Breakout

Atari released Breakout in 1976, and the original cabinet used colored screen overlays to turn a black-and-white display into rows of yellow, green, orange, and red bricks. That hardware trick still gives the game its spare arcade look. Breakout trains tracking, timing, and angle judgment because every paddle contact changes the next few seconds of play. This version keeps the clean paddle-and-ball challenge, then adds five level layouts, steel bricks, multi-hit bricks, and power-up capsules. Launch the ball and clear the first wall right in your browser.

1. Choose a level button or start on Level 1. Click the canvas, press Space, or tap the launch button to serve the ball.
2. Move the paddle with your mouse, finger, A/D, or the left and right arrow keys. Keep the ball above the paddle.
3. Hit colored bricks with the ball to score points. Normal bricks break in one hit, pink bricks take two hits, and purple bricks take three hits.
4. Gray steel bricks never break. Use them like bumpers and prepare for sharper rebounds around them.
5. Catch falling capsules with the paddle. M creates multi-ball, W widens the paddle, S slows the ball, L activates lasers, and + adds a life.
6. Clear every breakable brick to finish the level. Your score carries forward, and the next layout adds more pressure.

• You start with three lives and lose one life whenever the last ball drops below the paddle.
• The ball bounces off walls, the paddle, steel bricks, and active bricks.
• The paddle hit position controls the return angle. A center hit sends a straighter shot, while edge hits create sharper paths.
• Only breakable bricks count toward level completion. Steel bricks can stay on the board.
• Power-ups fall only after some destroyed bricks. You must catch a capsule before it leaves the screen.
• Laser mode lets the paddle fire shots with Space while the timer remains active.
• The game ends when you lose all lives, and the saved high score remains on your device.

• Aim for a side tunnel early. A narrow opening along the left or right wall can send the ball above the rows, where it clears bricks without constant paddle hits.
• Use edge hits with intent. The outer quarter of the paddle produces steep angles, which helps target isolated bricks, but it also increases miss risk.
• Treat steel bricks as route tools. Since gray blocks stay in place, a shot that ricochets between steel and the top wall can reach protected multi-hit bricks.
• Catch slow ball before multi-ball when both appear. Slower speed gives you more time to manage three balls and reduces the chance that all of them fall at once.
• Fire lasers at multi-hit bricks. A laser shot removes a hit without moving the ball, so it solves the late-level problem of waiting for one stubborn brick.

• Original Atari Breakout: The 1976 coin-op game used a paddle, one ball, eight rows of bricks, three balls per play, and scoring that favored higher rows.
• Super Breakout: Atari followed with Super Breakout in 1978, adding modes such as double-ball play and a crawling wall of bricks.
• Brick Breaker: Our Brick Breaker page offers a simpler brick-clearing game. Play it when you want a lighter version without level-select pressure.
• Pong: Pong shares the same paddle-angle skill, but it turns the action into a rally against a CPU or local player.

• Every shot has visible cause and effect. You can see exactly how paddle position changes the return angle.
• Levels last only a few minutes, so a failed run invites an immediate restart.
• Power-ups add small tactical choices without burying the original paddle-and-ball idea.
• Steel and multi-hit bricks give later levels a real route-planning problem.
• High scores feel earned because survival, accuracy, and level bonuses all matter.

Play Breakout online for free on this page. It runs in the browser with Canvas rendering, keyboard controls, mouse movement, touch support, power-ups, level select, local high score storage, and no download. Start with Level 1 for the Atari feel, or jump ahead when you want denser layouts.

Breakout turns one paddle, one ball, and a wall of bricks into a focused timing test. Clear lanes, read rebounds, catch the right capsules, and use lasers when a final brick refuses to cooperate. Pick a level and start your run now.

• The Strong National Museum of Play: Arcade game Breakout
• Arcade History: Breakout by Atari