Starbase Orion ($7.99) developer Chimera Software has released it’s turn based card and strategy game, Starbase Annex ($1.99). Annex is set within the larger Orion universe. Starbase Annex is one of those games that feels like it should be a multiplayer game. 1v1 turn based strategy games tend to carry that expectation as part of the genre. Annex has a bit of originality that helps it overcome this deficiency. There are many turn based hex grid games available for iOS and Annex reminds me of one of my favorites, Outwitters (Free). If you combined gameplay elements of Outwitters and some mechanics from the popular card game Hearthstone (Free), you would get something close to what Starbase Annex is.

If it seems unfair that I kind of expect this game to have multiplayer, lets switch gears and talk about the AI of the game and the general strategy you need to employ to succeed in a match. As you put more hexes under your control, you gain more resources to deploy higher value cards. Each map presents a slightly different set of parameters, choke points, and objectives. You split a deck of 40 cards with your opponent, which means that you actually know exactly what cards your opponent has in it’s hand even though it doesn’t get displayed to you. The ability to basically count cards against your opponent is a nice mini game for a nerd like me. Combats are determined by total value of each side’s cards, with the winner losing the minimum value of cards to match or exceed the loser’s total count.

Victory can be achieved either by taking complete control of the map, or by completing more secondary objectives than the AI. For the first several games, you don’t really need to pay attention to them, but there are a few maps that will be basically impossible to clear without utilizing each one of these objectives. After failing a few games on those maps, I was able to readily determine the most optimal moves probably about 99% of the time on subsequent maps. This brings me to the AI. Once you have a strong handle on the strategy of the game, you’ll start to see the AI make sub-optimal moves and it does get a little boring. As you progress through the chain of opponents, difficulty is supposed to increase but I don’t really see it. After getting over the strategy hump, you can actually probably tell if the cards the game deals you will give you a victory or if you will need to wait for the AI to mess up to give you the game. This isn’t to say that the game isn’t challenging. It definitely was for me, but only to a point. After fully understanding the mechanics, you can reliably wait for the AI to make a mistake and capitalize. This is why I really hope multiplayer can get added to Starbase Annex in the future. I feel like replayability would skyrocket.

It is with this focus on the AI that I come to probably my least favorite bit of this game. It cheats. When trading cards, it has taken a 5 point card while only expending a 3 and a 1, and moving the rest of its cards into the captured hex. It also makes combined strikes from multiple hexes, which is something you as a player are unable to do. I’m not sure if this is a bug or intentional, but it kinda grinds my gears that it happens from time to time.

Starbase Annex is a visually very clean game. I would even say minimalist. The user interface is just functional enough to play the game without major issues. You can tell that Chimera wanted to tailor their game to look as sleek as possible. I can’t say I’m stunned or floored or crazy over the moon about the visual quality of the game, it is functional and I don’t mind the way it looks. Portrait and landscape displays are both available and work equally well. It did take me a few guess-taps for me to find out what each button does, but after the initial investigation I didn’t get lost in menu options or UI layouts. The only annoying thing about the UI is that, while in game, you have to do multiple taps to do single actions. It seems like a symptom of a custom built UI and its a forgivable foible, but its there and if you are a UI snob, it will probably turn you off.

Clocking in at just under $2, the game delivers a solid amount of fun for the money. The game currently has no IAP. If not for the cheaty bits, I would easily recommend the game without hesitation as a nice diversion worthy of the investment. I guess when you create a game that has only computerized opponents, their integrity is more closely scrutinized. Starbase Annex isn’t perfect, but it’s still capable of entertaining.