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CONTROLS
Steering
Up, Left, Right
Thrust
Rotate Left
Rotate Right
Hyperspace
Fire
(except in full screen mode)
High Score
How to play Asteroids™
The object of the game is to destroy as many asteroids as possible and keep your ship in space as long as possible. Use your keyboard controls to maneuver your ship through space and shoot photon torpedoes at the asteroids.
Controls
Begin playing by pressing "1" on your keyboard for a one-player game, or "2" for a two-player game.
Right Arrow Rotate clockwise Left Arrow Rotate counterclockwise Up Arrow Thrust forward Space Bar or Ctrl Fire photon torpedoes Shift Jump into hyperspace
How To Play
The ship moves and fires only in the direction it's pointed. Press and release the Fire button as fast as possible to have up to four torpedoes in action at one time.
When an asteroid is hit, it may break up into smaller boulders, or it may be completely pulverized. Also, keep an eye out for satellites and UFOs, both of which may be firing torpedoes at you.
Use Shift to jump into hyperspace, which makes your spaceship disappear and reappear at some other place on the screen. Hyperspace is helpful as a quick getaway when an asteroid or boulder is headed toward your spaceship, but it may also be dangerous if your spaceship reappears in the path of an oncoming rock--or even in the exact same space.
Scoring
Points are determined by the size of the asteroid boulders. Since the smaller boulders are harder to hit, they're worth more points. You start with four spaceships each game. You earn an extra spaceship for every 10,000 points you score.
Points are scored as follows:
- Small asteroids = 100 points
- Medium asteroids = 50 points
- Large asteroids = 20 points
- Satellites = 200 points
- UFOs = 1000 points
Tips
After playing Asteroids several times you'll discover which techniques work best for you. Here are some that the space cadets at Atari found most helpful.
- When the screen becomes clear of asteroids (just before a new group of large asteroids appears), try to avoid placing your spaceship close to the right or left edge of the screen. New asteroids almost always begin from these edges.
- It is often helpful to remain in the center of the screen throughout the game, aiming your spaceship right or left in a circular motion.
- If you're close to earning an extra ship, and your spaceship is about to crash, you may want to cause your spaceship to collide with a small asteroid, UFO, or satellite. You'll earn points even if you crash, and this may be just enough points to earn that extra ship.
- Try to hit the faster and smaller asteroid boulders. This will give you more protection and more points.
