Starbase Chill vs Backburn
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Starbase Chill
Engage in a relaxed starbase simulation with no time pressure or objectives. Manage complex systems, explore vast space, and focus on what you find interesting in a peaceful, offline environment.
- Starbase management
- Space exploration
- No urgency or time limits
- Offline single-device play
- No score or victory conditions
- Low-stress environment
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Starbase Chill is a starbase simulation, where there is much to do, but no particular urgency. You are free to focus on what interests you: the starbase itself, or distant planets. The starbase has many interrelated systems to manage. Outside, there is a large three-dimensional space to explore. For context: * Starbase Chill is at peace. That is, no enemy is coming to attack us. * Things happen at a leisurely pace. * There is no overall score, or any set victory conditions. * As part of Starbase Chill's commitment to a low-stress environment, there are no alerts or notifications. This is a single-device, offline app. There are no networking calls, and no data is collected by the app. The app is completely usable on a narrow or iPhone screen; but it can be a nicer experience on a wider screen, if that's an option. Enjoy your time on Starbase Chill!
Backburn
This offline strategy game lets you plan up to six turns ahead in wildfire scenarios. Compare different decisions, manage resources, and learn from your choices in a fictional environment. Rehearse before advancing to make every turn count.
- Plan six turns ahead
- Compare strategy branches
- Manage resources and crews
- Offline gameplay
- Thirty authored incidents
- After-action reports
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NEW IN 5.0: SEE THE NEXT TURN, UNDO A MISTAKE, TAKE A DAILY INCIDENT • Forecast: the map outlines every cell the fire will reach on your next Advance, and rings any structure that turn would lose. Change an order and the forecast redraws. It is exact for one turn because the game is deterministic. • Undo: step back any order placed since the last Advance, from a single line cell to a burnout. Undo never rerolls the fire. • Daily Incident: one new incident per date, generated on your device. An authored map with the wind turned 30 to 60 degrees and a fresh random sequence, the same for everyone that day. Your first finished attempt counts; practise as often as you like. Build a streak and share a plain-text result card. • Recruit, Standard or Veteran: Recruit slows the fire for learning, Standard is the campaign as you know it, Veteran spreads faster, spots more and makes engines work within two cells of their water target. • Service Record: nineteen commendations, from regime specialist to seven-day streaks, computed on your device. • Field Training that waits for you to act, briefings that introduce each new resource, iPad keyboard shortcuts, VoiceOver map summaries and high-contrast overlays. Make the next turn count. Backburn is an offline wildfire incident-command strategy game for iPhone and iPad, with thirty authored incidents and tools for trying, reviewing and learning from your decisions. COMMAND THE MAP Select and move resources, build line, place water or retardant, burn out from completed line and evacuate housing groups. Each Advance passes twenty minutes. Working crews tire; HOLD lets them recover. An authored weather schedule shows when winds shift, gust fronts arrive, inversions lift and spotting pressure rises. REHEARSE BEFORE ADVANCING Decision Desk resolves the next turn in two copies: your current orders, or crews held in place. Strategy Lab explores up to six turns of three fixed policies. Neither changes your incident or its random sequence. PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF Every campaign incident and the Daily Incident save their map, orders, weather, clock and random state. Resume from the menu, briefing or Daily screen. Completed incidents can be reopened to review the report. COMPARE YOUR ATTEMPTS A restart keeps one previous attempt per scenario. Compare both recorded timelines and their acres, structures lost and line completed at the same turn. LEARN FROM ACTUAL RESULTS After-action reports state recorded growth, losses, injuries and score, plus any commendation earned. Passing a scenario and extinguishing all fire are different outcomes. The Field Guide explains the real rules, including the forecast, difficulty and Daily Incident. Thirty incident maps across grassland, chaparral, conifer, peat and interface fuels, with seeded spread and spotting, resource rosters and housing groups. Play in landscape on iPhone or iPad. No account, advertising, subscription or in-app purchases; gameplay works offline and progress stays on your device. Backburn is a fictional strategy game with a surface-fire model adapted for play. It is not a real-world fire forecast, emergency tool or professional training. The in-game forecast predicts only this game's next turn. There is no live weather feed, online leaderboard or app-managed cloud synchronization.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Starbase Chill at Free against Backburn's $0.99. Starbase Chill also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 4 days). Backburn's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Starbase Chill is free to download; Backburn costs $0.99 up front. Starbase Chill sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Backburn asks for nothing beyond the download.
Starbase Chill ships an update every 2 days, Backburn every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Starbase Chill | Backburn |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | — | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 4 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 118 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Joshua Kaden | Robert Corbin |
Customer experience
Starbase Chill
Backburn
In-app purchases
Starbase Chill
- One dollar tip$0.99
- Two dollar tip$1.99
- Five dollar tip$4.99
Backburn
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Starbase Chill free?
Is Backburn free?
Do Starbase Chill or Backburn have ads?
Which is updated more often, Starbase Chill or Backburn?
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