Play Space Invaders Online Free

About Space Invaders

Space Invaders is where video games as a mass hobby began. Tomohiro Nishikado's 1978 Taito arcade game put 55 aliens in five rows above your laser cannon and gave you four crumbling shields; the aliens march side to side, drop a row when they hit the edge, and speed up as their numbers fall — a quirk of the original hardware that became the design. Clear the wave and the next starts lower.

This page runs a faithful browser remake with the original formation, the accelerating march, the destructible shields and the mystery UFO that crosses the top for bonus points. It is a game of positioning and patience that still holds up nearly five decades on.

How to play Space Invaders

Move

← →

Fire

Space

Start / restart

Space or Enter

1. Move the cannon along the bottom and fire upward. You can only have one shot on screen at a time.
2. Destroy all 55 invaders before they reach the bottom. Bottom rows are worth 10, middle 20, top 30.
3. The four shields absorb shots — yours and theirs — and erode as they're hit.
4. The UFO crosses the top periodically; hitting it scores 50 to 300.
5. Each cleared wave starts one row lower and faster.

Space Invaders tips

• Clear a column on one side first so the formation reaches the edge later and drops less often.
• Shoot through your own shield's edges for cover — carve a slit and fire from behind it.
• The UFO's score depends on how many shots you've fired: the 23rd shot, and every 15th after, scores 300.
• When only a few invaders remain they move very fast; sit still and let them come to your line of fire.

Space Invaders — questions