Raft Wars: the shooting game where the aim is the whole game
Raft Wars began in 2007 as a Flash game by Martijn Kunst and became one of the most-played artillery games of that era; the version on raftwars.org is the HTML5 remake his studio TinyDobbins built when Flash went away, so it plays on a phone and a Chromebook without a plugin. The set-up is a comic strip: Simon, a toddler, digs up a chest of gold and diamonds on the beach, buries it again with his older brother, and immediately finds out that a beach full of security guards, pirates, vikings and other opportunists would like it for themselves. Every level after that is the same argument settled the same way: two rafts on the water, one shot each per turn, and the side that is still floating at the end keeps the treasure.
The mechanics are simple enough to understand in one turn and deep enough to keep the tenth level hard. You drag to set an angle and a power, release, and watch the arc. Tennis balls are free and bounce off whatever they hit; grenades cost money and blast anyone standing near where they land; rockets cost more and fly flatter with a bigger explosion. Enemies have health bars, and a fighter whose bar runs out drops into the sea, which is also what happens to your brother if you get careless. Between levels a shop sells ammunition and a sturdier raft, and the money for it comes from winning, so an economical shot with a free ball is worth more than a rocket that misses.
Controls & mechanics
| Action | Control | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Aim and fire | Press, drag, release (mouse or touch) | Drag direction is the angle, drag length is the power; the shot leaves when you let go |
| Change weapon | Click the tennis ball, grenade or rocket icon | Tennis balls are unlimited; grenades and rockets use the stock you bought in the shop |
| Shop | Click the items between levels | Spend the level payout on grenades, rockets or raft upgrades before the next fight |
| Sound, music, settings | Icons in the top-right of the title screen | The flag in the top-left switches the game's text between ten languages |
How to stop missing in Raft Wars
- Learn one power, then only change the angle: The shot is two variables, and beginners change both at once, so they never find out what went wrong. Pick a drag length you can repeat, fire, and adjust only the angle until the arc lands on the raft. Once that lands, the same drag reaches the same spot every turn.
- Hit the raft, not the water: A ball that splashes next to an enemy does nothing. A ball that hits the raft under their feet still shoves them and can tip the ones standing at the edge. When the direct hit is hard, aim for the deck.
- Grenades for groups, rockets for the tough one: A grenade's blast covers a patch of raft, so it is the weapon for two enemies standing together. A rocket does the most damage to whatever it lands on, so save it for the one attacker with the deepest health bar rather than the first one you see.
- Kill order matters: Enemies fire back one at a time, and the ones with heavy weapons hurt more than the ones with balls. Knock the heavy hitter off first even if a weaker one is closer to the edge; the damage you avoid over the next three turns is worth more than the quick kill.
Key features
- Ten levels of raft battles: Each level puts a new group of treasure hunters on the water, from beach security through pirates and vikings, and the rafts and weapons on the other side get stronger as you go.
- Three weapons, one shot each: Unlimited tennis balls, plus grenades with a blast radius and rockets with a heavier hit, chosen per shot.
- A shop between fights: Winnings buy ammunition and raft upgrades, so a cheap win funds the next level.
- The HTML5 remake: TinyDobbins' own rebuild of the 2007 Flash game, with touch controls, ten languages and the original comic-strip story.
Game info
- Title: Raft Wars
- Developer: TinyDobbins (Martijn Kunst)
- Category: Artillery Battles
- Platform: Web browser (HTML5)
- Turns: One shot per character, then the enemy raft fires
Pro tip: The enemy's aim is not random: once they have your range they keep it, and the same shot lands on the same brother every turn. When one of your two characters is low, kill the enemy who is hitting him before you do anything else; the raft only loses when both of you are in the water, so keeping the second man dry is a spare life.
Frequently asked questions
What is Raft Wars?
A turn-based artillery game by Martijn Kunst, first released in 2007 and remade in HTML5 by his studio TinyDobbins. You play Simon, a toddler defending a buried treasure from a raft, firing tennis balls, grenades and rockets at the rafts that come to take it. There are ten levels and a shop between them.
How do I aim?
Press on the screen and drag. The direction of the drag is the angle of the shot and the length is its power; release to fire. It works the same with a mouse or a finger.
How do I get grenades and rockets?
From the shop between levels. Each win pays out money, and the shop sells grenades, rockets and raft upgrades. Tennis balls are always free, so the paid ammo is for the enemies a ball will not shift.
Is this the original Flash game?
It is the official HTML5 remake of it, built by the original developer, served from this site. It plays the same ten levels and the same comic-strip story without Flash or Ruffle, so it works on phones and Chromebooks.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, in landscape. The aim-by-drag control was designed for touch, and the game asks you to turn the phone sideways if it is held upright.