Games

Games

Detailed reference for all 11 games in Universal Retro Arcade. Each entry covers: rules, controls, difficulty scaling, scoring, and pro tips.

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1. Snake Evolution

Scene: SnakeScene · Genre: Arcade · Grid: 40×30 tiles (16px each)

Rules

Navigate the snake using directional keys. Eat the red food square to grow the snake and earn 10 points per piece. The game ends on wall collision or self-collision. The snake cannot reverse direction — pressing the opposite of your current heading is ignored.

Controls

Action	Keyboard	Gamepad
Move Up	↑	D-Pad Up
Move Down	↓	D-Pad Down
Move Left	←	D-Pad Left
Move Right	→	D-Pad Right
Restart	Space (on Game Over)	A Button
Back to Lobby	Esc	B / L1

Difficulty Scaling

Difficulty	Move Interval	Notes
Easy	150 ms	Slow, forgiving
Normal	100 ms	Classic arcade speed
Hard	65 ms	Reflex-testing
Expert	40 ms	Near-instantaneous

Scoring

• +10 points per food eaten
• No combo or multiplier system — pure speed and longevity

Tips

• In Expert mode, queue your next turn a cell before the corner to avoid clipping walls.
• Food spawns in a guaranteed empty cell, but the algorithm retries on snake-occupied tiles, so long snakes slightly slow food placement.

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2. Neon Pong

Scene: PongScene · Genre: Sports · Canvas: 640×480

Rules

Classic two-panel Pong. The player controls the left paddle; a CPU-controlled right paddle mirrors the ball's Y position (with AI reaction delay tuned per difficulty). Score a point when the ball passes the opponent's paddle. First to the score limit wins.

Controls

Action	Keyboard	Gamepad
Move Paddle Up	W	Left Stick Up
Move Paddle Down	S	Left Stick Down
Back to Lobby	Esc	B / L1

Difficulty Scaling

Difficulty	Ball Speed	AI Tracking Speed	Notes
Easy	Slow	Sluggish	AI misses frequently
Normal	Medium	Moderate	Fair CPU
Hard	Fast	Aggressive	CPU rarely misses
Expert	Very Fast	Nearly perfect	Human reflex required

Scoring

• +1 per point won
• Ball speed increases slightly with each rally

Tips

• Hit the ball with the edge of the paddle to send it at a steeper angle.
• Aim for corners — the CPU AI has a small deadzone near the edges.

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3. Astro Drift

Scene: AsteroidsScene · Genre: Shooter · Canvas: 640×480

Rules

Pilot a spacecraft and destroy incoming asteroids before they destroy you. The ship uses momentum-based physics — thrust accelerates in the direction you're facing, and friction gradually decays velocity. Asteroids wrap around screen edges. On destruction, large asteroids split into smaller fragments.

Controls

Action	Keyboard	Gamepad
Thrust Forward	W	Left Stick Up
Rotate Left	A	Left Stick Left
Rotate Right	D	Left Stick Right
Fire	Space	Right Trigger / A
Back to Lobby	Esc	B / L1

Difficulty Scaling

Difficulty	Asteroid Speed	Spawn Rate
Easy	Slow, fewer	Low
Normal	Medium	Medium
Hard	Fast	High
Expert	Very fast	Very high

Scoring

• Large asteroid: 20 pts
• Medium asteroid: 50 pts
• Small asteroid: 100 pts

Tips

• Never stop moving — a stationary ship is an easy target.
• When overwhelmed, fly to the edge and use screen-wrap to escape.

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4. Brick Breaker

Scene: BreakoutScene · Genre: Arcade · Canvas: 640×480

Rules

Classic Breakout clone. Control the paddle at the bottom to bounce the ball and destroy the grid of bricks at the top. Some bricks require multiple hits. Letting the ball fall past the paddle ends the game.

Controls

Action	Keyboard	Gamepad
Move Paddle	Mouse X / ← →	Left Stick X
Launch Ball	Space / Click	A Button
Back to Lobby	Esc	B / L1

Difficulty Scaling

Difficulty	Ball Speed	Paddle Width
Easy	Slow	Wide
Normal	Medium	Standard
Hard	Fast	Narrow
Expert	Very fast	Very narrow

Scoring

• Standard brick: 10 pts
• Multi-hit brick (per hit): 25 pts
• All-clear bonus: 500 pts

Tips

• Angle the ball to the sides to catch bricks behind others.
• The ball's reflection angle changes depending on where it hits the paddle — aim for edges to create extreme angles.

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5. Froggie Crosser

Scene: FroggerScene · Genre: Arcade · Canvas: 640×480

Rules

Guide your frog from the bottom of the screen to the safe zone at the top. Cross lanes of fast-moving traffic and then hop across floating logs over a river. Falling into water, being hit by a vehicle, or running out of time ends the game.

Controls

Action	Keyboard	Gamepad
Hop Up	↑	D-Pad Up
Hop Down	↓	D-Pad Down
Hop Left	←	D-Pad Left
Hop Right	→	D-Pad Right
Back to Lobby	Esc	B / L1

Difficulty Scaling

Difficulty	Vehicle Speed	Log Speed	Time Limit
Easy	Slow	Slow	60s
Normal	Medium	Medium	40s
Hard	Fast	Fast	25s
Expert	Very fast	Chaotic	15s

Scoring

• Each successful crossing: 100 pts
• Time bonus (remaining seconds × 5)

Tips

• Memorize lane directions before moving — vehicles in the same row travel the same direction.
• On logs, you move with the log passively. Position yourself to step onto the next log or bank just before the current one exits screen.

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6. Space Defenders

Scene: InvadersScene · Genre: Shooter · Canvas: 640×480

Rules

Classic Space Invaders replica. The alien formation descends row by row, speeding up as their numbers dwindle. Shoot them before they reach the ground. Shields provide temporary cover but degrade with hits.

Controls

Action	Keyboard	Gamepad
Move Left	←	Left Stick / D-Pad Left
Move Right	→	Left Stick / D-Pad Right
Fire	Space	A Button / Right Trigger
Back to Lobby	Esc	B / L1

Difficulty Scaling

Difficulty	Alien Speed	Fire Rate	Starting Rows
Easy	Slow	Rare	3 rows
Normal	Medium	Occasional	4 rows
Hard	Fast	Frequent	5 rows
Expert	Very fast	Constant	5 rows + UFO

Scoring

• Bottom-row alien: 10 pts
• Middle-row alien: 20 pts
• Top-row alien: 30 pts
• UFO (Mystery): 50–300 pts (random)

Tips

• The aliens' march speed accelerates with every kill — prioritize clearing columns, not rows.
• The UFO appears at random intervals on the top edge. Shoot it for large bonus points.

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7. Tetris Pulse

Scene: TetrisScene · Genre: Puzzle · Grid: 10×20 blocks (20px each)

Rules

Classic falling-block puzzle. Tetrominoes (I, O, T, S, Z, J, L) fall from the top. Arrange them to complete horizontal lines, which are cleared for points. The game ends when blocks stack above the top of the grid. A ghost piece (outline) shows where the active piece will land.

Controls

Action	Keyboard	Gamepad
Move Left	←	D-Pad Left
Move Right	→	D-Pad Right
Soft Drop	↓	D-Pad Down
Rotate Clockwise	↑	A Button
Hard Drop	Space	Y Button
Back to Lobby	Esc	B / L1

Difficulty Scaling

Difficulty	Base Drop Interval	Notes
Easy	1000 ms	Leisurely
Normal	800 ms	Standard
Hard	450 ms	Fast
Expert	220 ms	Blink and you lose

The drop interval also decreases dynamically as your score increases: dropInterval = max(100, baseInterval - (score / 10)).

Scoring

Lines Cleared	Points
1 line	100
2 lines	300
3 lines	500
4 lines (Tetris!)	800

A particle burst is emitted on every line clear, and the camera flashes white.

Tips

• Use the ghost piece to plan hard drops precisely.
• Build flat — avoid towers on one side.
• A Tetris (4-line clear) is worth nearly 3× more than 4 singles — keep a column open for the I-piece.

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8. Minesweeper

Scene: MinesweeperScene · Genre: Puzzle · Canvas: 640×480

Rules

Classic Microsoft Minesweeper. Left-click to reveal a cell. Right-click to flag suspected mines. Numbers indicate how many adjacent cells contain mines. Reveal all non-mine cells to win. Revealing a mine ends the game.

Controls

Action	Mouse	Touch
Reveal cell	Left Click	Single Tap
Flag / Unflag	Right Click	Long Press
Back to Lobby	Esc	Back Button

Difficulty Scaling

Difficulty	Grid Size	Mine Count
Easy	9×9	10
Normal	16×16	40
Hard	16×30	99
Expert	20×35	150

Scoring

• Completing the board: base score × time bonus
• Faster completion = higher multiplier

Tips

• The first click is always safe — the board is generated around your first reveal.
• 1-2-1 patterns always indicate a guaranteed safe cell between the 2s.
• Use flagging religiously to avoid accidental clicks in dense mine areas.

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9. Pixel Runner

Scene: RunnerScene · Genre: Endless Runner · Canvas: 640×480

Rules

An endless side-scrolling runner. Your pixel character auto-runs and you must jump over procedurally generated obstacles. The scroll speed increases over time. Missing a jump or colliding with an obstacle ends the run.

Controls

Action	Keyboard	Gamepad	Touch
Jump	Space	A Button	Tap
Double Jump	Space (mid-air)	A Button (mid-air)	Tap (mid-air)
Back to Lobby	Esc	B / L1	Back

Difficulty Scaling

Difficulty	Start Speed	Speed Acceleration	Obstacle Density
Easy	Slow	Gradual	Low
Normal	Medium	Moderate	Medium
Hard	Fast	Steep	High
Expert	Very fast	Rapid	Very high

Scoring

• +1 point per frame survived (effectively distance-based)
• Bonus multiplier for consecutive obstacle clears without touching the ground

Tips

• Use double jump sparingly — reserve it for tall obstacles that appear after shorter ones.
• The game seeds obstacles in patterns; learn the rhythm and jump proactively.

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10. Brave Bird

Scene: BirdScene · Genre: Endless / Reaction · Canvas: 640×480

Rules

Flappy Bird replica. Tap/press to flap and keep the bird aloft between descending pipe pairs. Each pipe gap passed scores a point. Physics are deliberately unforgiving — the bird falls at constant gravity and each flap gives a fixed upward impulse.

Controls

Action	Keyboard	Gamepad	Touch
Flap	Space	A Button	Tap anywhere
Start / Restart	Space	A Button	Tap
Back to Lobby	Esc	B / L1	Back

Difficulty Scaling

Difficulty	Gravity	Flap Strength	Pipe Gap	Pipe Speed
Easy	Low	High	Wide	Slow
Normal	Medium	Medium	Standard	Medium
Hard	High	Low	Narrow	Fast
Expert	Very high	Very low	Very narrow	Fast

Scoring

• +1 per pipe pair successfully passed
• No combo multiplier — pure survival

Tips

• Tap in small, rhythmic bursts rather than holding — there is no hold mechanic.
• The optimal flight path is a gentle sine wave, not a flat line.
• Pipes randomize height each run; memorize the timing of your taps relative to screen center.

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11. Cyber Chasm

Scene: CyberScene · Genre: Pac-Man-style Maze · Tile: 24px · Map: 23×20

Rules

A Pac-Man-inspired maze game with a cyber aesthetic. Navigate the yellow player through a labyrinth collecting cyan data dots (+10 pts each) and magenta power-ups. Three ghost AIs patrol the maze. Collecting a power-up activates Overclock Mode — an 8-second window where ghosts turn blue/translucent and touching them scores +500 pts instead of ending the game. Clearing all dots advances the level.

Controls

Action	Keyboard	Gamepad
Move Up	↑	D-Pad / Left Stick Up
Move Down	↓	D-Pad / Left Stick Down
Move Left	←	D-Pad / Left Stick Left
Move Right	→	D-Pad / Left Stick Right
Back to Lobby	Esc	B / L1

Ghost AI

Ghosts use a bounce-based pathfinding system: they travel in straight lines at constant velocity and randomly select a new direction when blocked by a wall. On Expert mode, ghost speed (210 px/s) exceeds player speed (200 px/s) — you cannot outrun them indefinitely.

Difficulty Scaling

Difficulty	Player Speed	Ghost Speed	Overclock Duration
Easy	200 px/s	80 px/s	8s
Normal	180 px/s	120 px/s	8s
Hard	180 px/s	160 px/s	8s
Expert	200 px/s	210 px/s	8s

Scoring

• Data dot: +10 pts
• Ghost (during Overclock): +500 pts

Tips

• Collect power-ups when ghosts are clustered near you — hunt all three for the maximum 1,500-point haul.
• The maze has a free-passage corridor at row 10 (the 0,0,0,... row in the map array) — use it as an escape route.
• In Expert mode, avoid dead-end corridors entirely.

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