About Space Invaders
Space Invaders is the arcade shooter that started it all: a fleet of aliens marches back and forth across the screen, dropping lower every time it reaches an edge, and you're the lone laser cannon standing between them and the ground. Our free Space Invaders online game keeps that tense, instantly readable formula and adds crisp new pixel art, glowing lasers, screen shake and a proper soundtrack of thumping alien footsteps.
It plays right in your browser with no download or sign-up, on a laptop with the keyboard or mouse, or on a phone with big touch controls and an optional auto-fire mode. Every run is ranked on the global leaderboard, so this is a great space shooter game to pick up for five minutes and keep coming back to for a new high score.
How to play Space Invaders
- 1
Start the wave
Press Play. Five rows of eleven aliens scan in above four green shields. Your cannon sits on the ground line at the bottom, and your spare cannons are shown in the bottom-left corner.
- 2
Move and shoot
Slide left and right and fire straight up. Classic rules apply: you can only have one shot on screen at a time, so every miss costs you time. From wave 3 your twin cannons let two shots fly at once.
- 3
Use the shields
The bunkers block alien bullets, but each hit blasts a hole in them, and your own shots carve through from below. Aliens that march low enough simply eat through them.
- 4
Chase the mystery ship
Every twenty seconds or so a red saucer glides across the top of the screen, as long as at least eight aliens are left. Hit it for a surprise bonus of 50, 100, 150, 200 or 300 points.
- 5
Clear the wave, then survive the next
Destroy every alien to clear the wave. The shields are rebuilt, and the next fleet starts one step lower and marches a little faster. The game ends when you lose your last cannon or the aliens reach the ground.
Controls
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| ← → / A D | Move the cannon |
| Space / ↑ / W | Fire (hold to keep firing) |
| Mouse | Move over the playfield to aim, click or hold to fire |
| Touch pad / drag | Hold ◀ ▶ or drag on the playfield to move |
| FIRE / Auto fire | Shoot on touch screens, or toggle automatic firing |
| P or Esc | Pause and resume |
Advertisement
Space Invaders tips and strategy
Thin out the edges first
The fleet only drops when its outermost column touches the side of the screen. Clearing whole columns on the left and right means it travels farther before each drop, which buys you a lot of time.
Save the last few for last
The fleet speeds up as it shrinks, and the final alien moves very fast. Try to finish a wave while two or three aliens are still left in the same row, so they're easier to line up.
Know the three bullet types
Yellow zig-zag shots wobble from wave 2 on, white plunger shots fall straight and orange rolling shots are aimed at the column you're standing in. You can shoot down the first two, but rolling shots are tough and will simply eat your bullet, so dodge those.
Keep moving after you fire
Rolling shots always come from the alien closest to your cannon. Fire, then step sideways, and they'll land where you were rather than where you are.
Don't waste your shot
With only one bullet allowed on screen, a missed shot at the top of a tall portrait screen can take a second to clear. Wait until an alien is lined up, especially in the early waves.
Time the mystery ship
The saucer enters from the left when you've fired an even number of shots and from the right when it's odd. Count your shots and you can be waiting under its path.
Punch a firing slot in a shield
A narrow hole in the top of a bunker lets you shoot up through it while the sides still cover you. Just don't make it too wide.
Try auto-fire on phones
On a touchscreen, turn on Auto fire so you only have to steer. Your cannon still fires one shot at a time, so aiming well still matters.
Scoring, lives and waves
Each alien is worth 10 points (green, bottom two rows), 20 points (blue, middle two rows) or 30 points (pink, top row), so a full fleet is worth 990 points. The mystery ship pays 50 to 300 points at random. You start with 3 cannons and earn one extra at 1,500 points.
Each new wave starts one step lower than the last (up to five steps), and the march gets a little faster. That makes the later waves genuinely frantic. Wave 3 is where twin cannons come online. Clearing two full waves is worth about 2,000 points before mystery-ship bonuses.
A short history of Space Invaders
The original Space Invaders was designed by Tomohiro Nishikado and released by Taito in Japan in 1978. It was one of the first games to have enemies that shot back and one of the first to save a high score, which gave players a reason to keep feeding the machine. Its famous speed-up happened partly by accident: the hardware could draw the remaining aliens faster as there were fewer of them, and the designer kept it because it made the game so tense.
A hit home version for the Atari 2600 followed in 1980, and the game's marching fleet and pulsing bass notes became some of the most recognizable images in pop culture. This version uses its own original alien designs but keeps the rules that made the arcade classic work.
More free arcade games
Want another retro space shooter game? Pilot a ship through a spinning rock field in Asteroids, or smash walls of bricks in Breakout. For something quicker, try Flappy Bird or a round of Pong. You'll find the whole collection on our arcade games page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I play Space Invaders online for free?
Yes. This Space Invaders-style game is completely free and runs in your web browser on computers, tablets and phones. There's nothing to download and no account is needed to play or to post a score.
How do you play Space Invaders on a phone?
Hold the left or right half of the movement pad under the game, or drag anywhere on the playfield, to move your cannon. Tap FIRE to shoot, or switch on Auto fire and just steer.
How many points is the mystery ship worth?
The red mystery ship is worth 50, 100, 150, 200 or 300 points, chosen at random when you hit it. It appears roughly every 20 seconds while at least eight aliens remain.
Why do the aliens speed up?
The fleet marches faster as you destroy it, and the last alien is the fastest of all. In the 1978 original this was partly a side effect of the hardware, and it became the game's defining feature.
What happens if the invaders reach the bottom?
If any alien marches down to your cannon's level, Earth is invaded and the game ends immediately, no matter how many spare cannons you have left. Shoot the lowest rows first when the fleet gets close.
Do you get extra lives in Space Invaders?
Yes. You start with three cannons and earn one extra cannon when you reach 1,500 points. After that, every cannon you lose is gone for good, so play carefully.
Can you shoot the aliens' bullets?
You can shoot down the yellow zig-zag and white plunger shots. The orange rolling shots are sturdier: they destroy your bullet and keep falling, so it's better to dodge them.