Sublight Empire vs Kriegspiel
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sublight Empire
Experience a unique 4X space strategy game where actions and events unfold over years due to the speed of light limitations. Explore, colonize, and conquer star systems to achieve galactic dominance.
- Relativistic speed of light mechanics
- Real-time command propagation delays
- Explore and colonize star systems
- Defend and conquer colonies
- Classic 4X gameplay
- Galactic conquest objective
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Einstein's theory of relativity states that nothing is faster than light. This also applies to this game. Information is radio signals propagating at the speed of light. These radio signals transmit your commands and the events you receive. Spaceships move at a fraction of the speed of light. So it takes years for a command or a spaceship to reach its destination. When a battle takes place, you won't know about it until years later. Apart from this, it is a classic 4X game. In the beginning you rule a single star system and you are exploring and colonizing the surrounding systems. Later on you will meet your opponents and you will have to defend and conquer colonies. To win the game, you must conquer 2/3 of all stars.
Kriegspiel
Engage in a strategic board game inspired by Napoleonic warfare. The objective is to capture enemy arsenals by deploying lines of communication and blocking enemy movements on a large game board. Offers online and local multiplayer, as well as AI practice.
- 20x25 game board
- Capture enemy arsenals to win
- Deploy lines of communication
- Block enemy lines
- Online multiplayer
- Local multiplayer
- AI practice mode
- Level editor
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Inspired by the military theory of Carl von Clausewitz and the European war campaigns of Napoleon, Kriegspiel is a chess-variant played by two opposing players on a 20 x 25 game board. Capture the enemy's Arsenals to win. Deploy your Lines of Communication to keep friendly units in contact. Block enemy lines for strategic advantage. "The surprises of this Kriegspiel seem to be inexhaustible," wrote French Situationist Guy Debord. In Debord's view the game represents the totality of factors at play in wartime maneuvers, what he called "the dialectic of all conflicts." -- Play 2P online against another player -- Play 2P in person on the same device -- Practice against the computer -- Level editor for customizing formations -- Language support for French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, and English Kriegspiel is produced and maintained by Alexander R. Galloway. The game is noncommercial. There are no in-app purchases. No advertisements. No Patreon. No GoFundMe. No monetization of player data. There is literally no possible way to take your money.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Sublight Empire at 5.0 against Kriegspiel's 4.6. Kriegspiel's advantage is ratings volume (66 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Sublight Empire holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Kriegspiel has 66 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sublight Empire | Kriegspiel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.6 (66 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 74.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 66 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 59 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Enrico Unger | Alexander Galloway |
Customer experience
Sublight Empire
Kriegspiel
In-app purchases
Sublight Empire
No in-app purchases
Kriegspiel
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Sublight Empire free?
Is Kriegspiel free?
Which has better reviews, Sublight Empire or Kriegspiel?
Do Sublight Empire or Kriegspiel have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sublight Empire or Kriegspiel?
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