How to play Boulder Dash
Boulder Dash is a remake of the 1984 cave-digging classic. You are a miner in a cave full of dirt, boulders and diamonds, and the clock is running.
Collect the number of diamonds the cave asks for to open the exit, then get out before the time runs out. Everything you dig out from under will fall — including onto you.
Rules
- Move through dirt to dig it away. Boulders and diamonds fall into any empty space below them, and roll off boulders, diamonds and brick walls if there is room to the side.
- Anything a boulder lands on while it is falling is crushed: you, fireflies and butterflies alike. A diamond falling onto you is simply caught.
- Push a boulder sideways by walking into it, as long as the space behind it is empty. Boulders cannot be pushed up or down.
- Each diamond scores the cave’s value until the exit opens and a higher one after. Seconds left on the clock at the exit are worth 3 points each.
- Fireflies explode when they touch you. Butterflies explode too, but leave nine diamonds behind — drop a boulder on one to cash it in.
- The amoeba grows slowly, then fast. Fully walled in, it turns into diamonds; if it gets too big, it turns into boulders.
- You start with 3 lives and earn another every 1,000 points. After the eighth cave the caves repeat with less time on the clock.
Controls
- Hold arrows / WASD
- Move and dig
- Shift / Space + direction
- Grab dirt or a diamond next to you without stepping into it
- Touch
- Hold the on-screen pad to move; hold the red hand button while pressing a direction to grab
- R
- Stuck? Blow up and retry the cave (costs a life)
- P / Esc
- Pause
- Enter / Space
- Start
Tips
- Never dig straight up under a boulder. Approach diamonds under boulders from the side and step away straight after.
- Grabbing without moving is the safe way to take a diamond that has a boulder sitting on top of it.
- Fireflies follow walls. Wait for one to pass beneath a boulder, then dig out the dirt holding the boulder up.
- Watch the diamond counter: once the exit opens, every extra diamond is worth more — but the clock keeps running.
- Butterfly cages pay nine diamonds each. Undercut the boulders above the cage when the butterfly is at the top.
About Boulder Dash
Boulder Dash was designed by Peter Liepa with Chris Gray and published by First Star Software in 1984, first for the Atari 8-bit computers and then the Commodore 64, the ZX Spectrum, the IBM PC and many more. Its hero Rockford, its fireflies, butterflies and amoeba, and its physics of falling and rolling rocks made it one of the most cloned games of the decade.
This remake is an original version inspired by it: eight new caves built the way the original built its own — a seeded random fill with walls and rooms drawn on top — with smooth scrolling, a grab button and touch controls, drawn in our paper-and-ink style.
Questions
Is this the original Boulder Dash?
No. It is an original browser remake inspired by First Star Software’s 1984 game, with new caves, free and with nothing to install.
How do I open the exit?
Collect the number of diamonds shown at the top left. The exit starts flashing, the counter says EXIT OPEN, and you can walk into it.
Why did a boulder fall on me when I was standing still?
You probably dug out the dirt beneath it a moment earlier, or it rolled off something next to you. Boulders keep moving until they land on something solid.
What happens when I am stuck?
Press R (or the ↺ button on a phone) to blow yourself up and restart the cave. It costs a life.