How to play Xonix
Xonix is a classic territory-grabbing arcade game from the DOS era. You steer a cutter around a sea surrounded by land, slicing off chunks of water to turn them into solid ground.
Claim 75% of the sea to clear the level — but every ball bouncing around the field is out to cut your run short.
Rules
- Leave the land and you draw a trail across the sea. Reach land again and the trail, plus every sea pocket no ball can reach, becomes yours.
- You lose a life if a sea ball touches your trail (or you while cutting), a land ball touches you, or you run into your own trail.
- Solid balls bounce in the sea; ring-shaped balls patrol the land. Each level adds more of them.
- You start with 3 lives and earn one more for each level cleared (up to 9).
- Every captured cell scores points equal to the level number. Clearing a level adds 1,000 × level, plus 100 for each percent claimed above 75%.
Controls
- Arrows / WASD
- Steer (you keep moving until you reach land or the edge)
- Swipe
- Steer on touch screens; on-screen D-pad on phones
- P / Esc / Space
- Pause and resume
- Enter / Space
- Start or play again
Tips
- Small, quick cuts along the edge are safer than big sweeps across open water.
- Trap a ball in a small pocket and you can safely claim the rest of the sea around it.
- Watch the land balls: they can catch you even while you are standing safely on land.
About Xonix
Xonix was written in 1984 by Ilan Rav and Dani Katz and spread across DOS PCs by floppy — a cut-off-the-field game inspired by Taito’s 1981 arcade machine Qix. Where Qix drew lines in empty space, Xonix turned the field into a sea with balls bouncing in it, which is the version most people met at work in the late 80s and 90s.
This remake keeps the 75% target, the sea balls and the land patrollers, and adds levels that pile on more of each, a life for every level cleared and a swipe D-pad for phones.
Questions
Is Xonix the same as Qix?
They are cousins. Qix was a 1981 Taito arcade game; Xonix was a 1984 PC game inspired by it. This is an original browser remake of the Xonix idea, free and with nothing to install.
How do I play Xonix on a phone?
Swipe to steer, or use the on-screen D-pad that appears on touch devices. You keep moving until you reach land or the edge, so one swipe is enough for each cut.
How is the score calculated?
Every cell you capture scores points equal to the level number. Clearing a level adds 1,000 × the level, plus 100 for each percent you claimed above the 75% target.
How do I lose a life?
When a sea ball touches your trail (or you while cutting), when a land ball touches you, or when you run into your own trail. You start with 3 lives and gain one per level, up to 9.