Comparison

Starbase Orion vs Marble Age

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Starbase Orion

Engage in a deep 4X space strategy experience. Explore, expand, and conquer the galaxy by colonizing worlds, designing ships, and outmaneuvering opponents in turn-based combat. Features a robust AI and multiplayer options for galactic domination.

Highlights
  • Explore new worlds
  • Expand your empire
  • Exterminate rivals
  • Design custom ships
  • Engage in turn-based combat
  • Diplomacy and espionage
  • Multiplayer via GameCenter
Features
Currently charting
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"The best 4X game currently available for mobile" - PocketTactics.com "This one is geek heaven" - AppAdvice.com "Master of Orion in Your Pocket” - GamePro.com "Starbase Orion has an epic-feeling" - TouchArcade.com "Starbase Orion is here, and it's glorious." - TUAW.com Explore. Expand. Exterminate. Can you defeat your friends and become the ruler of the galaxy? Starbase Orion is an old-school 4X space strategy game that draws inspiration from titles such as Master of Orion and Galactic Civilizations. Lead your empire from the birth of its space age; colonize new worlds, explore new horizons, and discover other players attempting to do the same. It is a race to the stars where only one empire can declare victory over the galaxy. New to 4X Strategy Games? No Problem Starbase Orion includes a hand tailored tutorial mission perfect for those new to the genre. It features high-quality voice acting provided by the very talented Maurice Thomas. Aged like a Fine Wine With nearly a five year life span the dedicated community of Starbase Orion players and the developer have produced twenty-four fantastic updates. Each update has introduced new features and player suggested functionality to make the game better, more strategic, and more immersive. Strong Single-Player Experience Compete against a battle-tested artificial intelligence. Our AI was derived from our entry into to 2010 Google AI contest, where it placed in the top 15% of thousands of competing intelligences. Go head-to-head against a single AI opponent, or ramp up the carnage with a 4 way free-for-all. GameCenter Multiplayer Turn-Based Games Starbase Orion was designed to provide a fantastic multiplayer experience. Launch the game, sign into GameCenter, and start a new multiplayer game. No need to coordinate play times or seek out other players. Just go play, when you want and on your terms. Choose Your Race, Or Create Your Own There are five uniques races included; Human, Draske, Vass, Cyban, and Isather. You can also create your own custom race by picking and choosing between different race characteristics. Intense Space Combat Design your ships from a variety of weapons, hull, and systems. Send them into battle against the enemy. Give them orders, then watch the battle in unfold as they duke it out in the dark expanses of space. Diplomacy, Espionage, Free Agents Direct confrontations not your cup of tea? Negotiate your way to victory through diplomatic endeavors. Confound your enemies with an army of spies. Contract one of the many power and unique leaders to help you to victory. iCloud Support Starbase Orion is built from the ground up for iOS 5. It supports iCloud so that your saved games are instantly available on all of your devices. Start a game at home on your iPad, then pick it up again the next day on your iPhone. Simple, streamlined, fantastic. Universal - You Bought the Cool Gadgets, Go Play on Them Full support for iPad, iPhone, iPod, standard and Retina displays. Play when you want, where you want. Guaranteed Pricing While it is quite common for apps to become “free for a day”, Starbase Orion is not one of those apps. The standard price for Starbase Orion is $7.99 USD; it will never run a “free for a day” campaign. Tens of thousands of players have placed their confidence in us by purchasing Starbase Orion, and this is our guarantee to you. Guaranteed Free Updates We have a lot more planned for Starbase Orion. We plan to release all updates for free, without any hidden fees or In-App Purchases.

About

Marble Age

Lead a small Aegean village to become a powerful ancient Greek city. Manage resources, develop technologies, and engage in diplomacy or warfare to conquer the known world. This remastered version features updated graphics, music, and gameplay mechanics.

Highlights
  • Choose Athens, Corinth, or Sparta for unique strategies
  • Manage workers for resource production
  • Discover ancient technologies
  • Explore the world and establish colonies
  • Deep diplomacy system
  • Learn Ancient Greek history through gameplay
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Your task is to lead a small village at the dawn of Aegean civilization to its glorious future as one of the most powerful cities - Athens, Corinth, or Sparta. Together with the citizens, you will have to fight against invasions, deal with domestic conflicts, survive natural cataclysms in order to unite the whole Ancient Greece under your rule, and conquer the entire known world from Northern Africa to North Europe. Key features: • Your choice of a city will determine the game's strategy: diplomatic style for Athens, trading style for Corinth, and military-style for Sparta. • Wisely distribute your workers to ensure a stable supply of food and materials. • Discover ancient technologies, wisely manage resources, and turn your settlement into a flourishing and influential Polis! • Explore the world, establish colonies, build relationships with neighbors through the game's deep diplomacy system. • Learn the history of Ancient Greece in a fun way! Remastered version changes: • Completely new graphics and music. • Updated technologies and buildings. • New events, trials, and achievements. • New game mechanics and improved balance.

Screenshots

Starbase Orion4 screens
Marble Age4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Marble Age at $3.99 against Starbase Orion's $7.99. Marble Age also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months). Starbase Orion's advantage is ratings volume (329 vs 24) and review sentiment (81% vs 71%). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Starbase Orion costs $7.99 and Marble Age $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Starbase Orion against 4.7 for Marble Age. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Starbase Orion has 329 ratings behind it against 24, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of Starbase Orion's written reviews are positive against 71% of Marble Age's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Starbase Orion ships an update every 3 months, Marble Age every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Starbase Orion versus Marble Age: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarbase OrionMarble Age
Price$7.99$3.99 — better
Rating4.7 (329 ratings) — better4.7 (24 ratings)
Positive reviews81.3% of reviews — better71.4% of reviews
Number of ratings329 — better24
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#186 — better#192
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.2 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size239 MB182 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperChimera Software, LLCMIKHAIL VASILEV18619964037

Customer experience

Starbase Orion

All ratings329 ratings
Positive91.2%
Neutral4.9%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews316 reviews
Positive81.3%
Neutral7.0%
Negative11.7%

Marble Age

All ratings24 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral8.3%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%

Bugs and requests

Starbase Orion

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes and save file corruption
  • UI issues with overlapping text and unresponsive controls
  • Multiplayer matchmaking and connectivity problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • More ship classes and customization options
  • Expanded tech tree and research system
  • Deeper diplomacy and espionage mechanics
  • Manual control of ship combat
  • Improved end-game content and victory conditions

Marble Age

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Starbase Orion

No in-app purchases

None

Marble Age

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Starbase Orion free?
Starbase Orion costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Marble Age free?
Marble Age costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Starbase Orion or Marble Age?
Starbase Orion is rated higher. Starbase Orion averages 4.7 out of 5 from 329 ratings, while Marble Age averages 4.7 from 24 ratings.
Do Starbase Orion or Marble Age have ads?
Neither Starbase Orion nor Marble Age shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Starbase Orion or Marble Age?
Starbase Orion ships an update every 3 months, and Marble Age every 5 weeks. Most recently, Starbase Orion was updated on November 6, 2026 and Marble Age on November 11, 2026.
Which is more popular, Starbase Orion or Marble Age?
Starbase Orion currently peaks at #186 in the App Store charts, and Marble Age at #192. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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