If you grew up tapping trackballs at missile command and you've been hunting an online version that doesn't open into a popup ad, this is it. Signal//Lock is free, opens in any browser, and starts a run the moment the dish loads. No login, no install, no shop.
What carries over from the original
- Defense, not offense. You don't fly anything. You read incoming signals and intercept them before they break through.
- A meter you can lose. The Atari version killed your cities. Signal//Lock raises a phase-saturation meter — let it hit 100% and the dish overloads, same outcome.
- Wave structure. Stages get faster and denser, rule sets shift mid-run, the difficulty curve is the game.
What's different
- A real sweep. Information arrives in waves as the line passes over each contact. You can't see everything at once — you have to anticipate.
- Matched-pair locks. Targets come in colored pairs; locking three of one color in a row triggers a salvo flash that purges the dish.
- Nine rule sets, not three. Vector overflow stacks persistent lines, parachute mode adds wind drift, classified intercepts flip the radar 180°. The dish stays — the rules don't.
How to play (60-second version)
- Open the radar. Sweep starts immediately.
- Tap or click matched pairs as the sweep reveals them. Don't lock everything — lines persist on harder stages.
- Chain three same-color locks for a salvo flash. The flash drops the saturation meter.
- At 85%+ saturation, hunt color streaks only. One purge resets the bar.
Free, no install, works on mobile
Signal//Lock runs in any modern browser — phone, tablet, laptop. Touch and mouse both feel native. A typical run is two to five minutes, designed for the gap between meetings rather than a thirty-minute commitment.
Start a run
Open the radar — go straight into a stage. Or read the full mechanics guide first.
Related pages
- What makes it a radar game — the design rationale.
- All nine stages — every rule set on one page.
- Vector overflow strategy — the densest stage in the game.