GROUND.IO
You are the core, fixed in the center of the screen, and you can't move. Threats close in from every side. Hold anywhere to charge a shockwave and release to blast them. The catch is the wait that follows.
How to Play
Press and hold anywhere on the screen (or hold the mouse button) to start charging. Let go and the core fires a circular shockwave that destroys threats it passes through. The longer you charge, the farther the blast reaches.
Every blast has a cost: after firing, the core needs time to recover before it can charge again. A bigger blast means a longer recovery. Firing too early leaves enemies alive; charging too long leaves you defenseless while the next wave walks in.
Overdrive and Overload
Keep holding past a full charge and the core enters Overdrive. An Overdrive blast scores double points and cracks armored threats in one hit. But Overdrive is a countdown: hold one beat too long and the core Overloads and blows up, ending the run unless a shield saves you.
What It Looks Like
Recorded from the browser game.
Scoring and Shields
- Blast score: each blast adds up the point value of everything it destroyed, then multiplies by the number of kills in that blast. Five kills in one blast is worth far more than five single kills.
- Overdrive: doubles the score of the blast.
- Survival: 5 points for every second alive.
- Shields: destroy 8 threats with a single blast to earn a shield. A shield absorbs one hit from a threat, or saves you from one Overload.
The game over screen shows your time, total destroyed, biggest single blast and how many Overdrives you landed.
The Best Opening: Overdrive Everything
For the first six or seven volleys of a run, until the Rushers appear, fire every blast in Overdrive, even when it only takes out one enemy. Hold past a full charge (about one second) into Overdrive, and let go before a second and a half, when the core Overloads.
- Why it pays: an Overdrive blast scores double, and it reaches farther than a full charge, so it catches more threats at once. Since every blast's score is also multiplied by its number of kills, a wide Overdrive blast is worth far more than a normal one.
- Why it's safe early: Overdrive's cost is recovery. After an Overdrive blast the core needs a second and a half before it can charge again, against well under a second after a normal charge. Before the Rushers show up, threats don't arrive fast enough for that wait to matter.
- When to stop: once the Rushers appear (around 0:15, after six or seven volleys), switch to normal charges and short taps, and keep Overdrive for Shells and big crowds.
Threat Guide
GROUND.IO introduces six threat types over the first 100 seconds. Each has a point value that feeds your blast score.
| Threat | Appears | What it does | How to handle it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawlers | From 0:00 · 10 pts | Walk straight toward the core at a steady pace. The most common threat. | Let several bunch up and take them in one blast for the multiplier. |
| Rushers | From 0:15 · 15 pts | Walk in, stop partway, flash, then dash at the core much faster. | The flash is your warning. Have a charge ready before the dash, or blast while they're stopped. |
| Swarms | From 0:30 · 4 pts each | A tight formation of five small, fast threats. | Low value alone, but five kills in one blast is a big multiplier. Catch the whole formation with one wave. |
| Shells | From 0:50 · 10 / 25 pts | Armored. The first normal blast strips the shell and knocks it back; a second hit destroys it. | An Overdrive blast destroys a shell outright and scores its full 25 points. |
| Forks | From 1:15 · 15 pts | When destroyed, split into three small fragments that home in on the core. | Blast forks from far out so the fragments have a long way to travel, and keep a short charge ready to clean them up. |
| Lurkers | From 1:40 · 20 pts | Circle the edge of the arena, then flash and dive straight at the core. No more than two at once. | Track them while they circle. When one flashes, it's coming. A blast with long reach catches it mid-dive. |
Tips for Longer Runs
- Patience scores. Waiting for threats to bunch up multiplies every blast, but don't wait so long that something reaches the core.
- Learn the Overdrive rhythm. Count the beat from full charge to Overload until you can hit Overdrive without thinking.
- Overdrive early, then save it for Shells. For the first six or seven volleys, until the Rushers appear, Overdrive every blast (see The Best Opening). Later, a normal blast only strips a Shell; Overdrive finishes it in one hit.
- An 8-kill blast earns a shield. If you're shieldless, it's worth holding for a crowd.
- Short taps are a tool. A quick small blast recovers fast and is the right answer to a Fork's fragments or a single Rusher.
- Watch the edges for Lurkers. They're easy to forget while they circle, and they're worth the most points.
FAQ
Does GROUND.IO work with a mouse?
Yes. Hold the left mouse button to charge and release to blast.
Is there a Reduce Motion option?
Yes. The menu has toggles for sound, vibration and Reduce Motion.
Where are my scores saved?
In your browser on your own device. Nothing is sent to a server.