How to play Ash Hole

Ash Hole is a free online bomber game. Drop bombs, blow up bricks, grab power-ups and find the exit before the monsters get you — alone, with a friend on one keyboard, or with up to 8 players online. It runs in the browser on a phone or a computer, with nothing to install.

The goal

Every stage is a maze of solid walls and bricks you can blow up. The exit is hidden under one of the bricks. It opens once every monster on the stage is dead — then walk through it to the next stage.

• You start with 3 lives. Lose one and you come back at your start point with a couple of seconds of safety.
• Each stage has a 5-minute timer. When it runs out, everyone alive loses a life and the timer starts over.
• Your score, lives, bombs and blast range carry over to the next stage. Temporary power-ups don't.
• Don't blast an open exit for fun: it lets out three guard monsters.

Controls

Keyboard

Esc pauses the game, M turns all sound on or off.

Phone and tablet

Turn the phone sideways. Move with the on-screen stick or with arrow buttons — choose in SETTINGS → CONTROLS — and tap the bomb button to drop a bomb. In BUTTON LAYOUT you can drag the stick and the bomb button wherever your thumbs like them. On Android the game asks to go fullscreen; on iPhone, add it to the home screen from the Share menu to play without the browser bars.

Bombs and blasts

• A bomb blows up after a short fuse and sends flames along the row and column, as far as your blast range.
• Flames stop at walls and at the first brick they break. A burning brick stays solid until the flame dies down.
• A bomb is solid. You can step off the one you just dropped, but you can't walk back onto it — and neither can monsters that walk. Drop one in a monster's path to wall it in.
• A blast sets off any bomb it reaches, so bombs chain into one big explosion.
• Flames burn power-ups lying on the floor. Pick them up first.
• Your own blast hurts you. Always know where you will run before you drop a bomb.

Power-ups

Some bricks hide a power-up. Walk over it to take it.

A temporary power-up starts blinking three seconds before it ends, so you have time to step out of a wall.

The ground

• Swamp slows you and walking monsters almost by half. Ghosts fly over it.
• Ice makes you speed up and stop slowly — you slide about a tile further than you meant.
• Lava kills you on the spot (unless you wear armor). Monsters never step into it.

Monsters

There are 20 kinds of monsters, and almost every stage brings a new one. The arcade has five worlds of eight stages. After the last one the stages go on, a little more crowded each lap.

• Mushroom — paces a corridor from end to end. The first and weakest.
• Blob and frog — wander; the frog takes two hits.
• Hunter — finds the shortest way to you.
• Ghost — flies through bricks.
• Gunner and turret — shoot straight down the corridor when you line up with them.
• Bomber — blows up when it dies, taking bombs and neighbours with it.
• Brood — slow, and bursts into three blobs when killed.
• Assassin — chases you and jumps out of a blast zone.
• Hound — speeds up to double speed on a straight run.
• Dragon — a long body; every hit tears off a segment.
• Mortar — keeps its distance and lobs shells over walls.
• Blinker — teleports through walls to get closer to you.
• UFO — a 3×3 saucer that hovers over everything; break all nine parts.
• Shadow — invisible until it is five tiles away.
• Firedrake — a dragon that spits fire through bricks.

Game modes

Arcade — PLAY

PLAY takes you straight into the game: your unfinished run if you have one, otherwise the farthest stage you've unlocked. In MORE → STAGES you can start from any stage you've reached. The first time you play, a short training room teaches the basics by doing.

Co-op

Fight the monsters together. The score is shared; lives and power-ups are your own. Anyone alive can clear the stage, and a teammate who is knocked out comes back on the next stage with one life. The game is over only when everyone is out.

Versus

Bombers fight each other: one life, the last one standing wins the round. A round lasts two minutes, each round is a new map, and the match goes to three wins by default. Monsters can join in as a shared danger if the host wants.

Playing together

• PLAY TOGETHER → ONE SCREEN — co-op or versus for two players on one keyboard.
• PLAY TOGETHER → HOST GAME — an online room for up to 8 players. Share the 4-character room code or the QR code, or make the room public. Choose co-op or versus, the map, the stage and the rules, and fill empty slots with easy or hard bots.
• PLAY TOGETHER → JOIN GAME — pick a room from the public games list or type a friend's code.

My bomber and the map editor

In MORE → MY BOMBER you pick your name and dress up your bomber. In MORE → MAP EDITOR you draw your own stage — bricks, walls, swamp, ice, lava, hidden rooms, monsters, power-ups and the exit — test it, and play it with friends in an online room.

Tips

• Before you drop a bomb, look for a corner to hide behind. Running straight down the same row rarely works.
• Collect bombs and fire early — later stages are much more crowded.
• Monsters that walk can't pass a bomb. Trap the dangerous ones.
• Watch the blinking icons above your bomber: a power-up is about to run out.
• In versus, chain reactions are your friend — and your enemy's.

Questions

Is Ash Hole free?

Yes. The whole game is free and needs no account.

Do I need to download anything?

No. It runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer. Open ashhole.net and play.

How many players can play together?

Up to 8 players online in one room, or two players on one keyboard. Empty online slots can be filled with easy or hard bots.

How do I play with friends online?

Choose PLAY TOGETHER, then HOST GAME. Send your friends the 4-character room code or let them scan the QR code. They choose JOIN GAME and enter the code. You can also make the room public so anyone can join from the public games list.

Is my progress saved?

Yes, in your browser: unlocked stages, an unfinished run, your bomber and your settings. Clearing the site data in your browser resets them.