Tank Trouble 2: a duel where your own shell is the most dangerous thing in the maze
Tank Trouble 2 puts two to four tanks into a maze the size of a chessboard and gives each of them a cannon whose shells bounce. That one rule carries the whole game. A shot fired down a corridor comes back along it, a shot fired into a corner sprays out at an angle you did not plan, and a tank that fires three times in a small room has usually killed itself before anyone else gets there. Rounds last ten or twenty seconds, the maze is rebuilt after every kill, and the scoreboard along the bottom keeps count while the Scrapyard tally adds up the wrecks. The single-player mode puts a grey computer tank in the maze with you; the two, three and four-player modes share one keyboard, with the key layout shown before every game so nobody has to memorise it.
This is JPTR's fan-made follow-up to the original Tank Trouble, the 2008 browser game by Mads Purup that is still updated at tanktrouble.com. It keeps the original's feel — same maze walls, same bouncing shells, same Player 1 on the arrows and Player 2 on E, S, D and F — and adds a third and fourth keyboard player, weapon crates with the classic arsenal (gatling gun, laser, death ray, homing missile, RC missile, frag bomb and mines) and a computer opponent for when nobody else is around. The build on tanktrouble.org is the HTML5 version served from this domain, so it loads in a couple of seconds on a school laptop and asks for nothing.
Controls & mechanics
| Action | Control | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Player 1 (green) | Arrow keys, M to fire | Up and down drive, left and right turn on the spot |
| Player 2 (red) | E S D F, Q to fire | Same layout shifted to the left hand |
| Player 3 (blue) | Numpad 8 4 5 6, Numpad 0 to fire | Needs a keyboard with a numeric keypad |
| Player 4 (orange) | I J K L, Y to fire | The fourth seat in a four-player game |
| Start a round | Each player's fire key | On the ready screen; the maze appears when everyone has pressed |
| Sound | Speaker icon and slider | Bottom-left corner of the play area; mute or turn the shell noise down |
Getting more kills than deaths in Tank Trouble 2
- Fire once, then move: A shell lives for a few seconds and bounces the whole time. Two or three shots in a small room fill it with ricochets you cannot dodge, and the Scrapyard counter does not care who fired the shell that killed you.
- Aim at the wall, not the tank: The bounce is a clean mirror off every wall, so a shell fired at a corridor wall at a shallow angle carries around a corner the other tank cannot see round. Long diagonals through the open middle are the best shots in the game.
- Turn on the spot before you drive: Left and right rotate the tank without moving it. Line the barrel up first and then tap forward; driving while turning describes an arc that ends in a wall more often than not.
- Crates are worth a detour, usually: A homing missile or a laser wins the round on its own. A crate on the far side of the maze from you and next to the other tank is bait: they get there first and you arrive in their sights.
Key features
- Up to four at one keyboard: Two, three or four players on a single keyboard with separate key clusters, or one player against a computer tank.
- A new maze every kill: The walls are rebuilt after each round, so nobody learns a layout; the whole game is reading the maze in front of you.
- Seven crate weapons: Gatling gun, laser, death ray, homing missile, RC missile, frag bomb and mines, each used with your normal fire key.
Game info
- Title: Tank Trouble 2
- Developer: JPTR
- Category: Tank Games
- Platform: Web browser (HTML5)
- Players: 1 vs computer, or 2–4 at one keyboard
Pro tip: Keyboards can only register so many keys at once. In a three or four-player game, if a tank stops answering while two other people are holding keys, that is the keyboard, not the game — take turns with the fire keys instead of all leaning on drive at once, or spread the players across the arrows, the numpad and the left-hand cluster so the chords do not collide.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the original Tank Trouble?
No. Tank Trouble 2 is a fan-made sequel by JPTR built in Construct 2, with the same maze-and-ricochet rules as the original by Mads Purup. The original Tank Trouble is a separate game, still live with online play at tanktrouble.com and owned by Tank Trouble ApS.
How many people can play?
One against the computer, or two, three or four people sharing one keyboard. Each player has their own cluster of keys — the arrows, E S D F, the numeric keypad and I J K L — and the game shows the layout before every match.
Why does my own shot keep killing me?
Every shell bounces off every wall until it fades, and a shell does not know who fired it. Fire once, move out of the line it will come back along, and let the other tank make the mistake of filling a small room with ricochets.
What do the crates do?
Driving over a crate swaps your cannon for one weapon: a gatling gun, laser, death ray, homing missile, remote-controlled missile, frag bomb or mines. You use it with the same fire key, and once it is spent you are back to normal shells.
Does it work on a phone or without a numpad?
It is an HTML5 game and loads on a phone, but a shared keyboard is the point of it, so it is best on a laptop or desktop. Two-player games only need the arrows and E S D F; the numeric keypad is only used by the third player, so a laptop without one can still seat three by putting Player 4's I J K L keys to use.
