Comparison

Starbase Orion vs Spaceward Ho!

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
Read full description

"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

Spaceward Ho!

Command a spacefaring civilization to explore, colonize, and conquer the galaxy. Develop technologies, manage resources, and lead your starship fleets in strategic battles against alien adversaries. Forge alliances or dominate the cosmos to determine the fate of the galaxy.

Highlights
  • Galaxy exploration and colonization
  • Empire and economy management
  • Technology development
  • Starship fleet combat
  • Diplomacy with alien races
  • Resource mining and terraforming
Features
Read full description

Spaceward Ho! is a strategic game of awesome scope. You control the entire military and economy of a spacefaring race. Your goal: explore and colonize the galaxy. Unfortunately, you are not alone. Alien enemies bent on galactic conquest will oppose your expansion. You fight them by developing new technologies and expanding your empire, or you can ally with them to turn enemies into friends. Terraform newly discovered worlds or mine their natural resources. Maneuver your starship fleets, both in defense of your own systems and in offensive strikes against the evil aliens. Your strategic decisions will determine the fate of the galaxy. Based on the original Mac/PC/Palm game and updated for iOS. For new players, read the Help file and also watch the tutorial video online. Please contact us on Twitter @SpacewardHo or Our Website, or send us email.

Screenshots

Starbase Orion4 screens
Spaceward Ho!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Spaceward Ho! at $4.99 against Starbase Orion's $7.99. Spaceward Ho! also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 11.2). Starbase Orion's advantage is chart position (#193 vs unranked) and ratings volume (329 vs 95). On rating, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Starbase Orion costs $7.99 and Spaceward Ho! $4.99 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 4.6 for Spaceward Ho!. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 329 and 95 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of Starbase Orion's written reviews are positive against 79% of Spaceward Ho!'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Starbase Orion ships an update every 3 months, Spaceward Ho! every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Starbase Orion versus Spaceward Ho!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarbase OrionSpaceward Ho!
Price$7.99$4.99 — better
Rating4.7 (329 ratings) — better4.6 (95 ratings)
Positive reviews81.3% of reviews — better78.6% of reviews
Number of ratings329 — better95
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#193 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.28.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size239 MB25 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperChimera Software, LLCAriton

Customer experience

Starbase Orion

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

Spaceward Ho!

All ratings95 ratings
Positive88.4%
Neutral4.2%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews140 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral10.7%
Negative10.7%

User reviews

Starbase Orion

From 329 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent 4x strategy game
  • 👍 Faithful recreation of Master of Orion
  • 🚀 Continuously updated with new features
  • 👍 Vibrant player community
  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay and intuitive controls

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 🔍 Limited diplomacy and foreign relations
  • 🔍 Automated combat lacks depth
  • 🔍 Repetitive late-game experience
  • 🔍 Outdated visuals

Spaceward Ho!

From 95 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⏰ Timeless gameplay still engaging after 30+ years
  • 📱 Works well on modern iOS devices despite age
  • 🎮 Faithful port of classic Mac game
  • 🎯 Simple yet deep strategy mechanics
  • 😄 Includes original sound effects and Easter eggs

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
  • 📐 UI feels clunky and dated
  • 🔍 Small icons and buttons difficult to tap accurately
  • 📊 Missing comparison graphs from original version
  • 🎯 Planet icons remain too large when zoomed out

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

Spaceward Ho!

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • Game crashes when ending turn while winning
  • Crashes on iOS 14+ due to security checks
  • Audio issues on Mac with Apple Silicon
  • Dreadnoughts disappear when mixed with tankers in delayed fleets
  • Some planets get stuck and won't terraform or mine
Show 6 more
  • Double-tap battle recap feature removed in update
  • Leaderboard and achievements not updating
  • Game runs slowly on older devices
  • Planets get stuck unable to move ships
  • Interface elements scale incorrectly when zoomed out
  • Text overlays prevent clicking through to planets

Requested features

15 requests
  • Multiplayer support (most frequently requested)
  • WiFi/Bluetooth multiplayer with friends
  • Game Center integration for multiplayer
  • Save/load game functionality for save-scumming
  • Ability to rename planets and ships
Show 10 more
  • Improved UI with modern design
  • Mac desktop version with flexible layout
  • Better fleet management interface
  • Leaderboard and achievement updates
  • Ability to measure distance between planets
  • Individual ship naming for fleets
  • Adjustable mining vs terraforming levels
  • Pop-up magnifier for precise slider control
  • Comparison graphs for player statistics
  • Tap-and-hold menu controls instead of button clicks

In-app purchases

None

Starbase Orion

No in-app purchases

None

Spaceward Ho!

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Starbase Orion free?
Starbase Orion costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Spaceward Ho! free?
Spaceward Ho! costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Starbase Orion or Spaceward Ho!?
Starbase Orion is rated higher. Starbase Orion averages 4.7 out of 5 from 329 ratings, while Spaceward Ho! averages 4.6 from 95 ratings.
Do Starbase Orion or Spaceward Ho! have ads?
Neither Starbase Orion nor Spaceward Ho! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Starbase Orion or Spaceward Ho!?
Starbase Orion ships an update every 3 months, and Spaceward Ho! every 6 weeks. Most recently, Starbase Orion was updated on November 1, 2026 and Spaceward Ho! on November 1, 2026.

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