Tank Stars
About This Game
Turn-based tank duels on ground that comes apart as you fight over it.
Turn-based artillery across a battlefield that comes apart as you fight over it. Set an angle, set a power, read the wind, and put a shell on the other tank before it puts one on you.
Every blast digs a real hole and the holes stack, so a battlefield that started as rolling hills ends as a moonscape - bury an opponent in a crater and they have to spend a turn climbing out of it, or dig away the ridge you could not shoot over. Each turn refills your fuel to reposition with, and supply crates land in the middle for whoever is willing to drive for them.
Nine weapons, and none of them is just a bigger number: cluster rounds split at the top of their arc, a rail spike flies flat and fast so there is no arc to judge, the Vertical Slam climbs and drops straight down on a target hiding behind a hill, and the Doomsday leaves a hole you could park in. Five tanks that trade against each other rather than replacing each other - the heavy soaks punishment and cannot punch, the striker punches hardest and folds if it is hit.
Twelve stages on a campaign map, four difficulties of opponent, and a mystery chest after every win holding ammunition, rarer weapons or occasionally a whole new tank. The computer opponent aims by running the same physics your shells do and searching for a shot, so it copes with hills, gullies and its own craters, and a harder one is a steadier hand rather than a bigger gun.
Two players can share one screen and pass the device back and forth, or open a private room and play from two windows.
How to Play Tank Stars
- Up / Down arrows
- Raise or lower the barrel. Hold Shift for bigger steps.
- Left / Right arrows
- Less or more power.
- A / D
- Drive left or right, using fuel.
- Space
- Fire.
- Esc
- Pause.
Rules
- Turn-based artillery. On your turn, drive if you want, set angle and power, choose a weapon and fire. Wind pushes every shell and changes between turns.
- Explosions dig craters that stay for the rest of the match. Hitting your own tank does a little over half the damage.
- Supply crates, holding fuel or a shell, can drop from the second round on.
- Nine weapons. Standard shells never run out; the others are limited and come from chests and supply crates. The Rail Spike flies almost flat, the Vertical Slam comes straight down on its target, and Twin Shot, Scatter and Firestorm split in the air.
- Five tanks trade health, armour, power and fuel: Hammer (free), Ranger (900 coins), Bastion (1,800), Viper (3,200) and Titan (5,400).
- Twelve campaign stages against four levels of opponent: Rookie, Gunner, Ace and Legend. Stages pay 200 coins at first and 1,000 for the last. After a win, a chest lays out five cards and you keep one.
- Two people can play on one device, or in a private room shared between windows of the same browser. It does not connect different computers.
Tips for Tank Stars
- Use the Rail Spike at low angles, around 15 degrees. Thrown high, it flies off the map.
- The Vertical Slam ignores hills. Save it for an opponent hiding behind a ridge.
- Fuel refills every turn. Moving even a short way after the opponent has found your range spoils their next shot.
- A harder opponent aims more accurately but has no stronger tank, so on later stages stay out of easy lines of fire.