Cube Rivals

Mission briefing

Cube Rivals is a fast arena shooter for everyone. Pick your loadout - an assault rifle, SMG, shotgun, sniper, burst rifle, LMG, rocket launcher or crossbow, a pistol, revolver, hand cannon or throwing knives, a knife, bat, katana or hammer - and a gadget like a frag grenade, landmine, med kit, barrier, smoke bomb or jump boost. Then jump into a lobby, vote for the map and fight. Movement is the heart of the game: sprint-speed running, high jumps, a dash with a short cooldown and a slide that keeps your momentum. Headshots deal extra damage, melee hits from behind are devastating, rockets launch you into the air and your health regenerates when you stop taking damage. Four modes: Team Deathmatch (4v4, first team to 50), Free For All (8 players, first to 25), 1v1 Duel and Gun Game (15 weapons, finish with the knife). Three colourful maps: Sunset Yard, Frost Lab and Neon Docks. Every match pays coins and XP - unlock weapons, hats, visors and weapon wraps, level up, grab the daily gift and climb the eliminations leaderboard. Real online matches: press Play and you are matched with other players who are online right now. Lobbies fill instantly: if no one is around, skilled bots with their own names, levels and loadouts jump in, so there is always a match ready, and real players can join a running match at any time and take a bot's place. Play with mouse and keyboard or on your phone with a floating joystick and auto-fire.

Field manual

Desktop: WASD to move, mouse to look, left click to shoot, right click to aim, Space to jump, Shift to dash, Ctrl or C while running to slide, 1 / 2 / 3 to switch weapons, Q for the last weapon, G for your gadget, R to reload, Tab for the scoreboard, Esc to pause. Mobile: the left side of the screen is a floating joystick, drag on the right side to look, tap the big button to shoot (or enable auto-fire in the settings), plus buttons for jump, dash, crouch, aim, reload, weapon swap and gadget. Eliminate rivals to score. Health regenerates after a few seconds without damage. Aim for the head, use cover, dash to dodge and throw your gadget at groups.

Launch orders: press Launch mission above and the game loads on this page itself — nothing downloads and no form stands between you and the first move. It is designed for a flexible screen and takes its orders from mouse, keyboard or touch, depending on the mission. It adapts to both upright and wide screens, so phones, tablets and desktops all frame it sensibly. If it offers a fullscreen control, use it — a fight this size deserves the whole screen.

Field notes for shooting operations

• Short bursts beat long ones. Recoil, spread and plain panic all grow the longer you hold the trigger; three controlled shots land where one long spray writes poetry on the wall behind your target.
• Reload behind something. The reload animation is the most dangerous second in any shooter — spend it behind cover, mid-jump, or not at all if the magazine still has work in it.
• Sound is intelligence. Footsteps, reload clicks and distant fire tell you where the fight is before the screen does; play with the volume up and treat every noise as a map marker.

Cube Rivals — questions from the ranks

What does it cost to play Cube Rivals?

Nothing at all. The mission is free from the first order to the last — no sign-up, no download, no paid tier guarding the good levels. The advertising around this page is what keeps the board free.

What sort of mission is Cube Rivals?

Cube Rivals is filed in our Shooting theatre. Like every operation on this board, it is a browser game — read the briefing above for the publisher's own account of what you are deploying into.

Can I run Cube Rivals on a phone or tablet?

Yes. It plays in the browser on phones and tablets exactly as it does on a computer. It adapts to both upright and wide screens, so phones, tablets and desktops all frame it sensibly.

Do I have to install anything before playing?

No installation of any kind. Cube Rivals is an HTML5 game: press the launch button and it loads on this page, and closing the tab leaves nothing behind.

After-action

Mission complete, or still pinned down? The full Shooting theatre is one click away — Trigger discipline optional, aim compulsory. Two hundred and thirty-one shooting operations, from arcade galleries to full online firefights, posted in roster order — the strongest files first.