spatial · logic · 2–5 minutes
Ignition
Find the key, reach the vehicle, drive out before the wardens reach you.
Start at
> Level 1: Small yards, one warden, one key
No runs yet
How to play
- 01Arrows or WASD move one tile, and Space waits a turn. On a phone, use the pad under the yard.
- 02Every time you move, the rest of the yard moves too. Nothing happens until you act, so take as long as you like to plan.
- 03The orders under the yard say what to find: a key, and from level 21 the fuel as well. Step onto the vehicle holding everything and you drive out.
- 04Walk into a warden to hit it. Walk into a chest or a door to open it; a locked one tells you which key it wants. Walk into a person to talk, which never costs a turn.
- 05Hearts are your health, and a blow takes half a heart. They carry from one yard to the next, so a heart picked up now still counts later.
- 06You have three lives. Losing your last heart costs one and gives you a fresh yard at the same level, with your hearts full again.
- 07Coins from the floor, chests, wardens and cleared yards buy a spear, a bow, arrows or a heart back in the shop. They last for the run and no longer.
- 08Reach level 21, 41, 61 or 81 and future runs can start there.
Levels
- 1–20 · Beginner
- Small yards, one warden, one key
- 21–40 · Focused
- Wider yards, two wardens, and the fuel as well as the key
- 41–60 · Sharp (Plus)
- A locked wall across the yard, a sentry on watch, and the first fires and traps
- 61–80 · Expert (Plus)
- Brutes and sentries, keys guarded or shut in chests, and more traps
- 81+ · Master (Plus)
- The widest yards: a stalker asleep, three keys in a chain, and fire
About
Ignition is a turn-based puzzle about planning a route. You are the last Lamplighter, crossing a hundred walled yards to relight the Beacon at the end of the Long Road. Each yard has one vehicle fuelled for a single stage, a key hidden against thieves, and wardens still following their last order: let no one through.
Every yard is generated fresh. The first ones are a key and a single warden. Later yards are walled in two with a locked door, hide what you need in chests, set traps that open every other turn, and fill up with wardens that chase you, guard a line, or sleep until you come close.
Tips
- > Bumping a wall costs nothing, so it is a free way to turn and look.
- > Floor traps open every other turn. Count your steps and cross while they are shut.
- > A sentry only sees along its own row and column, and not through anything solid. Cross behind cover.
- > A brute moves every other turn, so you can outpace one. You cannot outpace a walker.
- > A bow reaches three tiles. A warden closing on you passes three tiles away and then two, and each is a shot.
- > People in the yard often know where the next thing you need is. Asking costs nothing.
- > Waiting is a move. Let a warden walk past a doorway you want rather than meeting it there.
FAQ
Why can I only see part of the yard?
The window is the reach of your lamp. Yards get wider as you go, so later ones have to be remembered as well as crossed.
What is the difference between hearts and lives?
Hearts are what the yard you are in can still take off you. Lives are how many yards you can lose before the run ends. Losing your last heart costs a life, and the next try starts with full hearts.
Do coins carry over?
Only within a run. They are earned and spent inside the game and gone when the run ends, and they can't be bought.
Can I always reach what a yard asks for?
Yes. Every yard is built so that everything it asks for can be reached. Getting there with hearts to spare is the puzzle.
Is it free?
Yes. Every level is free to play in your browser, with no account and nothing to download.
Can I play on a phone?
Yes. The yard fills the screen while you play, and a pad under it moves you one tile at a time.