Play ZType in Your Browser

ZType background

ZType was made by German developer Dominic Szablewski of PhobosLab and released for web browsers in January 2011. It was built with Impact, the HTML5 and JavaScript game engine that Szablewski also created, and served as an early showcase of what browser games could do without plug-ins. Google later listed it among its Chrome Experiments.

The game was originally hosted on phoboslab.org and now lives at zty.pe. Mobile versions for iOS and Android followed in 2016. Its gameplay is often compared to a cross between Space Invaders and typing tutors such as Mario Teaches Typing.

How to play ZType

Enemy ships descend from the top of the screen toward your ship at the bottom, each labelled with a word. Typing the first letter locks your guns onto that ship, and each correct letter after that fires a shot until the word is complete and the ship is destroyed. Wrong letters do not count, so accuracy keeps you alive. Waves become faster and denser, with longer words and larger ships that split into smaller ones. If a ship reaches you, the game ends, and your final wave, score and accuracy are shown.

1. Open zty.pe and press Play ZType.
2. Watch for the words on the descending ships and pick the closest threat.
3. Type the word letter by letter to fire at that ship until it is destroyed.
4. Keep clearing ships wave by wave; at the end, review your score and accuracy.