Tank Trouble
The play area for this title is reserved and awaiting a licensed embed.
Tank Trouble
Tank Trouble is the purest local multiplayer game on the browser: two tanks, a maze, and shells that ricochet off every surface until they hit something. The something is usually you.
| Category | 2 Player Games |
|---|---|
| Players | 2 players |
| Developer | Jori Zijlmans |
| Released | 2012 |
| Controls | Shared keyboard |
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Typical session | 2 – 15 min |
| Price | Free |
How to play Tank Trouble
These are the controls for the browser version. Click into the game area once before you start so the game has keyboard focus.
Tank Trouble tips and strategy
- Aim at walls, not at tanks. Banked shots are the entire skill ceiling of this game.
- Fire and move immediately. Standing still after shooting makes you an easy target for your own ricochet.
- Use long corridors as escape routes, and avoid fighting in corners where the bounce angles are short and unpredictable.
- Count your opponent's shots. Listening for the shell tells you roughly where they are and when they are reloading.
- In a maze with open sightlines, width beats speed. Keeping distance gives you time to react to a banked shot.
About Tank Trouble
Each player drives a small tank around a maze with a single exit hole. Fire, and the shell bounces off walls indefinitely until it hits a tank. Because it never simply disappears, every shot you take carries the risk of coming back around and killing you ten seconds later.
The maps are larger than they look from a screenshot, and they are designed so that almost every position has at least one long sightline. That means camping is rarely safe and the game has a constant, low-level tension even when nothing is happening.
It supports more than two players in later versions, and there is an AI opponent mode for solo play. But the two-player version on one keyboard is the definitive one — it is the setup that made the game famous.
Tank Trouble: frequently asked questions
Is Tank Trouble free to play?
Yes. Tank Trouble is free in the browser with no download, account or payment.
How many players does Tank Trouble support?
The classic two-player mode shares one keyboard. Later versions support up to four local players, and there is also an AI opponent for solo matches.
What are the Tank Trouble controls?
Player one uses W A S D and player two uses the arrow keys. Each player has a separate fire key, and the game displays the exact binding on the start menu.
Can you play Tank Trouble on a phone?
The two-player shared-keyboard mode needs a computer. Some versions offer touch controls, but the game was designed around a single keyboard.