How to play Lunar Lander

Play Lunar Lander free in your browser on GamesArsenal.com. A retro vector physics lander — crater descent, thrust and rotate, soft landing on green pads. Keyboard or touch, no download.

Genre
Arcade
Mechanic
Vector lander
Controls
Keyboard / Touch
Developer
GamesArsenal
Platform
HTML5 browser — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Chromebook
Price
Free, no download, no account

Controls

How to control Lunar Lander
ActionKeyboard / mouseTouch
Rotate Left / Right or A / D Left / right pads
Main engine Up, W, or Space THRUST pad (slide for power)
Pause P Pause in HUD
Mute M Mute in HUD
Retry crash R or Enter Tap retry

On a desktop, Left and Right (or A and D) fire RCS thrusters to rotate. Up, W, or Space lights the main engine. Space is thrust during a descent; after you leave a screen (menu, crash, landing) it will not latch on, so a held key does not dump you into the next sector. P pauses, M mutes, Escape returns to the menu. R or Enter retries a crash. On a phone, the left and right pads rotate and the THRUST pad on the right is analog — slide up and down for power. After a crash, TAP / R retries the same sector; WATCH AD TO CONTINUE respawns that attempt with score intact and a brief grace. A full new campaign from the menu zeros the score.

Strategy and tips

Kill horizontal drift before you worry about vertical speed. Come in with a little fuel in the tank — the fuel bonus is free score if you already have the pad. Keep pitch inside seven degrees before the last ten meters; you cannot yaw out of a bad attitude after both struts kiss. On cratered and cave sectors, do not chase the high-multiplier pad if the approach is a ceiling. Continues are for a personal-best campaign, not every hull impact. Sectors are the trophy; leftover fuel is how greedy you were on the way down.

Why this cabinet exists

Vector landers taught a generation that gravity is the enemy and a flat pad is a rumor. This cabinet uses a locked 1600-by-900 (16:9) field: six crater-descent sectors, wind, fuel, and a hull that will not forgive a 1.6 m/s drop. Soft landing limits are 1.5 m/s vertical, 0.75 m/s horizontal, and pitch within ±7°. Both gear struts must plant on a green pad. Pads pay a multiplier, an accuracy bonus if you nail the center, and leftover fuel. Later sectors add craters, highland ridges, overhangs, and caves. The file is self-contained so GamesArsenal can iframe it without a build step.

Questions players ask

How do you control Lunar Lander?
On desktop, Rotate: Left / Right or A / D; Main engine: Up, W, or Space; Pause: P. Touch and Chromebook keyboards use the same actions. No app download.
Does Lunar Lander work on mobile?
Yes. Lunar Lander runs in iOS Safari and Android Chrome as an HTML5 page. No app download.
Does Lunar Lander work on a Chromebook or at school?
Yes. Lunar Lander is a single HTML5 file. If the network allows HTTPS to gamesarsenal.com, it plays unblocked with no VPN or proxy.
Is Lunar Lander free with no download?
Yes. Play Lunar Lander in the browser on GamesArsenal.com. No installer, no account, no app store.
How do you get a high score in Lunar Lander?
Kill horizontal drift before you worry about vertical speed.