About Asteroid Duel
Asteroid Duel puts a ship at each end of the screen with a field of drifting asteroids between them. Blast the rocks for points, blast the other ship to take its hull down, and whoever is ahead when the clock runs out wins, unless somebody is destroyed first, which ends it on the spot. You can fly the solo half in this browser before installing anything — the campaign, Endless, Practice and the daily duel, but not the two-player modes, which a browser tab cannot do.
There is no fire button, and that is the design rather than an omission. A thumb can only do one job at a time, so the trigger is automatic and steering is the whole of what you do. Where to point was always the interesting decision; giving it the entire thumb is what makes a duel readable while two people are playing on one phone.
Two people on one phone is the main event. Each player gets their own half of the screen to steer on, and the two ships face each other along whichever edge is longer, so it works held upright or sideways. Play a single round or a first-to-three; the score carries between rounds and the app remembers your head to head, so there is always something riding on the next one. If one of you is older, the other can be given a head start, which is a setting the two of you agree on rather than something the game decides. A level match never ends in a draw — the next point settles it. On the same Wi-Fi you can use two devices instead: one player hosts, the other types the number from their screen, and you each get a full display to fly on. There is no sign-in, no friend list and no lobby of strangers, and the game does not even send a device name.
Alone, there is a fifty-rung campaign with a boss on every fifth, flown against five pilots — Rookie, Cadet, Pilot, Captain and Ace. Every one of them flies the same ship you do, with the same cooldown and the same hull. They do not cheat; they are simply better. Each level is scored out of three stars: one for the win, two for ending it by destroying them, and three for doing that without being touched. Endless sends pilot after pilot until you go down, and Practice has no clock, no score and nothing that can hurt you, for anyone still learning to steer. One duel a day gives everybody the same asteroid field and the same pilot, with a streak to keep.
This is the one game we publish that has a currency in it, so here is exactly what it is. Coins are earned by playing and spent in the hangar on hull plating, cooling, engines, bolt charge and paint. They cannot be bought with money — there are no in-app purchases of any kind in this game — they convert to nothing, and they are worth nothing outside the app. They are not the coins in our reward apps, which are worth a tenth of a cent each and come out as PayPal cash. Two other things about them: the bot buys the same list at the same prices, so you can always read what you are up against, and none of it reaches a two-player duel, where the two ships are always identical whatever either of you has bought.
Crates are contested rather than collected. Shoot one to claim it: rapid fire, a triple shot, piercing bolts, overdrive, or a shield that stops the next hit dead. Chasing one costs you shots you were not aiming at your rival, because it is just as shootable by them as by you. The game is free and paid for by two ads: a small banner on the menus, and a full-screen ad between rounds after every fourth finished match. There is never an ad over the playfield while you are flying, and never one in the middle of a duel. Scores, coins and badges stay on the device, and there is no account.
Screenshots
How it plays
- Steer with your thumb — the ship fires on its own, so aiming is pointing.
- Blast asteroids for points and the other ship to take its hull down.
- Shoot a drifting crate to claim it before your rival does.
- Win on points when the clock runs out, or end it early by destroying them.
- Hand a friend the other end of the phone, or pair two devices on the same Wi-Fi with the number on the host’s screen.
Features
- Two players on one phone, each steering from their own half of the screen
- Two devices on the same Wi-Fi, paired with a number and no sign-in
- A head-to-head record, first-to-three matches, and an agreed head start
- No fire button — the ship shoots on its own and steering is the game
- Fifty campaign levels with a boss on every fifth, across five pilots
- Three stars a level: the win, the kill, and doing it untouched
- Endless, Practice, and one duel a day that is the same for everybody
- Crates you shoot to claim: rapid fire, triple shot, piercing bolts, overdrive and a shield
- A hangar where coins earned by playing buy plating, cooling, engines, bolt charge and paint
- No in-app purchases of any kind — the coins cannot be bought and are worth nothing outside the game
- Ten badges, and scores, coins and badges kept on the device with no account
Frequently asked questions
Does Asteroid Duel pay me anything?
No. The coins in it are not money and never become money: you earn them by playing, you spend them in the hangar on your ship, and they convert to nothing and are worth nothing outside the app. That's the opposite of the coins in our reward apps, which are worth a tenth of a cent each and come out as PayPal cash. We're spelling it out because a site that spends its time asking other companies what their currency is worth doesn't get to be vague about its own.
Is it free? What is the catch?
It's free and there are no in-app purchases of any kind — you cannot buy coins, ships, upgrades or anything else. The catch, such as it is, is the advertising: a small banner on the menus, and a full-screen ad between rounds after every fourth finished match. There's never an ad over the playfield while you're flying, and never one in the middle of a duel.
What do I need to run it?
An Android phone or tablet, and a second person if you want the part the game is built around. Two devices need to be on the same Wi-Fi. There's no iPhone version — it's on Google Play only, along with Peel Frenzy.
Do the upgrades make it unfair?
Not against another person, which is the case that matters. None of what you buy in the hangar reaches a two-player duel: those two ships are always identical, whatever either of you has spent. Upgrades apply on the pilot ladder, and the bot buys the same list at the same prices, so what you're up against is always readable. If you want to even out a duel between players of different ages, the head start is the setting for that, and the two of you agree it.
Can two people play on one phone?
Yes, and that's the main event rather than a mode bolted on. Each player steers on their own half of the screen and the two ships face each other along the longer edge, so it works upright or sideways. On the same Wi-Fi you can use two devices instead: one hosts, the other types the number from the host's screen. No accounts, no friend list, no lobby — and the game doesn't send a device name.
Is there an iPhone version?
Not yet. Asteroid Duel is on Google Play only, which makes it one of two things we publish that Android has and iPhone does not — the other is Peel Frenzy. Everything else we make is on both stores now.
Is it suitable for children?
Google Play rates it Everyone with a Mild Fantasy Violence descriptor, which is the only content descriptor on anything we publish and refers to shooting a spaceship. There's nothing to buy, so nothing a child can spend money on. It does carry advertising, including a full-screen ad between rounds after every fourth match, and that's the thing worth knowing before handing a phone over.
Do my coins and badges follow me to a new phone?
No. Scores, coins and badges stay on the device, and there's no account to sign into, so there's nothing to sync and nothing to lose track of. Since the coins are worth nothing outside the game, there's also nothing at stake in that beyond the ship you'd built.
