjoyed the daily activities of managing the settlement.

As of now I would not suggest making any ingame purchasing due to the game not being optimized. It's a text based type game with no high demand for graphics yet when I play I get error message that it's low on memory.

So recently I purchased a new, best iPad with twice the ram. It's the best you can get yet I'm still getting the memory error. The game either lacks optimization or has a memory leak, I'm not sure. Either way once you spend much time, advance, maybe spend money on purchases you will find yourself not being able to play even with best tablet or phone.

So play free and don't spend money. I'm all done due to my new iPad can no longer support this app. Please fix memory issues.

### 5/5 — Great Time Management, Very Challenging!

*2025-11-09*

First I will say after reviewing other's reviews the game does work fine and the issues people are having with the game freezing or running low in memory is due to using an older device that doesn't have enough memory. This happened to me recently with most of the games I was playing, including this game. I had an old 8th gen iPad and had to replace, game works fine now.

I like this game, it's very challenging and pushes you to tightly manage your colony, it will test your skills and there is always a way to work through the toughest situation.

I have been playing now for 8 months and just yesterday achieved the construction of a nuclear reactor, this will change everything and greatly increase my advancement. Doing so wasn't easy, and I found managing my people by sending them out on exploration greatly helped to manage resources, collect samples which in turn I sent back to earth for credit towards more needed resources.

 I will leave you with one thought, using your imagination, trying different things and never giving up is key in this game. You need to manage your colony everyday to be successful.

One mistake I now see that I made is I put my colony near the North Pole where the water ice is. Primarily it's a good idea but I'm now thinking if the ice all melts my colony may be destroyed. It's a possible costly over sight on my part, I didn't catch that when starting but I will have to wait and see. I can always start over if need be.

### 5/5 — Great game and support

*2025-05-18*

I really enjoy the game and its dynamics. When I had an issue with the purchase the developers were quick to respond and resolve my issue which is rare these days.

### 5/5 — Sigh

*2025-03-20*

I hope you added Venus to colonize ;)

### 5/5 — .

*2024-06-16*

Recommended!!!

### 3/5 — Great Potential, but…

*2024-05-18*

The fact you get nonstop increases in colonists with no way to reject them and it feels impossible to actually stay ahead of habitat needs cause you run out of construction supplies constantly is frustrating. I’ve tried 3 different runs and they all end in failure cause I can’t build faster than the colonist population increases. I think with the ability to stop them from coming and get extra supplies as a result would be nice.

### 1/5 — Takes ages , life is short

*2023-12-06, version 1.5.0*

Takes ages to build , life is to short to wait for so long , if for a construction will take 5 minutes I’ll give you 5 stars , should be a fun game not to wait for a building hours

### 5/5 — Wow, this is amazing! Part 1

*2023-06-18, version 1.5.0*

Wow, I’m surprised, only by one developer, but still good, but could you lower the time, you aren’t giving us micro transactions, but if you won’t lower the time, could you implement ways we could lower the time, like the more population we have, the more you get of a special point that you earn when you increase in population, or something? But truly, this game’s positives are great! You get to place yourself anywhere, even the mountains, the valleys, craters, anywhere and there’s even height! I don’t know much about the game as of now because I’ve just started my journey, but this games still great! Will edit or write more once I figure out more about this.

## Frequently asked questions about Mars

### What is Mars - the Arrival?

Mars - the Arrival is a scientific simulation game where you establish and manage a colony on Mars. You start with a small group of settlers and develop your base into a thriving settlement by researching technologies, building structures, and exploring the planet. The game focuses on scientific accuracy and strategic management.

### What are the key features of this Mars simulation?

Key features include scientific building and simulation, a background story with phase goals, real-time Mars simulation, choosing from different Earth organizations, extensive research and development of technologies, construction and maintenance of numerous buildings, exploration missions, resource management, and settler life cycle simulation. It also offers a 3D view of your settlement and the Mars surface.

### How is the app monetized?

The app is free to download and play, containing some ads that appear after 15 minutes of gameplay. It also includes in-app purchases, but these are designed to unlock advanced functionalities and do not offer a 'pay to win' advantage. The focus is on a peaceful, strategic experience.

### Can I play Mars - the Arrival offline?

Yes, the app is 100% usable without an internet connection. While optional online features like a ranking list and viewing other settlements are available, the core gameplay and simulation of your own Mars colony can be enjoyed entirely offline.

### Who is this game for?

This game is designed for players who enjoy scientific simulation, strategy, and management games with a space exploration theme. It appeals to those interested in the challenges of establishing a human presence on Mars and engaging in detailed resource and population management without combat.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.6.3 — 2026-08-29

What's new
• Creating a new settlement and setting your password works reliably again.
• You can report your settlement to MAA without Gold membership (ranking still requires Gold).
• The ranking list no longer shrinks unexpectedly.
• Background sound plays again.
• Clearer feedback when claiming or linking an account.
• Opening Settings, Ranking, Hints, and the Game Log is more stable.
• General reliability improvements for online play.

### 1.6.2 — 2026-07-01

FIXED
- Shutting down the app sometimes lost the last the change that happend a couple of seconds before
- In some cases restoring a settlement failed
- Gifted IAPs did not work exactly like purchased ones

### 1.6.1 — 2026-06-22

FIXED
- Simulation times of Mars settlements on same server could differ
- Showing wrong server time during register to server
- Sometimes Mars globe appeared as white ball
- Sometimes register to server ended with showing Mars globe without UI
- Crash to desktop on very old devices with low memory
- Incorrect time-stamp in ranking list on some devices

### 1.6.0 — 2026-06-15

GIFT
- 1 free real-time month of MAA Gold Membership, Sponsors Contract & Logistics Contract for all existing players

NEW
- new server infrastructure
- faster & always-on server

FIXED
- Gradual loss of other settlements when app was closed directly after "Report to MAA" was finished
- Problem with aging of settlers in late games
- Displaying of many explorations/shipments/analyses could take very long
- Server registration with an opened grid view in the background doesn't switch to globe view and thus the settlement location cannot be changed
- 2nd attempt of cancelled server registration must chose another location because the settlement from 1st try is still blocking placement at same location in the 2nd try
- 2nd attempt of cancelled server registration must chose another name because the name from 1st try is still blocking the name

### 1.5.0 — 2022-12-27

NEW
- Enhancements for storage buildings
- Hierarchical display of storage effects


FIXED
- Crash when starting 3D view on very, very large settlements, app is warning now and aborts with dialog box
- Frames of disabled/orange buttons sometimes was a mix of orange & green
- 8-digit storage capacity sum was rounded
- Some minor text corrections


BALANCING
- Doubled power output of RTGs
- Halved the anti-crime effects of all habitats

## Apps similar to Mars

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Galactic Colonies](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/galactic-colonies/id1240422237) | 4.5 (297) | Free | Games |
| [Galaxy Reborn: Second Empire](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/galaxy-reborn-second-empire/id1282284743) | 4.5 (72) | Free | Games |
| [Colonize: Transport Tycoon](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/colonize-transport-tycoon/id1518807068) | 4.4 (145) | Free | Games |
| [My Planet Simulation](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-planet-simulation/id695687095) | 3.7 (215) | Free | Games |
| [Mars Tomorrow: Terraforming](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-tomorrow-terraforming/id1059403992) | 3.9 (69) | Free | Games |
| [My Colony 2](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-colony-2/id1586194338) | 3.6 (121) | Free | Games |

## More apps by Stefan Nyul

- [Color the World!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/color-the-world/id1643411548)

All apps by Stefan Nyul: https://appshunter.io/developer/1458927523

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-01.*