The commanders behind Aurorapinesgames
Aurorapinesgames started as a group chat. A few friends who had played space strategy games for years kept recommending the same handful of titles to newcomers, and kept writing the same advice about fleet-saving and alliance etiquette. Eventually it made sense to write it down properly, in one place, with honest scores.
We are based in Canada and play the way most of our readers do: in the gaps between work, family and long winter evenings. That shapes our reviews. We care about how a game fits into a real week, how much it asks of you and whether a newcomer has a fair chance, not just how deep its mechanics go on paper.
Every game on the site has been played from a fresh, free account for weeks rather than hours. We keep logs, check facts against official sources and rewrite reviews when games change. If we could not confirm something, we leave it out.
Space strategy is a genre with a long memory and a passionate community. Our aim is simply to help more people find the galaxy that suits them, start well and enjoy the slow, satisfying climb from one planet to an empire.
Play long before scoring
We do not score a strategy game until we have seen fleets arrive, alliances form and, where rounds exist, a round take shape. First impressions are noted, but they do not decide the score.
Facts from the source
Mechanics, races, resources and devices are checked against official pages and long-running community references. Where we could not confirm a number, we describe the experience instead.
Scores that disagree with each other
Our four criteria are deliberately independent. A game can lead on depth and trail on newcomer friendliness, and we would rather show that honestly than flatten every score into the same comfortable range.