Earth from space, with cargo ships and satellites streaming out toward the Moon.
English

MoonMan

Save the mine. Save the Moon. Save humanity.

A free one-thumb arcade game. You jump wall to wall up a collapsing Moon mine.

The Moon mine is collapsing and you're the only one who can stop it, so launch off the rock and climb as high as you can before the shaft catches you. You're the last hope for survival.

Play in your browser
  • Download on the App Store
  • Get it on Google Play
  • Free · No ads · No in-app purchases
  • iPhone, Android and the web
  • 14 languages

The story

One MoonMan left at the bottom

In the future, the Moon is mined for moon diamonds, and civilization depends on them for its energy.

The miners who dig out the moon diamonds are the most respected people on Earth. Every city runs on stones that passed through their hands, and they hold on to every one, whatever the Moon throws at them. On Earth they are called Diamond Hands.

Then a meteor hits. The main shaft starts to collapse, and the crew near the top get away in time. Far below, one MoonMan is still hard at work.

If the shaft goes, the Moon loses its hold on its orbit and falls toward Earth. Climb as high as you can, and stay ahead of the collapse.

  1. The Moon in a pale haze, with a bright flash where the meteor strikes.
    A meteor strikes the Moon.
  2. The mine head on the Moon, with a winding tower over the shaft, miners venting clear of the shaft and a shuttle lifting off.
    The crew near the top get away.
  3. The dark shaft rushing past on the way down, with a depth counter reading minus 42,069 metres.
    Far, far down the shaft.
  4. MoonMan swinging an axe on the mine floor, beside a cluster of glowing moon diamonds and an ore cart.
    One MoonMan is still hard at work.

Why the mine runs so deep

Civilization depends on moon diamonds for its energy, so the shaft was dug far down into the Moon to reach them. You'll see them glowing in the rock all the way up.

A short film tells the story before your first run.

How to play

One thumb, anywhere on the screen

Every run starts on the mine floor, and a few seconds later the floor splits. Four moves get you out.

  1. Holding to aim, with the arrow swinging out from MoonMan on a ledge above Venus.

    Hold to aim

    Press and hold anywhere and an arrow swings back and forth. A steep jump climbs higher and a flat one crosses faster. Or turn on Manual aim and slide to set the angle yourself.

  2. MoonMan just after letting go, leaving the wall over Mars.

    Let go to jump

    Release to launch. Your first jump from the floor can go to either wall. After that you leap from wall to wall.

  3. Turning in the air over Saturn, tipped to one side and venting, with the thumb dial pushed to one side at the bottom of the screen.

    Slide to turn

    In the air, hold and slide your thumb left or right to turn. Turning vents air from your suit, so keep it short.

  4. MoonMan landing above Neptune, with boots meeting the rock square on.

    Land feet first

    Get your boots square to the rock before you touch it. Come in crooked or too fast and your suit tears.

On a computer, hold Space or an arrow key. In the air, ← → or A D turn you.

New to it? The training ground on the title screen teaches every move in six short lessons.

Let the game walk you through it

In the shaft

What happens on the way up

Flow and PERFECT landings

Land square and gently for a PERFECT and your flow grows. Flow makes every jump faster, and with enough of it your points count double. A scrappy landing loses most of it, and a torn suit loses the lot.

The collapse

Three seconds after you drop your axe, the floor splits, and falling rock chases you up the shaft, getting faster as you climb. When it gets close, a countdown starts and the edges of the screen burn red. If it catches you, the run is over.

What you'll fly into

  • O2. Refills your air. Air drains while you idle, faster while you vent, and faster again for every tear in your suit.

  • Heart. Seals one tear in your suit.

  • Shield. Absorbs your next hit. You can hold 2, and a charge shows as a bubble around you.

Shaft events

Now and then something happens to the whole shaft. Each event is announced a couple of seconds before it hits.

  • Solar flare. Get to a ledge. The rock gives you shade.
  • Eclipse. Earth blocks the sun. Fly by your helmet lamp and the ring around you.
  • Magnetic storm. Gusts push you across the shaft.
  • Meteor shower. Stay out of the marked lane.
  • Aftershock. Brace. The shaft is about to jolt.
  • MoonMan pushed sideways by a gust in the air above Saturn, under a Magnetic storm warning.
    A magnetic storm pushes you toward the far wall.
  • MoonMan in a narrow stretch of shaft beside a marked lane, under a Meteor shower warning.
    In a meteor shower, the marked lane shows where it will fall.
  • MoonMan on a ledge above Jupiter, with a crack running through the rock overhead.
    Wait too long on a ledge, sooner under an overhang, and the rock above you breaks loose.
  • A marked line across the shaft with a climber's callsign and height on it, and MoonMan in the air below it.
    Your best height is marked across the shaft, and so is the next climber above you. Pass a mark and the game tells you.

The universe

The solar system, behind the shaft

Behind the shaft, the solar system slides past as you climb, with planets drawn from real NASA imagery. Each zone is 100 metres of shaft.

  1. MoonMan on a ledge in the shaft, with Earth below.

    Zone Earth

    Home, and the start of every lap.

  2. MoonMan climbing above the pale cream clouds of Venus.

    Zone Venus

    Wrapped in thick cloud.

  3. MoonMan above the grey, cratered face of Mercury.

    Zone Mercury

    The smallest planet.

  4. MoonMan on the wall above the blazing face of the Sun.

    Zone The Sun

    Our star, up close.

  5. MoonMan above Mars, with a satellite drifting down the shaft.

    Zone Mars

    With its moons Phobos and Deimos.

  6. MoonMan on the wall in the asteroid belt, with distant rocks behind the shaft.

    Zone Asteroid belt

    More rock falls through the shaft here.

  7. MoonMan on the wall above the banded clouds of Jupiter.

    Zone Jupiter

    With Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

  8. MoonMan above Saturn, with its rings across the sky.

    Zone Saturn

    With Titan, Enceladus and Rhea.

  9. MoonMan above the pale blue face of Uranus.

    Zone Uranus

    With Titania, Oberon and Miranda.

  10. MoonMan on the wall above the deep blue clouds of Neptune.

    Zone Neptune

    With Triton, the last zone of a lap.

Laps and score

Every metre you climb scores a point. Past Neptune the shaft runs on, your air refills and 1 tear in your suit is patched. Then the next lap starts over Earth, a little harder, and every lap you finish adds a bigger bonus than the last.

MoonMan flying up the middle of the shaft at speed, light streaking past, with the lap's numbers on a panel above.
Between laps you fly on up the shaft at speed for a few seconds while the lap's numbers come up. Nothing falls and your air holds. It's a moment to rest your thumb.

Shop

Support MoonMan

The game is free with no ads, and the shop keeps it going with shirts, hoodies, hats and more, drawn from the game itself.

See all in the shop

Orders and payment are handled by Fourthwall.

Also in the game

More to know

About

Who made MoonMan

MoonMan is made by Michael Duncan McArthur, who runs 4th Culture, a product strategy and design practice in Toronto. He sketched the first version of the game in 2013 while working at BNOTIONS.

He has spent 27 years shaping digital products. He also builds his own apps and has made electronic music as Gorf since 2003.

Gorf produces, composes and plays electronic music live. Listen at gorfmusic.com.

See more of his work at gorfed.net.

Want to make something with MoonMan? We work with artists, musicians and brands on suits, merch and events. Get in touch

Questions

Good to know

Does it cost anything?

No. The game is free, with no ads and nothing to buy inside it. The MoonMan shop sells real shirts and hats, separately.

Is MoonMan OK for kids?

Yes. It's made for all ages. There's no chat and there are no ads, and players pick a callsign from a list of safe words instead of giving a name or an email.

Is there MoonMan merch?

Yes. The MoonMan shop sells shirts, hoodies, hats and more, drawn from the game itself. It's separate from the game, and buying something there is the best way to support it.

Is there a token, coin or NFT?

No. MoonMan has no token, no coin and no NFT, and it never will.

Do I need an account?

No. You pick a callsign from our word list and your finished runs go on the boards under it, with no email and no password. Signing in with Google or Discord is optional, and all it does is keep your climbs if you change device or reinstall.

When is it coming to my phone?

You can play it on your phone today, in the browser, or get it on the App Store for iPhone and iPad and on Google Play for Android.

Which languages can I play in?

English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Turkish, Indonesian, Arabic and Hindi. The game starts in your device's language, and you can change it in Settings.

What do I need to play?

A phone, tablet or computer with an up-to-date browser. Play with a thumb on a touch screen, or with a mouse or keyboard.

Can I set the angle myself?

Yes. Turn on Manual aim in Settings, then hold and slide your thumb to set the angle. The arrow shows where you'll go. It's quicker than waiting for the swing, and both ways count on the leaderboards.

Is it finished?

It's ready to play, and it keeps growing. Updates come out often, so some things change from time to time.

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