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BlindGalaxy: Every alien is blind. Listen to the galaxy.

BlindGalaxy is a turn-based space strategy game in which nobody has ever seen, you included. You are the Ear of your people: you hear worlds, rival colonies and fleets around you in 3D sound, then settle planets, research, build fleets and outwit computer rivals or friends passing one device. It was made for VoiceOver and can be played with the screen off, or by sight.

Price
Free (with a one-time $6.99 Full Galaxy unlock)
Platforms
iPhone and iPad
Download on the App Store
The BlindGalaxy title screen: artwork of a sleeping yellow face sending sound waves towards a small blue planet, the line “Every alien is blind. Listen to the galaxy.”, and buttons for Sound and Haptics, Story, Tutorial, About and Support, and New Game.

Who it’s for

BlindGalaxy is for anyone who likes to build an empire one turn at a time.

  • Blind and low-vision players: the whole game works with VoiceOver, and every world and fleet has a sound that comes from its direction.
  • Strategy fans who want a full 4X game in their pocket: explore, expand, research and fight, at their own pace.
  • Friends and families who want to play together on one iPhone or iPad, passing it round between turns.

Features

  • Listen to the galaxy

    Every world has a voice: heavy worlds groan low, warm worlds hiss and metal-rich worlds ring. Colonies pulse, slowly for yours and quickly for a rival’s, and each sound comes from its direction in 3D audio, with haptics too.

    Send a ping to measure the worlds around a colony or fleet, but everyone nearby hears it. What you know goes stale, so keep listening.

    The Map tab showing the whole galaxy: dozens of named worlds such as Draxar, Krexon and Gozand, your home colony as a gold circle near the centre with a triangle for your fleet beside it, teal rings for unclaimed worlds and grey dashed rings for echoes. Above the map are a key for Yours, Rivals, Unclaimed and Echo, Close up and Whole galaxy buttons and a Home button; below are End Turn and the Report, Map, Planets, Fleets and Empire tabs.

  • Settle, terraform and mine

    Send colony ships to worlds that suit your species and found new colonies. Terraform their temperature, mine their metal, and give each colony its own priorities.

    Share your income between growth, terraforming, mining, research and savings, and research eight fields, from Range, Speed, Weapons and Shields to Hearing, Hush, Miniaturization and Radical breakthroughs.

    The planet screen for Zilion: your colony of 329 million, explored, at 15 degrees, 1.59 g and 591 tons of metal. A Listen to Zilion button sits above the conditions, Ping from Zilion under Actions, a full Terraforming bar reading “Fully terraformed.”, and Priorities below.

  • Design ships and build whole fleets

    Design scouts, warships, colony ships and satellites from your latest research. Battles are aimed by ear: a fleet that hears well strikes true, and a hushed fleet is hard to hit.

    Save a fleet’s make-up as a template, up to 50 ships, and build it again in one order.

    The Fleet Templates screen with two templates: Pioneers, one colony ship and one scout, costing 76 credits and 48 tons of metal, you can afford 2; and Raiders, three fighters, costing 102 credits and 64 tons of metal, you can afford 1. Below is New template, “Choose how many of each design.”

  • Rivals who play differently, and friends on one device

    The computer rivals are the peoples of the Murk, and each plays to its nature: the Vellani settle fast and loudly, the Krask raid whatever they hear, and the Oum hush their ships and wait.

    Play pass-and-play with friends on one iPhone or iPad. Between turns a handoff screen shows and plays nothing, so nobody hears another player’s news.

    The pass-and-play handoff screen, otherwise blank: “Pass to Ari. Nothing about the game is shown or heard until the next player starts their turn.”, with an “I’m Ari. Start my turn” button and Exit to Main Menu.

Accessibility

BlindGalaxy was designed and tested with VoiceOver from the start, and every alien in it is blind too.

  • Explore the map by touch: each world announces itself and plays its sound from its direction. Swiping visits worlds nearest first, and the map scrolls to follow.
  • Rotors jump between your colonies, enemy planets, unclaimed planets and unexplored ones, and each budget bar is a slider that tells you what it buys.
  • An interactive tutorial teaches the game in twelve short steps, every screen has a Help button, and the Hint button suggests what to do next, most pressing first.
  • Game sounds mix with VoiceOver speech rather than interrupting it, and every sound is also described in text.
  • Works at the largest text sizes, and on iPhone Duo VoiceOver announces when you fold or unfold it.

Privacy

BlindGalaxy collects no data. There are no ads, trackers or analytics, and your games stay on your device.

  • Your saved game and settings are stored on your device.
  • Purchases go through Apple’s App Store, and achievements through Game Center if you’re signed in.
  • Doxie Media receives nothing.

Read the full BlindGalaxy privacy details

Frequently asked questions

Do I need VoiceOver to play?

No. You can play by sight, with a map of every world you have heard. With VoiceOver on, the whole game can be played by ear, even with the screen off.

Do I need headphones?

No, but they help. Worlds and fleets sound from their direction in 3D audio, which is clearest with headphones.

What is free, and what does Full Galaxy unlock?

Complete games on small cluster galaxies for two players are free, along with the tutorial, the story and every accessibility feature. Full Galaxy is a one-time $6.99 purchase that adds standard and large galaxies, ring and spiral shapes, and games for up to eight players. It is not a subscription, there are no ads, and it is shared through Family Sharing. Optional tips unlock nothing.

Can I play offline?

Yes. The game never needs the internet, and your game is saved on your device. Only Game Center and the App Store connect, and neither is needed to play.

Can I play with friends?

Yes, on one device. In New Game, set more than one player to Human and pass the iPhone or iPad round. A handoff screen hides everything between turns.

How big are the galaxies?

Small galaxies have 16 to 24 planets, standard ones 30 to 40 and large ones 60 to 80, in cluster, ring or spiral shapes.

More help: BlindGalaxy support

Get BlindGalaxy

Free on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

Download on the App Store