Asteroids

Atari shipped Asteroids in November 1979. Designers Lyle Rains and Ed Logg built it on a vector display that drew every object as glowing lines on a black screen. The game sold over 70,000 arcade cabinets and became Atari's best-selling coin-op title. Playing Asteroids trains spatial reasoning and rapid target selection. Your brain must track multiple moving objects across a wrapping screen while planning shots. The challenge grows with every wave. Start playing right now in your browser. No download needed.

1. Press the Left and Right arrow keys to rotate your ship. Press Up to fire your thruster. Your ship builds momentum in the direction it faces.
2. Release the thruster and you keep drifting. That is space physics. A gentle damping factor slowly bleeds off speed.
3. Press Space to fire bullets in the direction your ship points. Each shot has a short cooldown.
4. Press H to hyperspace jump to a random location. Use it as a last resort. You may reappear on top of an asteroid.
5. Asteroids come in three sizes. Large ones split into two medium pieces when shot. Medium ones split into two small ones. Small ones vanish.
6. Clear every asteroid to advance to the next wave. Each wave spawns more asteroids than the last.
7. A UFO appears periodically. Large UFOs fire randomly. Small UFOs aim at you. Shoot them for bonus points.
8. You start with three lives. After losing a life, your ship respawns with a brief invulnerability period.

• Your ship rotates left and right but does not strafe. Thrust applies velocity in the facing direction.
• The screen wraps on all edges. Fly off the left side and you appear on the right.
• Bullets travel a fixed distance then expire. A short firing cooldown prevents spamming.
• Large asteroids score 20 points. Medium asteroids score 50 points. Small asteroids score 100 points.
• Large UFOs award 200 points. Small UFOs award 1000 points.
• You start with three lives. Colliding with any asteroid or UFO bullet costs a life.
• After losing a life, your ship reappears at center screen with a three-second invulnerability window.
• Clearing all asteroids advances you to the next wave. Each wave adds one more asteroid to the starting count.

• Keep moving. A stationary ship is an easy target for asteroids and UFOs alike. Thrust in one direction, then rotate and drift. You control the angle without stopping.
• Clear small asteroids first. They move fast and are hard to hit. When a large asteroid splits, target the resulting small pieces before they spread across the screen.
• Use the screen wrap to your advantage. If an asteroid chases you from the right, fly off the left edge. You appear on the right side, behind the asteroid. This works for bullets too.
• Save hyperspace for true emergencies. Hyperspace drops you at a random location. You might land on an asteroid. Only use it when a collision is unavoidable.
• Watch the UFO timer. UFOs appear roughly every 20 to 30 seconds. When you hear the sound, stop shooting asteroids and hunt the UFO. A small UFO scores 1000 points, but it aims accurately. Destroy it fast.

• Asteroids Deluxe (1981): Atari's sequel added shields, a new enemy ship, and rotating satellite targets that broke into diamond shards.
• Space Invaders: A different take on the arcade shooter formula. Aliens march downward in formation instead of drifting in space.
• Pong: Atari's other landmark arcade title. Two paddles, one ball, and pure reflexes.

• The physics feel right. Your ship drifts through space with real momentum. Mastering the controls takes practice and rewards skill.
• Every session is different. Asteroid positions, speeds, and split directions are randomized. No two waves play the same way.
• The scoring system rewards aggressive play. Small UFOs pay 1000 points. Skilled players hunt them instead of playing safe.
• The vector art style aged well. Clean white lines on black still look sharp decades later.
• Short sessions fit any schedule. A single run takes three to ten minutes. You can play one wave or twenty.

Play Asteroids directly in your browser. No downloads. No registration. This version runs on HTML5 Canvas with smooth 60 frames per second rendering. It supports keyboard controls on desktop and touch buttons on mobile phones and tablets. Your high score saves locally, so you can chase your personal best across sessions. Each wave adds more asteroids. See how long you can survive the asteroid field.

Asteroids remains one of the purest arcade experiences ever made. The controls take minutes to grasp. The challenge scales endlessly. Rotate your ship, fire into the field, and dodge what comes back at you. Every wave adds pressure. Every UFO adds risk. Your high score is one good run away. Start a game right now and see which wave ends your run.

• Green, C.S. & Bavelier, D. (2003). Action video game modifies visual selective attention. Nature, 423, 534-537.
• Computer History Museum - Spacewar!: The original game that inspired Asteroids (1962, MIT)