Lighthouse Keepers, free in your browser
Two lighthouses stand on opposite headlands of a rocky harbour, and their keepers have fallen out. Each has a line-throwing gun on the gallery and a pile of iron shot, and each means to put out the other's light. Take turns to set an angle and a power, allow for the wind, and lob a shot over the water. The first keeper to smash the other's lantern wins the round.
It's an artillery game: a duel of arcs and guesswork where every miss tells you something. Play against the computer at three levels, or against a friend on the same screen. There's nothing to install and no account to create, and your match is saved on this device as you play.
How to play
- Set your angle: 0° fires flat, 90° straight up.
- Set your power, from 1 to 100. More power throws the shot further.
- Check the wind above the harbour. It pushes every shot sideways for as long as it's in the air.
- Press Fire, watch where the shot lands, and adjust. Your last shot stays on the picture as a dotted trail.
- Hit the other lantern, the glass room at the very top of the tower, to win the round. The stone tower below it shrugs off a hit.
The first to smash three lanterns (or five, if you choose) wins the match. Every round brings a new harbour and a new wind. The full rules are on the how to play page.
Three computer keepers
The computer works out its shot the way you would, then makes mistakes, and it learns from each miss. Easy is wild at first and slow to settle. Normal closes in within a few shots. Hard often needs only one or two, so you'll have to be quick. Fancy a challenge? Take on the Hard keeper.
Want to get better?
The strategy guide explains how to bracket a target, read the wind, and choose between a low, fast shot and a high lob over the sea stacks. Curious about the real keepers and their guns? Read about the game.