Back to the Moon

Player notes

About this game

Back to the Moon puts you in charge of a small rescue module. Automated mining posts have stopped responding to their operators, and a retired rescue pilot is called back to bring the trapped teams home. Each trip takes you from the mothership to a landing base on the surface and back. The original instructions specify rescuing the operators one at a time.

Choose New Game and let the destination sequence finish. Down begins the landing operation, separating the module from the mothership. Up fires the rocket to slow a fall or climb; release it to descend. Left and Right move the module sideways. Use the prepared landing bases: the game's help warns that touching the bare surface lets debris enter the reactor and destroys the craft. Approach both the bases and the mothership gently, because excessive speed costs energy.

Fuel and energy are separate resources. Without fuel, the rocket cannot arrest your fall; without energy, the protective field fails. The module begins without ammunition and can use supplies brought aboard by rescued operators. The original controls assign Ctrl to the gun and Space to the Supernova Bomb. Start by practicing descent and braking before trying to fight nearby ships. P pauses the action, while Escape opens the mission-abort confirmation. The packaged README identifies its documentation as version 1.1, May 1997. This guide covers the opening rescue scene and its built-in instructions; completing a rescue and restoring a saved game across browser sessions have not been verified.