Field manual
How to play
You and your rival each start with 100 HP on opposite sides of a rocky ridge. There are no turns: you fire whenever your mortar has reloaded, about every three seconds. The last Martian standing wins.
Controls
The first time you play, a short lesson on a calm battlefield walks you through aiming, firing and walking. These are the controls for the light version in your browser. The Windows version differs slightly.
| Action | Mouse | Keyboard | Phone or tablet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aim | Drag | ← → angle, ↑ ↓ power | Drag the battlefield |
| Fire | Release | Space or Enter | Tap FIRE |
| Walk | Drag your Martian | A D | Hold ◀ or ▶ |
| Cancel | Right-click | X | – |
| Power | Wheel | W S | Drag further away |
| Game | N new game, F full screen, M mute, H show the controls in a small window. Hold Shift to adjust your aim five times faster. | ||
On a phone, turn the screen sideways for a bigger view of the battlefield.
Finding your range
- Drag toward where you want the shot to go. The direction sets the barrel's angle, and the further you drag from your Martian, the harder it fires.
- Check the wind before every shot. The gauge at the top shows its direction and strength. It shifts every several seconds, so the shot that landed last time may not land there again.
- Correct one thing at a time. Keep the angle and change only the power until you've found the range. Then you can change your shot quickly when the wind turns.
- High shots stay in the air longer. That gives the wind more time to push them and gives your rival more time to walk away. A lower shot arrives sooner, as long as it clears the ridge.
- You can fire early. Fire during a reload and the shot goes as soon as you're loaded. The status line says "Firing when loaded", and X cancels it on a keyboard.
Staying alive
- Near misses count. A normal shell does up to 40 damage, less the further you are from the blast. Your own shells can hurt you too, so be careful firing close to yourself.
- Use the rocks. With rock between you and a blast, only about a third of the damage reaches you. Both sides always get the same number of boulders.
- Keep moving. A shell takes a few seconds to land, and even a short walk can take you out of its blast.
Power-ups
Capsules start parachuting in a few seconds into the game, then keep coming every 8 to 14 seconds. Walk over one after it lands, or hit one directly with a shell to claim it from anywhere. Any other blast nearby destroys it, and it fades after 12 seconds on the ground.
| Capsule | What it does |
|---|---|
| Repair | Restores 30 HP. |
| Dome | A glass shield that takes the whole of a blast. The first hit cracks it and the second shatters it. |
| Rapid Fire | Reloads 2.5 times faster for 10 seconds. |
| Heavy Shells | Your next two shots have a bigger blast and do up to 55 damage. |
Hazards
Mars interrupts every duel, and it doesn't take sides. Warnings appear at the top of the battlefield, and they give you a few seconds to get out of the way.
| Hazard | What to do |
|---|---|
| Asteroids | You get about two seconds' warning, and each one does up to 25 damage. About half are aimed near a Martian, so keep walking when you see the warning. |
| Lightning | Strikes the summit of the ridge and does up to 30 damage, less the further you are from it. It goes straight through a dome, so move away from the middle. |
| Windstorm | A gale lasts about 10 seconds and is much stronger than normal wind. A tornado also roams the field, flinging shells and shaking barrels. Expect your range to change completely. |
| Lava vent | A vent opens, erupts about three seconds later, and leaves a burning pool. The pool burns up to 10 HP a second, even through a dome, until it cools. Don't stand there. |
Beating computer rivals
- Hit it early. Its first shots are its least accurate, and it improves as it finds your range. Moving makes it work the shot out again.
- Fight for capsules. It goes after power-ups too. If you can't reach one first, a shell nearby stops your rival getting it.
- Save Heavy Shells for a clear shot. Their blast reaches further than a normal one, and two close hits can take most of a Martian's health.
- Let Mars help. When a hazard forces your rival to move, its aim has to change too. That's a good moment to fire.
The Windows version (coming soon)
The Windows version will play the same battles, with no ads, and open on a menu that P pauses and returns to. A free trial will have Easy, Normal and the first two rivals. The full game will have everything below, and unlock from the trial's menu with your progress intact.
Which version has what
| Feature | FreeLight version in your browser, with ads | TrialTaster of the Windows version, no ads | PaidFull Windows version, no ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free | $1.99 once |
| Ads | Supported by ads | No ads | No ads |
| Runs on | PCs, phones and tablets | Windows 10 and 11 | Windows 10 and 11 |
| Install | Nothing to install | Download | Download |
| Plays offline | No | Yes | Yes |
| Lesson for new players | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mouse, keyboard and touch | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Difficulty | Normal | Easy, Normal | Easy, Normal, Hard |
| Campaign | No | First 2 of 6 rivals | All 6 rivals |
| Two players on one PC | No | No | Yes |
| Controller support | No | No | Yes |
| Stats and achievements | No | No | Yes |
| Get it | Play free | Coming soon | Coming soon |
Windows controls
| Action | Keyboard | Controller (full game) |
|---|---|---|
| Aim | ← → angle, ↑ ↓ or W S power | Right stick, and hold LT for fine aim |
| Fire | Space or Enter | A or RT |
| Walk | A D | Left stick or D-pad |
| Cancel | Esc | B |
| Menu | P | Start |
| Game | F2 new game, F11 full screen, M mute, T on-screen controls | |
With the mouse, drag to aim and let go to fire, as in the browser. Touching the battlefield turns on on-screen controls: drag to aim, press FIRE to shoot and hold the arrows to walk. You can turn them on or off with T or the button in the bottom bar, and they work with the mouse too.
Difficulty levels
Quick matches come in Easy, Normal and, in the full game, Hard. On Easy your computer rival is slow to aim, misses more and rarely dodges. On Hard it decides quickly, finds your range fast and usually moves out of the way of your shells.
The campaign
The trial has Rusty and Pebble, and the full game has all six. Beat each rival to unlock the next. You can replay any rival you've reached, and the game keeps your best result against each.
| Rival | How to beat them |
|---|---|
| Rusty, the Rookie | Slow to aim and easily flustered. Take the time to find your range. |
| Pebble, the Lobber | Sends every shell up high, so keep moving: long flights give you time to walk clear. |
| Flak, the Flat Shooter | Fires low and fast, so you get less warning. Don't wait to see where a shell is going. |
| Dash, the Dodger | Rarely stands still when you fire, so aim for where it's going to be. |
| Quake, the Veteran | Barely misses once it has your range. Keep walking so it can't settle. |
| Olympus, Champion of Mars | Quick, accurate and hard to hit. Use every capsule and every hazard you can. |
Two players (full game)
Choose Two Players from the menu to share one PC. Each side of the battlefield belongs to the player standing there, so a mouse or finger aims whichever Martian's side it presses. With two controllers, the first is Player 1 and the second is Player 2.
| Action | Player 1 | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Walk | A D | ← → |
| Angle | Q E | , . |
| Power | W S | ↑ ↓ |
| Fire | Space | Enter |
Stats and achievements (full game)
The menu shows your wins, streaks, accuracy and longest hit, along with 14 achievements. Only finished matches against the computer count towards your record, so restarting a match never counts as a loss.
Common questions
Is it free?
The light version in your browser is free and supported by ads. A free Windows trial and a full Windows version at $1.99, once, both with no ads, are coming soon. Compare them to see what each has.
Does it work on phones?
Yes, with on-screen buttons. It's easiest with the phone held sideways.
Is there a Windows version?
It's coming soon, as a free trial and a full game.
Why is there no sound?
Browsers start sound only after you tap or click. Also check the speaker button in the game, and on a phone, make sure silent mode is off.