Night falls over the harbour and the raiders come in formation: darts, orbs, armoured hexagons and fast crossers. You have one patrol craft, a shield and a steady trigger. Clear each wave to bring on the next.
How a night plays out
Each wave flies in along curved paths and settles into a swaying formation near the top of the screen. From there the darts break away and dive at you, the orbs fire straight at your craft, and the armoured hexagons — three hits each — fire a spread of shots. From the second wave on, raiders cross the screen on a weaving path without ever joining the formation.
Destroy every enemy and the next wave arrives, a little larger and bolder. A hit first takes a shield charge; with no charge left it costs a life, and when the last life goes the watch is over. Easy starts with five lives and two charges, Normal with three lives and one charge, Hard with three lives and none.
Destroyed enemies sometimes drop a capsule: spread shot, rapid fire, two shield charges or an extra life. Spread and rapid fire last about twelve seconds.
Controls
On a phone, drag anywhere to steer — the craft follows the movement of your finger — and it fires for as long as your finger is down. If you prefer buttons, switch on the on-screen pad in the game’s settings. With a mouse the craft follows the pointer and fires while you hold the button. On a keyboard, steer with ← → or A and D and hold Space or ↑ to fire. P or Esc pauses at any moment.
Tips for a long watch
- Shoot them on the way in. A group on its entry curve is strung out in a line; park under the end of the curve and you can take half of it before it forms up.
- Take the hexagons apart early. They need three hits and their spread covers a wide strip of water. Left until last, they get the whole sky to themselves.
- A diving dart is worth double. With a shield charge to spare, wait under its path instead of running from it.
- Keep drifting. Orbs aim at where you are, so a slow sideways drift turns many of their shots into misses.
- Mind the bottom third. Shots and divers are the danger; the formation above can wait a second.
- Finish a wave untouched for the no-hit bonus — it grows with the wave number.
Difficulty, records and saves
Harbour Watch has one mode in which the waves keep growing, and three difficulties that change your lives, your shield and how hard the enemies fire. Scores, averages and your top ten are kept per difficulty in this browser, and an unfinished watch is saved when you pause or leave the page.
The numbered nights start from a fixed wave with a fixed composition — useful when one formation keeps catching you out.
FAQ
Is Harbour Watch a copy of an old arcade game?
It belongs to the wave-shooter family, but the enemies, their paths and the look are drawn for this engine: chevrons, rings and hexagons, no borrowed sprites or names.
Are the waves different every game?
In free play each game gets a new seed, so the formations, entry paths and capsules change. The numbered nights and today’s challenge use fixed seeds, so those waves are the same every time.
Why do I keep losing lives at the start of a wave?
The groups fire while they fly in. Stay away from the end of their entry curve until you have the measure of it, and keep moving.
Is it free, and does it need a connection?
It is free with no sign-up. Once the page has loaded, the game runs entirely in your browser.