Cataclysm: Battle for Iris

A 1v1 card battler in the Star Atlas universe

Two fleets. One claim. Outwit your rival in best-of-three duels amid the wreckage of the Cataclysm — one card at a time.

Downloadable PC game
Player vs player
Player vs AI

Join the playtest Discover the game

The Cataclysm

“Long ago, the rogue planet Iris, rich with invaluable materials, collided with seven child planets in a remote region at the galaxy’s core. From this cataclysmic event, the region now known as The Cataclysm was born.”

Over a century ago, humans, aliens, and sentient androids waged a brutal conflict over these riches — the infamous Convergence War. Since then, the factions have kept their distance, leaving the Cataclysm to be picked over by privateers, treasure hunters, and the desperate who had nothing left to lose.

You are not like them. You command a powerful fleet — a force that will succeed where so many others have perished. Fortune favored you: a massive ore deposit, wealth beyond imagination, enough to make you a legend. But as you prepare to begin mining, your sensors blurt out an alarm. You are not alone…

A fleet from a rival faction is closing in, aiming to take what is rightfully yours. In the vast expanse of the Cataclysm — where cosmic currents rage and the deadly Tufa appear without warning — there is no room for negotiation. There is only one outcome: victory or ruin.

“All hands! Battle stations!”

The Duel

Every card you play is a card you spend

A duel is best of three rounds, and points win rounds — but your hand carries over. Play a card or pass: every ship you commit now is one you won't have when the next round opens. Bait out your rival's answers, steal a round by a single point, and learn the hardest skill in Iris — knowing when to let one go.

Command

Rule the zones

Your fleet deploys across four zones: the frontline ahead, command behind it, and the support and industrial zones anchoring the rear. Every card bears the mark of where it may land, effects can sweep whole zones at once, and even the card beside you matters. Position is power.

Master

Same deck, no excuses

Both commanders battle with the identical thirty-card deck — the shuffle is the only luck involved. Victory comes from knowing every weapon in the shared arsenal: swarms that call their sisters from the deck, effects that compound between rounds, salvage plays that raid the junkyard — and playing them sharper than the rival holding the exact same cards.

In Action

Straight from the battlefield

The Cataclysm board mid-duel: rows of zone slots on each side of the board, a hand of cards below and the pass dial on the right — The board — four zones a side, the Cataclysm raging behind them.

Round one begins: place up to three cards in the flashing discard zone in exchange for new draws from the reserve — Round start — trade up to three cards before the fighting begins.

The Cataclysm main menu over a burning nebula, with single player and multiplayer modes and a Discord account logged in — The bridge — log in with Discord, pick single player or multiplayer.

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The Rules

Rules of engagement

Best of three. A duel lasts at most three rounds — take two to win the match.
Cards are scarce. You start round one with a full hand; rounds two and three deal you just two more cards each. Your hand carries over, so stretching it across the whole duel is the hard part of the game.
Mulligan every round. At the start of each round you may discard up to three cards, drawing a new one for every card you toss.
Four zones. Each side of the board has a frontline up front, a command zone behind it, and a support zone (right) and industrial zone (left) at the rear. Every card is restricted to one or more zones.
Play or pass. On your turn, play one card — or pass, forfeiting your remaining actions this round while your rival keeps playing.
Points win rounds. Every card is worth points, and many carry abilities. When both players have passed, the higher total takes the round.

The Battle for Iris is coming

Built by the community, for the community — a gift from Aephia Industries to the Star Atlas universe. Beta testing is underway, and enlisting takes a few minutes:

Join our Discord through this invite link. It automatically grants you the beta tester role, which is required to play.
Get your download link. In the #general-chat channel, type /download. The itch.io link you receive already contains your personal key — run the command again anytime to get the same link back.
Install the game. Unzip the download and start Cataclysm.exe. Windows will warn you because the beta build is not signed yet — choose “More info”, then “Run anyway”.
Log in with your Discord account when the game starts.
Enter the battle. Play against the AI to train and explore the game, or look around for a multiplayer match!

Join the Discord