Ruthless Conquest

Send the fleet to capture planets and expand your empire, until you vanquish them all! Local and internet multiplayer is supported in this galactic strategy game. Six levels of challenging AI await you for practice matches and for making up numbers.

This game is completely free, has no ads or in-app purchases. It is a 2018 Christmas gift for the players of other CandyRufusGames games.

Your objective is to send fleet to conquer planets and use their resources to build even more ships. Be careful: overstretching yourself is risky. Make sure enemy cannot take your most productive planets while your forces are away. The game is balanced for careful defence rather than reckless attack. Only attack if you know your forces are much stronger, or if your enemy is unprepared/surprised. Bones of many a rash commander float in the void between the planets.

To defend your planets, launch satellites. These orbiting stations contain a huge laser that fires on any enemy ships in range. They not only protect your planet, but also hinder movement of enemy forces nearby. Plan satellite placement carefully, as they are expensive to launch. You can temporarily disable them, for example to let your enemy's enemy ships pass.

To win, you must either eliminate all other empires or capture all special planets. This second option makes the game exciting. Even the insignificant and the puny can win, if they plan carefully and strike suddenly at the right targets.

There are other factors at play. Sometimes the weaker players can receive reinforcements, instantly turning the tide of battle. And beware of the Antarans. They ruled this galaxy once. They take a very dim view of any faction that grows too strong!

Ruthless Conquest is easy to understand, but hard to master. Here is some advice for beginner and experienced players alike. Some of it is basic, but some has been won in the heat of a thousand matches, so do not discount it lightly!

• bigger planets produce more ships