At the start of every game, you are in control of the yellow light-cycle and your opponents are three other light-cycles, red; blue and silver, controlled by the program. Just as in the movie, all cycles trail a coloured light beam behind them as they progress throughout the oblong arena via sheer ninety-degree left and right turns, with the object of the game being to force opponents into either a light trail, or any of the arena walls. Unlike in the movie, however, you cannot escape the arena via a ‘hole-in-the wall‘. You must battle it out within the same confine right to the end of the round; that is, until either all the program controlled cycles or your cycle has crashed.

All cycles have a default starting speed, whether continuing strait ahead or turning, although this is slightly higher or faster for the ‘bots’ than for the one you command. Some dispute this, arguing that the default speeds are the same for all cycles, although I am convinced after some years of playing GLtron, that the former is true. I could be wrong… This situation changes, should you come within attack-range of the bots, that will suddenly accelerate as they attempt to cut you off or box you in, in an effort to force you to crash, but it is not entirely one-sided.

The program has various options that you can select from, including a ‘booster’ command for which you can assign any key on the keyboard. Pressing this key at any time during the round, will enable your cycle to go much faster than any of the bot cycles, which should enable you to even the odds if your overall strategy is sound, however, it takes a few moments for the booster-phase to reach maximum, and the duration is not that long. After a short while, it doesn’t matter how much you press the assigned key, your light-cycle will not accelerate any further beyond the default speed. Simply wait a short while, and then you can use the booster again. It is down to you and your timing, as to when you should use it. The bot cycles can of course accelerate when ever they want…

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