How to play Overload Reactor

Overload Reactor is a free neon arcade game you play in your browser. You are the reactor's last operator: vent charging cells for power, and never let the core fill up. The longer a cell charges, the more it is worth, and the closer it gets to overloading.

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The goal

Score as many points as you can before the reactor melts down. Cells keep appearing on an 8×8 grid. Every cell you vent scores points and frees space. Every cell you ignore keeps charging until it overloads and spills more cells onto the grid.

The basics

1. Vent a cell by tapping or clicking it. A cell climbs through four charge levels, and each level is worth far more than the last: 10, 25, 60 and 180 points.
2. Grab it at MAX. A fully charged cell holds for a short grace window. Venting it then pays a 2.5× overcharge.
3. Don't let it overload. Miss the grace window and the cell bursts, spawning four new cells around it (six from a Volatile).
4. Catch the blast. Tap a cell in the last instant before it bursts to defuse it for a bonus.
5. Watch the core load. The meter shows how full the grid is. At 80% a meltdown fuse starts: you have 1.5 seconds to vent the core back below 74%, or the run is over.

Swipe to link cells

Swipe across neighbouring cells of the same charge level to vent them in one motion. Every extra cell in the link adds 12% to its value, up to +60% for a long line. Linking works across rows and columns; the Diagonal Routing upgrade lets you link diagonally too.

Combos and Overdrive

Vent cells in quick succession to build a combo. The combo multiplies every cell's points, from ×2 all the way to ×8 (GODLIKE), and resets if you wait too long between vents. Hold the maximum combo and the reactor enters OVERDRIVE.

The Stabilizer

Venting cells charges the Stabilizer. When it is full, press STABILIZE to vent every cell that is at least half charged, including cells about to burst. You only get five Stabilizer uses per run, so save them for the moments that would otherwise end it, such as a core surge.

Special cells

Sectors, surges and protocols

Every run escalates through the reactor's sectors, each with a harder rule:

Watch for the CORE SURGE warning: for a few seconds every cell charges much faster. In Classic, reaching a new sector lets you pick a Reactor Protocol, an upgrade with a trade-off, such as Overclock (faster charging, richer and riskier), Amplifier, Coolant Flush, High Roller or Flow State.

Game modes

• Classic: endless survival. How long can you hold the core?
• Daily: the same board for every player, once a day. Play every day to build a streak and earn titles.
• Weekly: appears after your first Daily, with a rule that changes each week, such as Volatile Surge, No Mercy or Hair Trigger.
• Time Attack: score as much as you can in 60 seconds. Unlocks at the Operator rank.
• Hardcore: one overload and the run is over. Unlocks at Technician.
• Zen: no meltdown and no pressure. Unlocks at Engineer.
• Deep Core: the run you can win. Five depths of 60 seconds, each ending in a Core Anomaly that changes a rule, and each with a power quota to meet. Clear a depth and you draft one of three protocols from a pool of 30, with rarities and three-card synergies. Survive depth 5 to secure the core. Unlocks at Engineer.

Ranks, the Operator Track and the Rig

Every run earns XP, taking you from Trainee through Operator, Technician and Engineer up to Chief Reactor Officer. The same XP climbs the Operator Track: 60 tiers of rewards, including seven colour themes, operator titles, Isotopes, Core Caches and Coolant Reserves. Nothing on the track is sold.

Three new missions arrive each day, and one weekly quest adds up across all your runs that week. Awards come in bronze, silver and gold tiers, and each tier pays XP. A Coolant Reserve covers one missed Daily, so a busy day doesn't break your streak; you can hold three.

Runs also pay Isotopes, which you spend in The Rig on ten permanent parts for Classic. Each one is a trade-off, such as diagonal swipe routing, a one-time emergency purge, or cells that charge faster but pay more at MAX.

Challenge a friend

After a run, press CHALLENGE to share a link. Your friend plays the exact same board, is offered the same Reactor Protocols, and sees the score to beat on screen. Runs with equipped Rig gear or assistance can't create challenges, so every challenge is fair.

Controls

Tips from the control room

1. Let cells ripen. A level 4 cell pays eighteen times a level 1 cell. Venting everything early keeps you safe but scores little.
2. Watch the meter, not the score. When the fuse arms, vent the cheap cells quickly: space on the grid is what pulls the core back below 74%.
3. Deal with Volatiles first. Their blast drops six cells, which is how most meltdowns start.
4. Tap EMPs in crowded corners to buy two seconds where you need them.
5. Swipe long same-level lines for up to +60%, and keep venting to hold the combo.
6. Save the Stabilizer for surges. Five uses go quickly if you spend them on small scares.

Accessibility

The game uses flashing lights and rapid motion. Turn on Reduce motion & flashing in Settings for softer effects. You can also turn on colorblind level marks, play entirely by keyboard, zoom the page, and hear score and danger updates through a screen reader.

Frequently asked questions

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