Shard Drift
A free vector arcade game in the space-rocks style. Your little dart drifts with real inertia through a field of glowing crystal shards. Shoot a shard and it splits into smaller, faster pieces, so the screen gets busier before it gets clearer. It plays in your browser on phone, tablet and desktop, with no ads and no sign-up.
How to play
- Turn and thrust to fly. There is almost no friction, so plan your stops.
- Shoot the shards. Large shards break into two medium ones, medium into two small ones, and small ones shatter.
- Everything wraps. Leave one edge of the screen and you reappear on the opposite side.
- Warp when you are boxed in: you vanish and reappear somewhere random.
- Watch for hunter drones. They cross the screen firing at you, and are worth a lot of points.
- Clear every shard to start the next wave, which brings more shards.
Scoring
| Target | Points |
|---|---|
| Large shard | 20 |
| Medium shard | 50 |
| Small shard | 100 |
| Big hunter drone | 200 |
| Small hunter drone | 1,000 |
| Extra ship | Every 10,000 points |
Tips
- Stay near the middle and turn, don't fly. Rotating and shooting is safer than chasing shards.
- Break shards one at a time. Splitting every big shard at once fills the screen with fast little ones.
- Leave one small shard while you hunt drones for their bonus, but not for long: the background beat speeds up the longer a wave lasts.
- Brake early. Turn round and give a short burst of thrust well before you need to stop.
Questions
Is Shard Drift free?
Yes. It is free to play, with no ads, no account and no in-app purchases.
How do I play on a phone?
The buttons under the playfield turn, thrust, fire and warp, and you can press several at once. Turn the phone sideways for a wider field. It also works with a keyboard or a game controller.
Are my high scores saved?
Your top five scores are kept in this browser on this device.
Is this a copy of an old arcade game?
No. Shard Drift is an original game in a classic genre: the ship, shards, drones, art and sounds are all our own.