Space Agency vs Backburn
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Space Agency
Design, construct, and launch your own rockets and satellites. Build a space station and explore the solar system in this challenging simulation game for aspiring astronauts.
- Build rockets
- Launch satellites
- Create a space station
- Explore the solar system
- Challenging gameplay
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Build rockets, launch satellites, create a space station! Do you want to build and fly your own space rockets? Of course you do! Are you a billionaire? No...that makes it tricky. Fortunately, there is a way for us non-billionaires to run our own space programme...Space Agency! * Build rockets * Launch satellites * Create a space station * Explore the solar system This is a highly challenging and complex game. Only the most talented astronauts should attempt it. Have you got the right stuff?
Backburn
This turn-based strategy game lets you plan and execute wildfire containment. Learn from each decision by previewing consequences before committing resources. It offers a campaign mode, daily challenges, and detailed post-turn analysis.
- Turn-based wildfire simulation
- Offline gameplay
- Preview consequences before committing
- Campaign mode with difficulty levels
- Daily challenges
- Detailed post-turn analysis
- Resource management
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See the consequence of your next move. Backburn is an offline, turn-based wildfire strategy game for iPhone and iPad, with 30 designed incidents and tools to learn from each decision. LEARN BY PLAYING ONE TURN Start with an isolated copy of the first incident. Drop water, plan a short line or hold position, then compare the result with the same fire and weather without new orders. Practice does not change your campaign, saves, stars or Daily results. GIVE ORDERS YOU UNDERSTAND Move resources, queue control lines, place water or retardant, start a burnout beside completed line and evacuate housing groups. A queued line takes travel and construction; it is not an instant firebreak. Review orders in Decision Desk to see each resource's assignment, fatigue and supplies. After Advance, review what actually changed during that turn, including fire growth, completed line, losses and injuries. This detailed last-turn view lasts for the current session. PREVIEW BEFORE COMMITTING Forecast marks the game's next-turn fire and structure losses. Undo reverses orders placed since the last Advance in the current session. Decision Desk compares current orders with holding crews; Strategy Lab explores up to six turns of three fixed policies. These previews leave the live incident unchanged. A CAMPAIGN AND A DAILY CHALLENGE Choose Recruit, Standard or Veteran difficulty. Every Advance represents twenty minutes of game time. Designed weather schedules change wind, humidity and spotting pressure. Play a date-based Daily Incident generated on your device, build a streak and share a text result. The first completed Daily attempt counts; later attempts are practice. RESUME AND REVIEW Resume saved campaign or Daily incidents, reopen completed reports, and compare the current and previous attempt for each scenario. The Service Record tracks 19 commendations from your recorded play. A Field Guide explains the game rules, and the first two campaign incidents include action-based training. One purchase. No ads, subscription, in-app purchases or account. Gameplay and progress work offline. External support links, sharing destinations and Apple's native rating prompt may use their own services. No app-managed cloud sync, live weather or online leaderboard. Landscape play on iPhone and iPad. The app interface and screenshots are in English. Backburn is a fictional strategy game with fire behavior adapted for play, not a real-world fire forecast, emergency tool or professional training.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Space Agency at 75% against Backburn's 0%. Space Agency also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). Backburn's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 2 months). On ads and device support 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
Space Agency costs $1.99 and Backburn $0.99 up front. Space Agency sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Backburn asks for nothing beyond the download.
Space Agency ships an update every 2 months, Backburn every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Space Agency | Backburn |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | $0.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.4 (739 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 75.4% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 739 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 119 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nooleus | Robert Corbin |
Customer experience
Space Agency
Backburn
Bugs and requests
Space Agency
Reported bugs
5 issues- Sandbox mode parts not unlocking properly
- Crashes and freezes during gameplay
- Inability to restore purchased content
- Glitches with certain rocket and station designs
- Inconsistent performance on different devices
Requested features
6 requests- Add space shuttle functionality
- Introduce astronauts and crew management
- Expand the solar system with more planets and moons
- Implement a more realistic orbital mechanics system
- Add multiplayer and co-op capabilities
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- Improve the camera and docking controls
Backburn
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Space Agency
- Mission 02 Skip$0.99
- Mission 12 Skip$0.99
- Mission 15 Skip$0.99
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- Mission 16 Skip$0.99
- Transponder Module$0.99
- 1000 Quick Launches$3.99
- Nooleus X Parts Pack$3.99
- Mission Free Unlock-All$4.99
- Sandbox Unlock All Parts$7.99
- Sandbox Unlock Standard Parts$7.99
Backburn
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Space Agency free?
Is Backburn free?
Do Space Agency or Backburn have ads?
Which is updated more often, Space Agency or Backburn?
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