# Space Borders: Alien Encounter — real-time space strategy > Real-time 2D space strategy game with fleet building and combat. (iPhone/iPad app by Amasis Brauch.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/space-borders-alien-encounter/id490625226 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Amasis Brauch](https://appshunter.io/developer/490625369) - Category: Games, Music, Action, Strategy - Price: $1.99 with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.70/5 from 167 App Store ratings · 110 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 12+ - Requires: iOS 15.6 · 166 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2011-12-22 - Data updated: 2026-08-31 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/space-borders-alien-encounter/id490625226/reviews.md ## What is Space Borders? Command massive star ships in a large-scale war, against a powerful alien force! Put your tactical skills to work and protect humanity and Earth from certain annihilation. Space Borders is a 2D space RTS game, which features lots of gameplay depth, colorful graphics, cool special effects & a great overall atmosphere. _________________ GAMEPLAY • Real-time strategy (RTS) • Build up your fleet by choosing from 15 different types of ships (with unique abilities) • Harvest resources to buy new ships, power-ups and upgrade your mothership • Protect friendly ships and stations from attacks & ambushes • Create custom formations of fighters, destroyers, carriers & support vessels • Coordinate your ships to gain tactical advantages in difficult situations • Use superweapons to destroy large clusters of enemies • Distract the enemy with special powers • and much more... FEATURES • Great visual effects • 3D audio for realistic sound effects (headphones required) • Wide variety of battleships (fighters, carriers, destroyers & more) • Unrestricted camera freedom • Ambient space soundtracks • Training mission • Campaign Mode (8 missions) • Survival Mode (endless play) • Deep Space Mining mode (resource booster) • Sandbox Mode • Conquest Mode (add-on) PLOT In the late 23rd century humans have populated most of Earth. Troubled by the poor quality of life and the excessive amount of damage inflicted on Earth, they decide to plant new colonies on distant planets. The Earth military (EDF or Earth Defense Fleet) is in charge of organizing and carrying out this immense project. During the colonization, the EDF encounters a new life form, which turns out to be extremely hostile. Multiple attacks on EDF key installations, as well as on a research ship, force the EDF to improvise new strategies for a full evacuation. You are a high ranking officer of the EDF, who is in the midst of all the action. Make sure you all get back home to Earth safe & sound. _________________ SPACE BORDERS ONLINE • spaceborders.proboards.com - submit feedback, feature requests & more • facebook.com/spacebordersapp - receive the latest news about Space Borders • http://spaceborders.proboards.com/thread/260/ - Conquest Mode FAQ THANK YOU Thank you all for supporting Space Borders with reviews, ratings, ideas for new features and a lot more. This game is truly powered by its fans! Check out the links above and be part of it. _________________ SPECIAL CREDITS • Space Borders is powered by the Sparrow Framework. ## Key features - Real-time strategy gameplay - Build and customize fleet (15 ship types) - Resource harvesting and upgrades - Tactical ship formations - Superweapons and special powers - Campaign, Survival, and Sandbox modes ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: $1.99. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Conquest Mode | $1.99 | one-time | ## What do users think of Space Borders? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🎮 Excellent RTS gameplay mechanics - 💰 No pay-to-win or microtransactions - 🎨 Charming 2D graphics and visual style - ⚙️ Deep fleet customization options - 📱 Works smoothly on older devices - 🎯 Challenging and rewarding campaign - 🔄 Multiple game modes (Campaign, Survival, Conquest, Sandbox) - 🎬 Engaging sci-fi storyline - 👨‍💻 Responsive developer with regular updates - 🎪 Great value for single purchase price - 🏆 Unique space RTS on mobile platform - 🎮 Intuitive touch controls for mobile **Cons** - 🐛 Frequent app crashes during missions - 💾 No save/checkpoint system for long missions - 🎨 Cartoony graphics in newer versions - 🤖 Poor AI behavior - ⏱️ Missions are very long without breaks - 🎮 Unresponsive controls at times - 📊 Limited fleet size capacity - 🔧 Game balance issues with resource management - ☁️ No cloud save functionality - 🎯 Difficulty spike in early game - 🐛 Save data rollback issues after updates **Commonly reported bugs** - App crashes mid-mission with no progress recovery - Save file corruption and rollback after updates - Mission failure without clear cause or visibility - Resource disappearance between campaign episodes - Harvester ships launching into enemy fire - Ships spinning uncontrollably when near targets - Occasional lag with action controls - Controls requiring multiple inputs to register - Crashes on iOS 11 with iPhone 7 - Game-breaking resource management allowing soft-lock - End-mission crashes before hyperspace exit **Most requested features** - Multiplayer or online gameplay - Sequel or major expansion - Additional campaign missions and episodes - More ship types and varieties - More turret and weapon options - Larger fleet size capacity - Cloud save/iCloud synchronization - Checkpoint system for long missions - Ability to save and place destroyed ship debris in sandbox - 3D graphics upgrade - Larger maps and scaled battles - Local multiplayer support - Drones and sentry gun units - Base building mechanics - Planet-based gameplay - Larger hangar sizes - More varied campaign storylines - Speed-up options accessible from play screen - Ability to unlock sandbox mode without beating conquest ## Recent user reviews (10 of 110) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/space-borders-alien-encounter/id490625226/reviews.md ### 5/5 — :) *2026-03-26, version 3.3.2* Loved this game for years. I just wish you could save and place destroyed ship debris and other scenery pieces in sandbox mode. ### 5/5 — Kill time *2026-01-18* It’s a good fun game RTS to kill time but I only wished there were new updates and new added features and maybe expand more units and fleet etc plus tech to unlock ### 1/5 — Disappointed *2025-11-13* I prefer the graphics from the earlier version over the cartoony backgrounds it has now. I’m not sure why the developers chose to change everything so drastically, but there should be an option where you can choose between the different graphic styles. **Developer response:** Sorry to hear you are disappointed by the changes we have made. We believe that the original background design was too distracting, i.e. mixed too much with the foreground. Maintaining a set of different backgrounds would make the game larger in size and more convoluted unfortunately. Perhaps you could still give it another shot, it’s probably really just a matter of getting used to the new look. ### 5/5 — Great game! *2024-08-13, version 3.3.2* Probably my favorite mobile space RTS games. More levels please! ### 5/5 — Excellent RTS *2023-12-21, version 3.3.2* An incredible example of how to do tablet based RTS, customizable ships with a facsimile of fleet formations and several modes of play make for a highly enjoyable, and replayable experience. ### 1/5 — Frustrating *2023-10-17, version 3.3.2* Horrible ai and lack of save ability make this game not worth playing. I wrote a much more detailed review but I don’t know where it went ### 5/5 — Very good game *2023-02-20, version 3.3.2* Definitely worth the initial purchase and DLC purchase ### 5/5 — An antimatter turret and some mines. *2023-01-15* Four mines (1 max lvl deployment) can damage 5% of an enemy headquarter’s total health. The time between mine deployments is 60s. This means that it takes 80 mines, over 20 deployments, in 20 minutes to destroy an enemy headquarters. Did you know that an antimatter (or any other turret) counts as a ship? Did you know that in Conquest Mode you only need one ship and the capital ship doesn’t need to survive? Ask me how I know all this!!!! Ask meeeeee!!!! ### 5/5 — Nothing like this *2022-11-01, version 3.3.2* You’re not gonna find another space RTS on the Apple Store. Just get it already. Wish they made a sequel. ### 1/5 — Looks like a good game, but *2022-07-02, version 3.3.2* The main Campaign doesn’t work. When you get to the third episode, all of the resources that you mined in the previous episode disappear and you are left defenseless in the face of enemy forces. This makes the game unplayable. ## Frequently asked questions about Space Borders ### What is Space Borders: Alien Encounter? Space Borders: Alien Encounter is a 2D real-time strategy (RTS) game where players command starships in a large-scale war against a hostile alien force. The game focuses on tactical combat, fleet building, and resource management to protect humanity. ### What are the key gameplay features? Key features include building a fleet from 15 different ship types, harvesting resources to upgrade your mothership and buy new ships, creating custom formations, coordinating ship abilities for tactical advantages, and using superweapons to defeat large enemy groups. ### How is the game monetized? The game is free to download and play, but it offers in-app purchases. These purchases likely allow players to acquire resources, unlock ships, or gain other advantages within the game. ### What game modes are available? The game offers several modes, including a Campaign Mode with 8 missions, an endless Survival Mode, a Sandbox Mode for experimentation, and a Deep Space Mining mode for resource boosting. A Conquest Mode is also available as an add-on. ### What platforms is Space Borders: Alien Encounter available on? Based on the description, this appears to be a mobile application. While specific platforms aren't listed, it's typical for such games to be available on iOS and Android devices. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 3.3.3 — 2026-07-01 We've fixed various issues, including UI related bugs. ### 3.3.2 — 2021-06-12 Huge Update! [v3.3.2] - Improved music ambience - Fixes startup crash on devices running iOS9 - Various other improvements & fixes [v3.3.1] • New 3D space environment • Improved graphics • New music themes • iPad Pro support • Clearer instructions with visual indicators • New battle camera mode (activate with three finger tap) • Several stability improvements • Lots more... ### 3.3.1 — 2021-05-30 Huge Update! Featuring: • New 3D space environment • Improved graphics • New music themes • iPad Pro support • Clearer instructions with visual indicators • New battle camera mode (activate with three finger tap) • Several stability improvements • Lots more... ### 3.3 — 2018-11-29 Features: - Adds camera rotation - Supports rounded screens - New smooth background art - New fog effect - New ship explosions - New interactive intro Bug fixes: - Button responsiveness issue - Low resolution textures on newer devices - Crash fix ### 3.1 — 2015-12-05 - Several bug fixes. - Antimatter weapon platform upgrade. - Sandbox now available earlier on in the game. ## Apps similar to Space Borders | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [ASTROKINGS: Galactic Survival](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/astrokings-galactic-survival/id1447088015) | 4.3 (1,862) | Free | Games | | [Star Trek Timelines](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/star-trek-timelines/id1001250333) | 4.5 (7,489) | Free | Games | | [Nova Empire: Space Wars MMO](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nova-empire-space-wars-mmo/id1295555672) | 4.3 (5,063) | Free | Games | | [Galaxy Attack: Alien Shooter](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/galaxy-attack-alien-shooter/id1176011642) | 4.7 (652,371) | Free | Games | | [Sky Warriors: Airplane Games](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sky-warriors-airplane-games/id1572323748) | 4.7 (66,333) | Free | Games | | [Star Trek Fleet Command](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/star-trek-fleet-command/id1427744264) | 4.3 (67,319) | Free | Games | ## More apps by Amasis Brauch - [Bad Business](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bad-business/id1444508056) - [X-Fracs](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/x-fracs/id6783088969) All apps by Amasis Brauch: https://appshunter.io/developer/490625369 --- *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 2026-08-31.*