What a territory capture game is

• Ground, trail, loop. You are safe on your ground, exposed on your trail, and you claim by closing the loop back home.
• Cutting. Crossing a rival's trail while they are out sends them back. An exposed trail gives a rival an opening, so every loop is a balance between gaining ground and getting home.
• Share of the arena. The score is how much of the field you hold when time runs out, so a big loop late can turn a match.

The best-known one is Paper.io. If that is where you started, here is how Starlasso compares, and the wider list of multiplayer io games covers the rest of the family.

Responsive controls, clear stakes, and a reason to return. A short match makes every decision count: push for more ground, cut an exposed trail, or get home before a rival catches you. A seasonal ladder gives those results somewhere to go.

Starlasso is a live multiplayer territory capture game for iPhone, iPad and Android. Every arena is online with up to six pilots. A match is two minutes and starts within seconds. Two rules of its own: on your own ground you turn a ram from a rival out on a trail, and a party of up to four friends is dealt into the same arena together. Each ranked match moves you on a monthly season ladder from Dust to Nova, every match pays Stardust that earns portraits and rings, and there are no ads.

It is free, out now on the App Store in the US, Canada and Mexico and in beta on Google Play. The rules take a page; the guided first match takes a minute.