Space Invaders is the arcade game that kicked off the entire shooting genre in 1978 — and now it's free in your browser. A formation of 55 pixelated aliens marches across the screen, dropping lower and faster as you blast away. Slide your cannon, shoot on the beat, and see how many waves you can survive. No downloads, no accounts, no sign-ups: the starfield is already waiting.
Five rows of eleven aliens — 55 in total — descend in a block that sweeps side to side, dropping a step closer each time it hits the edge. Your job is to destroy them all before they reach your cannon at the bottom. Every alien you shoot earns points, and a glowing magenta UFO that flies across the top of the screen is worth a hefty bonus if you can hit it.
Clear a full wave and the next one spawns with faster, more aggressive aliens. There's no final level — the waves just keep coming until you run out of lives.
Desktop: Left and Right arrows to move your cannon, Space to shoot (or to start and unpause), and P to pause or resume. This version is keyboard-first, just like the original.
Mobile: This build uses the keyboard layout — play on a desktop or laptop for the full experience.
Each row of aliens is worth a different amount: the bottom row pays 10 points, rising through 20, 30, and 40 as you climb, with the top row of red aliens worth 50 each. That means the aliens closest to you are the cheapest, and the ones you have to aim over everything else pay the most. A UFO hit adds a flat 100-point bonus.
Space Invaders was created by Tomohiro Nishikado and released by Taito in 1978, becoming one of the most influential games ever made. This browser version keeps the classic descending-formation gameplay, adds glow effects to every alien and bullet, and layers in seven retro synth sound effects for shooting, hits, explosions, and level-ups. It's one of the free classic games on ZenClick — a perfect quick round of arcade history.