How to play Asteroids
Asteroids is the vector-graphics arcade classic. Pilot a small ship through a field of drifting rocks and blast them into ever smaller pieces.
The screen wraps at every edge, flying saucers hunt you from level 2, and every rock you clear brings a faster one.
Rules
- Large rocks split into two medium ones, and medium rocks into two small ones. Small rocks are destroyed.
- Large rocks are worth 20 points, medium 50 and small 100. Big saucers are worth 200 and small, sharp-shooting saucers 1,000.
- You start with 3 ships and earn an extra one every 10,000 points.
- Clearing a big rock and all its pieces raises the level, bringing faster rocks — and more of them at once later on.
- Hyperspace jumps you to a random spot. It can save you, or drop you right next to a rock.
Controls
- ← → / A D
- Rotate
- ↑ / W
- Thrust
- Space
- Fire (hold for auto-fire)
- Shift / ↓ / H
- Hyperspace
- P / Esc
- Pause
- Touch
- On-screen turn, thrust, fire and hyperspace buttons
Tips
- Use short bursts of thrust. Your ship keeps drifting, and speed is hard to shed.
- Break rocks one at a time instead of filling the screen with small fragments.
- Take out small saucers fast. They aim at you and get more accurate as your score rises.
About Asteroids
Asteroids was released by Atari in November 1979, designed by Lyle Rains and Ed Logg. It used a vector monitor rather than pixels, which is why the rocks and ship are crisp outlines, and it became Atari’s best-selling arcade cabinet. The physics — a ship that keeps drifting after you stop thrusting — was the point, and still is.
This remake is an original version inspired by it: the screen wraps at every edge, big rocks split into medium and small, saucers arrive from level 2 and hyperspace is as risky as ever. The momentum has not been toned down.
Questions
Is this the original Asteroids?
No. It is an original browser remake inspired by Atari’s 1979 arcade game, free, with nothing to install and no quarters needed.
How do I play Asteroids on a phone?
On-screen buttons appear on touch devices for turning, thrust, fire and hyperspace. On a keyboard, rotate with the arrows or A and D, thrust with the up arrow or W, and fire with Space.
How is the score calculated?
Large rocks score 20, medium 50 and small 100. Big saucers are worth 200 and the small, accurate ones 1,000. You get an extra ship every 10,000 points.
What does hyperspace do?
It teleports your ship to a random spot on the screen. It can save you from a collision, or drop you straight into one — treat it as a last resort.