Star Battle
Loading game
Chain supply routes across a galaxy of linked stars, outmaneuver eleven AI commanders with the right ship types, and hold a decisive share of the map to win.
About the game
Star Battle is a real-time strategy game played on a map of stars joined by lanes. Every star you own builds ships and sends them down one route of your choosing; routes chain from star to star, so a single drag can feed a front line from deep in your territory.
You start in a home pocket on the rim of a symmetric galaxy, facing eleven AI commanders. The prize is the middle: its stars are twice as big and everything they do counts double. There is no match clock — the game ends when someone takes the board.
How to play
Before the match, choose two abilities (Surge, Shield, Sever or Forge) and a map frame: Hub, Ring or Frontier.
Press on one of your stars and release on a neighbouring star to send ships there. Ships that arrive at another of your stars follow that star's route, so routes link into supply chains. Loops are not allowed. Release on the same star, or press H, to stop sending.
Outnumber everyone else on a star's orbit to start capturing it: the bigger your advantage, the faster it falls. A neutral star needs at least two of your ships. If you pull back, capture progress drains away.
Every star builds ships, but foundries (the hexagons) build four times faster and let you choose the ship type. Your home star is a foundry. Ordinary stars keep the type they started with. Switching a foundry's type pauses production for 8 seconds.
Triangles beat squares, squares beat circles and circles beat triangles. Use the reserve button to keep 0, 5, 10 or 20 ships at home as a garrison.
Holding territory earns development points: spend them on a star's upgrades — Yard for faster builds, Hold for more room on the orbit, Relay for faster sending.
Abilities cost command points, which trickle in over time and come faster from captures. Surge doubles a star's output for 20 seconds, Shield makes its ships immune to damage for 15 seconds, Sever cuts a lane for 30 seconds and Forge opens a new one for 45 seconds.
To win, hold a decisive share of all stars for 45 seconds in a row, or be the last commander standing. Lose your last star and the match is over.
Controls
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Press on your star, release on a neighbour | Set a route and send ships |
| Release on the same star / H | Stop sending from that star |
| Left click on a star | Select it |
| Star panel buttons | Choose a foundry's ship type, cycle the reserve, open upgrades |
| 1 / 2 or click an ability | Arm an ability, then click its target star (Sever and Forge: two stars, one of them yours) |
| Right click / Esc | Cancel ability targeting |
| Drag on empty space / W A S D / Arrow keys | Move the camera |
| Mouse wheel / + − | Zoom in and out |
| Space | Centre the camera on your territory |
| M | Toggle the whole-map overview |
| Click the minimap or a threat | Jump the camera there |
| Click / R after the match | Play again |
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Tap a star | Select it |
| Press your star, drag to a neighbour | Set a route and send ships |
| Release on the same star | Stop sending from that star |
| Star panel buttons | Choose a foundry's ship type, cycle the reserve, open upgrades |
| Tap an ability, then a star | Cast it (Sever and Forge: tap two stars, one of them yours) |
| Tap the armed ability again | Cancel targeting |
| Drag on empty space | Move the camera |
| Tap the minimap or a threat | Jump the camera there |
Highlights
- Real-time strategy on a symmetric galaxy of linked stars
- Supply routes that chain across your territory
- Rock-paper-scissors fleets of triangles, squares and circles
- Two-ability loadouts from Surge, Shield, Sever and Forge
- Three map frames — Hub, Ring and Frontier — against eleven AI commanders
