Tempest
Skim the rim of the well and blast the climbers before they reach you.
How to play Tempest
Your claw rides the near rim of a geometric well split into lanes. Move it around the rim with the left and right arrows (or the d-pad) and press Space to fire straight down the lane you are on. Enemies crawl up the lanes from the depths — shoot each one before it reaches the rim, because any that arrive (or collide with you) cost a life. Clear every enemy to advance to the next, faster level. Each level you also get one Z superzapper that wipes every enemy currently in the well. You have three lives.
Thinking in lanes, not in space
Tempest does not play like other shooters, because you cannot fly anywhere. You are pinned to the rim of a geometric well, sliding left and right around its edge with the arrow keys or the d-pad, while everything nasty climbs up toward you from the depths. Your claw fires straight down whichever lane it is sitting on (Space to shoot), so the game becomes a constant question of which lane needs you most, right now. New players read the well as one big space and get overwhelmed. Experienced players read it as a row of separate corridors and check them the way a lifeguard scans a pool: quick sweeps, no staring.
Triage by height
The danger is always the enemy nearest the top. Something crawling up a distant lane can wait. Something about to crest the rim two segments over cannot, because anything that reaches your edge, or that you slide into, costs a life, and you only get three. So rank targets by height, not by count. A lane holding four enemies still deep in the well is less urgent than one enemy a moment from arriving. Say the well shows three climbers at mid-depth on your left and a single one nearly at the rim on your right: go right, kill it, then swing back with time to spare. Reverse that order and you will clear the left lane while losing a life on the right. The math of the game is brutal but simple. Height is time, and the enemy highest in the well owns yours.
Staying alive
- Keep moving. Parking in one lane lets the others fill unchecked, while a steady sweep around the rim keeps every lane honest.
- Fire down a lane before you commit to sitting in it, so you are not sliding straight onto something climbing up to meet you. A shot ahead of your movement is a free safety check.
- Hold the superzapper for a real emergency. You get one Z per level, it clears the whole well, and its entire value is the disaster it cancels. Spend it when two or three enemies crest at once, never to tidy up a lane you could shoot.
- After clearing a hot lane, glance at the whole rim before picking the next target. Tunnel vision on one corridor is how the quiet lane behind you gets you.
A note on sweep discipline: pick a direction and keep circulating that way, breaking the pattern only for a genuine cresting emergency. Constant direction reversals feel responsive, but they waste time re-covering lanes you just cleaned while the far side of the well quietly fills up. And don't hoard the superzapper across levels, because it resets every wave. An unused zapper at the moment you clear the well is simply gone, so if the last enemy of a level has you cornered, spend it without guilt. The only bad zapper is the one that expires in your pocket while you lose a life being thrifty.
Born from a nightmare
Tempest came out of Atari in 1981, designed by Dave Theurer, the same designer who made Missile Command the year before. It started as an attempt at a first-person Space Invaders, but Theurer has said the shape of the final game came from a nightmare about monsters crawling out of a hole in the ground toward him, which is exactly what the well is. The original cabinet was a landmark: Atari's first colour vector game, all glowing geometric lines drawn by an electron beam, with a spinner knob that whipped the claw around the rim. Its enemy roster became famous on its own, Flippers cartwheeling up the lanes, Tankers splitting in two, Spikers leaving deadly trails, and the Superzapper name comes straight from that machine. Tempest also let players start at a higher level for bigger points, an early version of a difficulty select. This version strips the formula to its core: lanes, climbers, one claw, and each cleared wave hands you a faster, meaner well. The same enemies that felt manageable a minute ago start cresting before you can swing round, and the real skill was never the shooting. It is the triage, that endless snap decision about which lane to save and which to gamble on for one more second.
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Tempest: frequently asked questions
How do you play Tempest?
Move your claw around the rim of the well to the lane an enemy is climbing, then fire down that lane to destroy it. Stop every enemy before it reaches the rim, and clear the well to move to the next level.
What is the superzapper?
Once per level you can press Z (or the down button on the d-pad) to fire the superzapper, which instantly clears every enemy currently in the well. Save it for when the lanes get crowded.
How do I score points?
You earn points for every enemy you shoot, plus a bonus for clearing each level. Higher levels are worth more per kill, so surviving deeper drives your score up.
Is Tempest free to play?
Yes — Tempest is completely free on Inkplay, with no download and no sign-up. It runs right in your browser on desktop or mobile.
How does my shooter move in Tempest?
It rides the near rim of the well and slides left or right around the edge from lane to lane. You cannot move into the middle; you fire straight down whichever lane you are currently sitting on.
What is the superzapper?
A once-per-level emergency weapon, triggered with Z, that wipes out every enemy currently in the well. Since you only get one per level, save it for the moment several enemies are about to reach the rim at the same time.
What kills me?
Any enemy that climbs all the way to the rim, or that you slide into while moving around the edge. Each mistake costs one of your three lives, so the enemy nearest the top is always your first priority.
How do the levels change?
Clearing every enemy in the well advances you to the next level, which is faster and tougher. That rising speed is the main challenge, since enemies start cresting the rim quicker than you can comfortably react.
Which enemy should I shoot first?
The one closest to the rim, no matter which lane it is in. A lane packed with enemies still low in the well is less urgent than a single one about to reach your edge.
Who made the original Tempest?
Dave Theurer at Atari, released in 1981, a year after his Missile Command. He said the design grew out of a nightmare about monsters climbing out of a hole, and the cabinet was Atari's first colour vector game, drawn in glowing geometric lines.
Is Tempest free to play?
Yes. Tempest is completely free on Inkplay, with no download, no sign-up, and no in-game purchases. Open the page and play instantly on desktop or mobile.
Can I play Tempest unblocked?
Yes. Tempest runs entirely in your browser with no download, install, or plugins, so it loads instantly and keeps working even on school or work networks where bigger game sites get blocked.
More games to play
In the mood for more? Try Snake, Breakout, Pong, Blocks, or browse all arcade games and the full games list on Inkplay. Tempest also appears in Retro Games.