# Mars Tycoon > Build and manage a Martian colony for human survival and expansion. (iPhone/iPad app by Tim Webster.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-tycoon/id1006391962 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Tim Webster](https://appshunter.io/developer/945837393) - Category: Games, Entertainment, Puzzle, Simulation - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 3.80/5 from 159 App Store ratings · 90 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 8.0 · 23 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2016-07-01 - Data updated: 2026-08-19 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-tycoon/id1006391962/reviews.md ## What is Mars Tycoon? Welcome To Mars! At -65C below freezing, no oxygen and zero atmosphere, the conditions are hostile for Life... Despite this, Mars remains our best hope for becoming a multi-planetary species... In 2025, 6 brave Astronauts will set foot here for the first time - another giant leap for mankind... Their mission is to prepare for a Human colony on Mars... Your mission is to ensure their survival... First find Water and a Power source to synthesize breathable air... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ◈ Build the first human colony on Mars! ◈ Find and synthesize the necessary elements to stay alive! ◈ Grow your colony with new visitors from Earth. ◈ Expand and set up Industry to exploit Mars' natural resources. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notify me of any suggestions and/or bugs @timtupman. ## Key features - Build first human colony on Mars - Synthesize elements for survival - Grow colony with new visitors - Expand industry and exploit resources - Manage astronaut survival ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Building Materials 2000 | $0.99 | one-time | | Building Materials 4000 | $1.99 | one-time | | Building Materials 20000 | $2.99 | one-time | ## What do users think of Mars Tycoon? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 🧠 Challenging strategic gameplay requiring careful planning - 🎮 Unique concept with no direct competitors in app store - 🎨 Retro pixelated art style appeals to players - 🎯 Addictive gameplay loop once mechanics are understood - ⚙️ Complex resource management and optimization - 🏗️ Engaging colony-building simulation mechanics **Cons** - 🐛 Astronauts frequently get stuck in buildings or clusters - 🐛 Poor pathfinding AI causes colonist deaths - ⏱️ Extremely long wait times for MAV resupply missions - 🎮 Steep learning curve with unclear mechanics - 📦 Limited map space restricts late-game expansion - 🔧 Pipe connection system is overly restrictive and clunky - 💾 Game progress resets when app is closed during upgrades - ⚡ Significant lag when map fills up with structures - 🎯 No clear end goal or win condition - 💰 Pay-to-win mechanics feel necessary to progress **Commonly reported bugs** - Astronauts get stuck in buildings and cannot exit - Astronauts cluster together and block each other's movement - Game data resets when app is refreshed or closed - Game crashes unexpectedly, especially during building - Pipe connections randomly disconnect - Buildings expand in unpredictable directions after upgrade - MAV progress resets if app is closed mid-mission - Oxygen/methane production fails despite proper connections - Colonists die despite adequate oxygen/resource buildings nearby - Inability to bulldoze certain buildings - Battery loop exploit allows infinite power generation - Severe performance degradation with large colonies - Pipe placement validation is overly strict and finicky **Most requested features** - Expandable map or multiple planets to explore - Creative/sandbox mode for experimentation - Natural disasters like dust storms or volcanic activity - Ability to visit other planets with varying difficulty - More building variety and complexity - Improved pipe system allowing branching and overlapping - Background progression when app is closed - Better tutorial and help documentation - Title screen and main menu - Larger starting area or expandable space - More astronaut customization and life simulation - Offline gameplay capability ## Recent user reviews (10 of 90) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-tycoon/id1006391962/reviews.md ### 4/5 — Good game but.. *2026-08-12* Really good game but I have one suggestion that would probably help it be much better. Maybe make it so that the astronauts don’t have collisions with each other? They go into buildings to get O2 or sleep but then can’t leave because another astronaut is trying to get in and then they die because they can’t get into the buildings ### 1/5 — Lots of glitches. *2026-04-07, version 1.0* There were lotta glitches like there was one where I couldn’t get methane to go back to earth to get more building materials for one of my things and there’s a bug or if it turns red multiple times Dennis stays red and I have to restart putting it so this game is bad.🤬 ### 5/5 — Very good *2024-02-18* Still my favourite iphone game. Updates would be appreciated if youre still there tim ### 4/5 — Richtig cool aber leider stirb die Crew so schnell und kein Platz zum rohre bauen *2024-01-17* :( richtig krass aber die Crew stirbt zu schnell ich wünsche mir es gäbe mehr Gebäude und Baustoff ### 4/5 — Pretty nice! *2023-04-23* Yeah, this game’s pretty cool, but there’s some bugs. My astronauts sometimes don’t leave any buildings, and it resets my data when I refresh the app. ### 5/5 — Please update *2023-03-12* Make expandable space! ### 2/5 — Games good fun *2022-08-28* The game’s fun until your realise is take twelve minutes for the resupply ship to leave and another 12 to come back. It’s even worse when you in the middle of optimising your power and the game tells you have no resources left, and now all you little astronauts slowly die until the shuttle gets back. ### 3/5 — Fun but can be annoying… *2022-06-19* It has a few bugs that in time will drive you nuts… ### 4/5 — Please continue this unique game *2021-07-20* There is no other game quite like this in the app store, and so I would love for the updates for this game to continue. The game itself has some replay-ability but still much to be desired. And as one review said about the pathfinding, so please fix this because I’ve spent too much money to count and having those worlds wasted because of broken AI. I would’ve given this game a 5/5 if it wasn’t for the broken AI and maybe some more mechanics like expanding through mars and making a greener planet, like a 2d version of Surviving Mars. But it’s the developer to decide what to do with the game, I just hope he does this game well in the future. ### 5/5 — Fun *2021-07-09, version 1.0* Awesomely fun😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍10000/10 ## Frequently asked questions about Mars Tycoon ### What is Mars Tycoon about? Mars Tycoon is a game where you build and manage the first human colony on Mars. Your mission is to ensure the survival of astronauts by finding essential resources like water and power, synthesizing breathable air, and expanding the colony's infrastructure and industry. ### What are the main features of Mars Tycoon? Key features include building the initial human settlement on Mars, finding and synthesizing the elements necessary for survival, growing the colony by welcoming new visitors from Earth, and expanding industry to utilize Mars' natural resources. ### Is Mars Tycoon free to play? The game is free to download and play. It offers in-app purchases, allowing players to enhance their experience or progress faster, but these are optional. ### What kind of gameplay can I expect in Mars Tycoon? You can expect a blend of colony simulation, resource management, and survival strategy. Players will need to make critical decisions about resource allocation, infrastructure development, and ensuring the well-being of their colonists in a hostile environment. ## Version history (last 1 release) ### 1.0 — 2016-07-01 This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon. ## Apps similar to Mars Tycoon | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Double Bricks](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/double-bricks/id1472779418) | — | $1.99 | Games | | [Mars Mystery: Hidden Objects](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-mystery-hidden-objects/id1577196255) | 4.5 (613) | Free | Games | | [Binaire: Binary Puzzle](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/binaire-binary-puzzle/id6754220945) | 5.0 (2) | Free | Games | | [Bubble Shooter : Shoot Bubble](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bubble-shooter-shoot-bubble/id6746140240) | — | Free | Games | | [River Tower Defence TD Games](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/river-tower-defence-td-games/id360918170) | 1.4 (16) | Free | Games | | [SCP Laboratory Idle Mobile app](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scp-laboratory-idle-mobile-app/id1607801010) | 3.8 (21) | Free | Games | ## More apps by Tim Webster - [Punch Kidd](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/punch-kidd/id945837394) All apps by Tim Webster: https://appshunter.io/developer/945837393 --- *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 2026-08-19.*