How do you play Tank Battle?
On a 13 by 13 grid seen from above, you drive the yellow tank, fire shells and destroy the 20 enemy tanks that roll in from the top to finish a stage. The flag base at the bottom center ends the game the moment a shell touches it, so guarding it matters as much as hunting.
It plays like the classic arcade and console tank games of the 1980s. Only four enemies are on the field at once, and when one is destroyed the next one sparkles into view at one of the three top exits. The gray tank icons on the side panel (top strip on phones) count the enemies still to come, and below them you see your remaining tanks, collected stars and score. Clear all 20 stages and the battlefield is yours.
What is the difference between brick, steel, forest and water?
Brick walls lose two pieces per shell, steel walls only break once you hold three stars. Forest hides tanks, and water stops tanks but lets shells through.
| Terrain | Tanks | Shells |
|---|---|---|
| Brick (orange) | Blocked | Two pieces break where it hits. You can carve paths |
| Steel (silver) | Blocked | Bounces off and vanishes. Breaks with three stars |
| Forest (green) | Passable, tanks inside are half hidden | Passes through |
| Water (blue) | Blocked | Passes through |
| Flag base | Blocked | One hit ends the game. Five brick cells around it act as a shield |
Two shells that meet in the air cancel each other out. When an enemy shell is coming down your lane, firing back along the same line stops it, so shooting is also a defense. Enemy tanks never hurt each other.
How do you tell enemy tanks apart?
Gray is the basic tank, light blue is fast, purple fires fast shells, and red is armored and takes four hits. The red pips above an armored tank show its remaining hits.
| Color | Behavior | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Gray (basic) | Slow, one hit | 100 |
| Light blue (fast) | Faster than you, reaches the base quickly | 200 |
| Purple (power) | Shells nearly twice as fast, hard to dodge once lined up | 300 |
| Red (armor) | Takes four hits, pips drop one by one | 400 |
Higher stages bring more fast and armored tanks and shorter gaps between arrivals. The 4th, 11th and 18th enemy of every stage flashes white, and destroying one drops an item card somewhere on the field.
What items are there?
A flashing enemy drops one of six items, star, bomb, clock, shovel, helmet or tank, which stays on the ground for 15 seconds. Drive over it for 500 points and the effect.
- Star: raises your firepower one level. Level 1 speeds up shells, level 2 lets you have two shells in the air, level 3 breaks steel. Losing a tank resets it.
- Bomb: every enemy on the field explodes. No points, but they count as destroyed.
- Clock: enemies freeze for 10 seconds, unable to move or fire. Frozen tanks still blow up when hit.
- Shovel: the bricks around the base turn to steel for 15 seconds, then return as full bricks, even where they had been broken.
- Helmet: a shield deflects shells for 10 seconds. You also get a short shield whenever you respawn.
- Tank: one extra life.
How does the two player mode work?
Choose Two players · Duel on the title screen and the yellow and green tanks hunt each other in a rotationally symmetric maze arena. Hit the other tank first to take a round, and the first to three of five rounds wins.
The yellow tank starts bottom left and uses W A S D to move and Space to fire; the green tank starts top right and uses the arrow keys with Enter. On phones and tablets each half of the screen gets its own stick and fire button. Every round has a different arena, so carving a shortcut through bricks or waiting in a forest both work. A short shield at the start of each round means nobody gets hit instantly.
Tips for guarding the base and winning
- Do not camp in front of the base. Only four enemies exist at once. Move up and take them near the exits so fewer ever reach the bottom.
- Line up first. Tanks fire in four directions only. Shoot the instant you share a row or column with an enemy, and step aside before it shares one with you.
- Bricks are on your side. While an enemy is busy chewing through a wall, go around and hit it from the side. The hole you carve is also a lane for enemy shells.
- Keep your distance from red tanks. Four hits take time, and other enemies keep coming. Chip at them from behind a wall.
- Grab the shovel and clock right away. Items vanish after 15 seconds. A shovel taken while the base wall is damaged rebuilds it in steel.
- Never fire at your own base. Your shells end the game too. Check the line before shooting downward.
Controls
- Keyboard: W A S D or the arrow keys move in four directions, Space or J fires. With several keys held, the last one pressed wins. P or Esc pauses, and Space or Enter restarts from the result screen.
- Two players: yellow tank W A S D + Space, green tank arrows + Enter.
- Phone and tablet: push the round stick at the bottom left in four directions and tap the fire button on the right. Holding the button fires again whenever your shell is gone. Two players get one set on each half of the screen.
- Top right buttons: sound on and off, pause, menu. The Continue button on the title screen starts from the highest stage you reached.
Your best score and stage stay in this browser and are never sent to a server. All graphics and sounds are drawn and synthesized in code, so there are no files to load and the game opens instantly even on slow connections.