Classic arcade · Bricks and bouncesBreakout,
Breakout,
clear every brick.
Steer the paddle, return the ball, knock out the wall. Don't let the ball drop.
- Score
- 0
- Best
- 0
- Level
- 1
- Lives
- 3
ReadyHit start,
Hit start,
clear the bricks.
Arrows / A · D move the paddle · Space launches and pauses · Pointer follows the cursor
Hold the arrow buttons to steer · Tap the canvas or launch to begin
About the gameHow Breakout works,
How Breakout works,
in short.
- Step 01
Brick wall, paddle, ball.
A wall of bricks sits at the top. You control a paddle at the bottom. A ball waits to launch.
- Step 02
Bounce the ball off the paddle.
Move left and right. Hit the centre and the ball goes straight; hit the edge and it ricochets at an angle.
- Step 03
Clear every brick.
Each hit chips a brick. Clear them all to advance — drop the ball below the paddle and lose a life.
Questions
Breakout questions, answered.
Breakout is a classic arcade game from 1976. A ball bounces around the playfield and your job is to bat it back with a paddle, knocking out every brick at the top of the screen. Miss the ball and you lose a life.
Move the paddle along the bottom of the board to keep the ball in play. Each brick the ball hits disappears and earns points. Clear every brick to advance to the next level. Run out of lives and the round ends.
Use the left and right arrow keys (or A and D) to move the paddle. Press Space or Enter to launch the ball at the start of each life, and to pause or resume. On mobile and trackpad, the paddle follows your finger or pointer along the playfield.
Where the ball hits the paddle decides where it goes. A hit in the centre sends the ball almost straight up; a hit near either edge angles it out sharply toward the wall. You can steer with the paddle, not just block.
Easy gives you a wider paddle, a gentler ball, and an extra life. Medium is the standard run. Hard narrows the paddle and speeds the ball up, with only two lives. The ball also picks up a little speed every time you clear a level.
Three on Medium, four on Easy, two on Hard. Lose a life every time the ball falls past the paddle. The paddle and your score carry over between lives; the ball resets on top of the paddle and waits for you to launch it.
Yes. Clear every brick on a level and you advance to the next layout — full wall, checker, pyramid, columns, then back around. Each new level adds a bonus to your score and bumps the ball speed up a little.
Yes. Drag your finger along the board to slide the paddle, and tap once to launch the ball at the start of each life. The board scales to portrait and landscape orientations.
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