50-level arcade space shooter
One thumb. Fifty levels. Ten star systems. Starfall Vanguard is a classic arcade shoot-em-up built for one-handed play — drag anywhere to fly, lift off to hold fire, and tap with a second finger to drop a bomb. Then take on endless mode and the leaderboard.
Fifty levels across ten star systems and six biomes, each with its own enemies, bosses, and skies. Earn up to three stars per level — three means a clean run — and fly straight into the next with your weapon, shields, and bombs intact.
Rammers, gunships, armored hulls, splitters, carriers, and swarms that learn new tricks the deeper you go. Bosses run multi-phase patterns — spread fans, bullet rings, homing missiles you’ll learn to bait and break.
Weapon upgrades to a 5-barrel spread with double-damage rounds, stacking energy shields that absorb hits before your hull, and bombs that grow from a ring to a full-screen clear.
Every kill pays coins you keep forever. Spend them on ships and hangar upgrades — hull plating, shield batteries, rapid fire, weapon mastery, bomb bays, coin magnets. Coins are earned by playing, never bought.
Ever-shifting formations, a boss every 20 waves, and a kill-streak multiplier — stay clean, score big. Local top-10 high scores and a Game Center leaderboard.
Campaign stars, coins, ships, and upgrades sync through your own iCloud account between your devices. Painted ships, neon lasers, fireball explosions, and a cockpit view. No accounts, no sign-ups.
Questions, bug reports, or feedback? Email rick@rickconner.com with “Starfall Vanguard” in the subject line. Including your device model, iOS version, and a short description of what happened helps me fix things fast.
A few quick answers: the game has no accounts and no in-app purchases — coins are earned only by playing. Your campaign progress, high scores, coins, ships, upgrades, and settings are stored on your device and, if you are signed in to iCloud, synced between your own devices through iCloud. Deleting the app deletes the copy on that device; your iCloud copy comes back when you reinstall. Game Center sign-in is optional and only powers the online leaderboard.
Effective September 2026 (version 2.0)
Starfall Vanguard collects no personal information. There are no accounts and no sign-ups, and nothing the app records is linked to you. Game progress — campaign stars, high scores, coins, ships, purchased upgrades, and settings — is stored on your device and is never transmitted to me.
iCloud sync. If your device is signed in to iCloud, the app keeps a copy of your progress in your own iCloud account (Apple’s key-value storage) so it follows you between your devices. That copy lives in your account, is handled by Apple under Apple’s privacy policy, and never passes through me. Turning off iCloud Drive for the app, or signing out of iCloud, stops the sync; the game keeps working from the copy on your device.
Gameplay analytics. Starting with version 2.0 the app records a small set of gameplay events through Google Firebase Analytics so I can see how the campaign plays: which levels are started and finished, with the stars, score, and time taken; endless runs; coin purchases in the shop; when an ad was shown or a reward earned; and the outcome of the consent prompt described below. These events carry a random app-instance identifier, not your name, email, or Apple ID, and the app has advertising-identifier (IDFA) collection switched off — it never asks for permission to track you. Firebase’s processing is governed by Google’s privacy policy.
Game Center. If you choose to sign in to Apple’s Game Center, the online leaderboard is provided by Apple under Apple’s privacy policy. The game is fully playable without it.
Advertising. The app shows ads served by Google AdMob: a short ad after a boss fight (after each cleared star system in the campaign, and after every boss in endless mode), and a rewarded ad you can choose to watch after a run to double its coins. Ads are configured as non-personalized only: the app does not request permission to track you, does not use your data to build advertising profiles, and does not track you across other companies’ apps or websites. To serve and measure ads and prevent fraud, Google’s SDK may process device information such as device identifiers, IP address, and coarse ad-interaction data. That processing is governed by Google’s privacy policy and Google’s advertising policies.
Your consent choices. In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland the app asks for your advertising consent on first launch using Google’s consent tool. Your answer is stored on your device, and you can change it at any time from Settings → Privacy options inside the app.
Children. The app is rated 9+ and is not directed at children under 13. It knowingly collects no personal information from anyone, including children.
Changes. If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted at this page with a new effective date.
Contact. Privacy questions: rick@rickconner.com.
Effective September 2026 (version 2.0)
Using the app means accepting these terms. Starfall Vanguard is made and published by Rick Conner, Mineral Wells, West Virginia. If you do not agree with what follows, please do not install or use the app.
Your license. You get a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use Starfall Vanguard on Apple devices you own or control, for your own non-commercial enjoyment. The app, its code, and its artwork remain mine. Because the app is distributed through the App Store, Apple’s Licensed Application End User License Agreement applies as well, and where it and these terms disagree, Apple’s agreement governs.
Free, with ads. The app costs nothing and has no in-app purchases. It is paid for by advertising: a short ad after a boss fight, and a rewarded ad you can watch after a run to double its coins. I may change, pause, or stop showing ads at any time, and I may change or discontinue any feature — or the app itself — without notice.
Coins. Coins are earned by playing and cannot be bought. They have no monetary value, are not your property, and cannot be redeemed, transferred, or exchanged for anything outside the game. I may adjust coin rewards, prices, and balances as the game is tuned.
Fair play. Please don’t reverse-engineer, decompile, or modify the app, redistribute or resell it, or use anything that tampers with gameplay, with coins or ad rewards, or with the leaderboard. Scores obtained that way may be reported to Apple for removal.
Game Center. The online leaderboard is Apple’s service, not mine. Your use of Game Center is governed by Apple’s terms, and Apple may moderate, reset, or withdraw leaderboards and accounts independently of me.
Your progress. Your campaign progress, scores, coins, ships, upgrades, and settings live on your device and, if you are signed in to iCloud, in your own iCloud account. That iCloud copy is yours and Apple’s, not mine — I keep no copy and cannot recover your progress for you if it is lost.
No warranty; limits on liability. The app is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. To the fullest extent the law allows, I am not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, or for lost data or lost progress, arising out of your use of the app. Some jurisdictions do not allow these exclusions, so parts of this paragraph may not apply to you.
Changes, governing law, contact. Updated terms will be posted at this page with a new effective date; continuing to use the app means accepting them. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of West Virginia, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. Questions: rick@rickconner.com.