Star Astalos

During the game, the player builds a deck of cards that represents a scientific base operating in alien territory.

The game switches between Relief Steps, where you choose new cards to add into your deck, and Combat Steps, where alien waves of increasing difficulty are fought. Both enemy waves and cards eligible to be recruited are randomized (drawn from a previously shuffled deck).

During Combat Steps, your military cards can be played to destroy aliens or to repair your defenses. Then, surviving aliens damage your base back, deactivating your Shields and eventually lowering its Constitution rating.

Your scientific cards grant victory points and useful abilities, but eventually clog up your deck leaving your base vulnerable. Pursuing sinergetic card combinations and keeping the right balance between scientific and military assets is essential.

Aliens cannot be defeated. Game continues until your base is destroyed (by reaching 0 Constitution) and the game is lost, or the player decides to evacuate, cashing out the acquired victory points into a final score rating.

From the moment the evacuation is requested until it actually happens, two more waves of aliens must be fought, so pushing your luck too far might end in failure.