How to play
You fly a small ship in the middle of a dark screen full of drifting rocks. Clear every rock to finish a wave, then the next wave arrives with more of them and a little more speed. The edges of the screen are not walls: whatever leaves one side comes back on the opposite side, and that includes you, your shots, the rocks and any stray saucer fire.
Shoot a large rock and it breaks into two medium ones. Shoot a medium rock and it splits into two small ones. Small rocks simply vanish. From time to time a saucer crosses the screen and shoots at you. The large saucer fires in random directions, while the small saucer, which only shows up in later waves, aims at your ship with a small error.
Controls
- Keyboard: ←/→ (or A/D) rotate, ↑ (or W) thrust, Space fire, Shift or H hyperspace, P or Esc pause, M sound, Enter start.
- Touch: two round buttons on the left rotate the ship, the three on the right are hyperspace, thrust and fire. They are multi-touch, so you can hold thrust and fire at the same time.
- Mouse: use the on-screen buttons for pause, sound, scanlines and a new game.
Rules and scoring
| Target | Points |
|---|---|
| Large rock | 20 |
| Medium rock | 50 |
| Small rock | 100 |
| Large saucer | 200 |
| Small saucer | 1,000 |
- You start with 3 ships and earn an extra ship every 10,000 points.
- You can have at most 4 shots on screen, and each shot fades after about one second.
- Your ship keeps its speed until you turn around and thrust the other way, with only a little drag.
- Hyperspace moves your ship to a random spot at once and stops it, but it has a 12% chance of destroying the ship, and it needs one second to recharge.
- After a crash the game waits until the middle of the screen is clear before it puts a new ship there, and the new ship cannot be hit for three seconds.
- Hits are checked against the real outlines: your shots against the polygon of the rock, and your ship as a small circle that is slightly smaller than the drawing.
- The game pauses automatically when you switch to another tab or app, and your game in progress is saved in your browser so you can continue it later.
Tips and strategy
- Do not hold thrust all the time. A ship at full speed is hard to steer, so use short bursts and let it glide.
- Clear rocks one at a time. Splitting a large rock creates two targets, so finish the pieces before you open up another rock.
- Fire in short bursts. With only four shots in flight, spraying wastes the time you need to fire at the next piece.
- Small rocks are worth the most per hit, but they are quick. Stay near the middle of the screen and rotate to face them.
- Hunt the small saucer early. It is worth 1,000 points, and its aim gets harder to dodge the longer it lives.
- Keep hyperspace for real emergencies. With a 12% risk it is a gamble, but it beats a certain collision.
- Use the invulnerable seconds after a respawn to move toward open space, not to stay in the crowd.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my ship keep drifting?
The game models inertia. Thrust adds speed in the direction you are facing and nothing stops you except a very small drag. Turn around and thrust against your movement to slow down.
When does the small saucer appear?
Starting with wave 3 each visiting saucer has a growing chance to be the small one. Its shots can miss by a small angle, and that angle shrinks as the waves go on.
Is my score saved?
Yes. The top five scores, your sound and scanline settings and a game in progress are stored in your browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere, and clearing site data removes them.
Why did the game pause by itself?
It pauses when the tab is hidden or the window loses focus, so you never lose a ship while you are away. Press P, Esc or tap Resume to continue.
Can I play on a phone?
Yes. On touch screens the control buttons appear under the playfield, and the game fits a narrow portrait screen without scrolling.
Is there sound?
There are synthesized retro sound effects, but they are muted by default. Use the Sound button or press M to turn them on.