Ricoshield

Mission briefing

You have no weapon. You have a guard that orbits your core — and everything attacking you is also your only ammunition. Catch an enemy on your guard and it becomes a bolt fired straight back out, tearing through whatever is behind it. Catch it dead centre, on the white sweet-spot, and you get a PERFECT: a bigger bolt, double combo, and the world slows while the chain reaction plays out. The catch is that your ammo supply is the thing killing you. Clear the screen and you have nothing left to shoot with. Let it fill up and one missed angle ends the run. Armoured enemies can't be blocked at all — the only way to kill them is a ricochet, so you have to keep threats alive on purpose. Every 20 seconds you pick one of three upgrades from a pool of seventeen. Every fourth wave a Crucible ring surrounds the arena, and its armour nodes can only be reached by ricochet. Shards from every run unlock six cores that play as genuinely different games, plus three permanent perks. Every run is ranked. Your ten best are kept side by side so you can see exactly which one you have to beat, and where the platform supports it your score goes onto the global board too. A seeded daily challenge sets a new rule every day — the same seed for every player — and a streak counter rewards coming back for it. Runs last a couple of minutes. Restarting takes one tap.

Field manual

Move your mouse or drag your finger to aim the guard around your core — it follows the angle of your pointer, so you can hold your thumb anywhere on the screen. Catch incoming enemies on the guard to deflect them. A deflected enemy becomes a bolt that flies outward and destroys anything it hits. The white tip in the centre of the guard is the PERFECT zone. Time a deflect there for a stronger bolt and double combo. Red armoured enemies bounce off your guard and cannot be deflected — kill them with a ricochet from another enemy instead. Keep your combo alive for a bigger score multiplier. You have three core plates; lose them all and the run ends. Every run is ranked when it ends. Open RANKS from the game over screen or the pause menu to see the global board and your own ten best runs — the one you just finished is highlighted, so you always know which score to beat next. Keyboard: A/D, Q/D or arrow keys to turn. 1/2/3 to pick upgrades. Space to restart. Esc to pause.

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.

Ricoshield — questions from the ranks

What does it cost to play Ricoshield?

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 Ricoshield?

Ricoshield 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 Ricoshield 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. Ricoshield 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.