Tank Duel vs Computer

How to play Tank Duel

Tank Duel is a fast, original arena shooter for one or two players. Two tanks — blue and red — spawn on opposite sides of a walled battlefield dotted with solid blocks. Each tank can drive forward and back, rotate to aim, and fire shells that streak across the arena and ricochet off the walls. Land a shell on your opponent to score a point; the first tank to reach the target score wins the duel. The controls take seconds to learn, but the bouncing shells reward clever angles and quick reflexes, so every round is a mix of aim, movement and a little geometry. Play a friend on the same screen, or take on the computer at three difficulty levels and earn ranking points for every win.

The goal

Score points by hitting the other tank with your shells. Each clean hit is worth one point and instantly respawns the tank that was struck back at its starting corner, briefly protected while it gets its bearings. The first tank to reach the target — five points by default — wins the match and a victory banner appears. There are no lives to lose and no time limit: every round simply resets the two tanks so you can keep trading shots until someone reaches the target.

The arena

The battlefield is a rectangle enclosed by four solid walls, with a central pillar and four smaller blocks arranged symmetrically so neither side has an advantage. Tanks cannot drive through walls or blocks — they slide along them instead — and neither can shells, which bounce off. The blocks double as cover: duck behind one to break the enemy’s line of sight, then pop out to take a shot. Because the layout is symmetric, the battle is always fair no matter which colour you play.

Controls (2 players, same screen)

• Blue tank (left): press W and S to drive forward and back, A and D to rotate left and right, and the Space bar to fire.
• Red tank (right): use the Arrow keys to drive and rotate — Up/Down to move, Left/Right to turn — and the Enter key to fire.
• On a touchscreen, switch on “Touch controls” to show an on-screen stick and a fire button in each bottom corner — drag the stick to steer, tap the button to shoot.
• There is a short cooldown between shots, so you cannot spam shells — time your fire and keep moving to make yourself a hard target.

Shells and bouncing

• A shell leaves the barrel in the direction your tank is facing and travels in a straight line at a constant speed until it hits something.
• When a shell strikes a wall or a block it ricochets, reflecting off the surface like a billiard ball. This lets you bank shots around corners and cover.
• Each shell can only bounce a limited number of times (two) before it fizzles out, and every shell also expires on its own after a few seconds — so a stray shot will not bounce around forever.
• A shell cannot hit the tank that fired it until after it has bounced at least once, so you are safe the instant you shoot — but watch out for your own ricochets coming back at you.

Playing the computer (ranked)

In “Tank Duel vs Computer” you drive the blue tank and the computer drives the red one. Choose one of three difficulty levels before you start. Easy aims loosely, reacts slowly and misses often, so newcomers can win. Normal tracks you more tightly and picks its shots. Expert aims sharply, keeps its distance and rarely wastes a shell. The computer thinks entirely on your device, so it works offline. Beat it to earn ranking points — Easy +10, Normal +30, Expert +100 — and sign in to place your best result on the leaderboard.

Bounce-shot tactics

The bouncing shells are what make Tank Duel special. When an opponent hides behind the central pillar, you rarely have a straight shot — but you can aim at a side wall so the shell rebounds behind their cover and catches them by surprise. Picture the angle before you fire: a shell reflects off a wall at the same angle it arrives, just like light off a mirror, so aim at the point on the wall that lines the rebound up with your target. Corner banks (hitting two walls) are harder to judge but can strike from a completely unexpected direction. Because a shell can bounce twice, a well-planned double bank can loop right around a block. Just remember your own shells become dangerous to you after their first bounce, so do not park in the path of your own trick shot.

Strategy tips

• Keep moving. A tank that sits still is an easy target; strafe and circle so incoming shells sail past, and only stop to line up a shot when it is safe.
• Use the blocks as cover. Break the enemy’s line of sight, reposition, then emerge from an angle they are not aiming at.
• Learn a few reliable bank shots off the side walls. Being able to threaten a hidden opponent forces them to keep moving and opens up direct shots.
• Mind the cooldown. After you fire you are briefly unable to shoot again, so if you miss, be ready to dodge — a good opponent will punish an empty barrel.

Frequently asked questions