Slime Planet Eater

Mission briefing

You are a translucent slime the size of a small animal, and the planet under you is covered in things bigger than you are. Roll over the grass and swallow it. Then the flowers, then the fence, then the sheep that was ignoring you a minute ago. Every bite makes you heavier, and every kilogram of mass moves the edge of what you can eat a little further out. There is nothing to fail. No timers, no enemies, no currency to manage. A building too large to swallow simply pushes back and bends you around it, until it does not. The pleasure is watching the scale of the world turn over: the tree that filled your screen becomes a snack, the car becomes a crumb, the skyscraper becomes the next goal. Clear one planet and the galaxy map opens the next, each with its own look, its own skyline and its own ladder of things to devour. Hats, trails and skins are yours to collect along the way, purely so your slime looks the way you want while it eats a world.

Field manual

Steering is the whole control scheme. On a computer, hold the left mouse button and drag where you want to roll, or use WASD and the arrows. On a phone, touch the screen and drag; the slime follows your finger. Everything else is automatic. Touch something small enough and it is absorbed, your mass rises, the camera pulls back, and larger objects become edible. What is still too big bends you aside instead of blocking you. The gear button opens sound, language and your wardrobe.

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 .io arena operations

• Eat at the edges. The centre of an .io arena is where the giants feed; the rim is where small players grow fat on leftovers nobody bothers to chase.
• Never chase a smaller player in a straight line for long. Every second of pursuit is a second the whole arena can see, and something bigger is always watching the chase instead of the chased.
• Use your size as a rumour, not a shield. The moment you make the leaderboard, you become content for everyone's evening — spend big size on safety, position and patience.

Slime Planet Eater — questions from the ranks

What does it cost to play Slime Planet Eater?

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 Slime Planet Eater?

Slime Planet Eater is filed in our .io Arena 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 Slime Planet Eater 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. Slime Planet Eater 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 .io Arena theatre is one click away — The open arena: 45 .io operations where everyone starts small, the leaderboard is public, and growing bigger only makes you a more interesting target.