How to play Cinderpoint

What an arena shooter is

An arena shooter drops a handful of players into a compact map and lets them fight until a score or a clock runs out. In a free-for-all, everyone plays for themselves. When you are eliminated you return a few seconds later at another spot, so a match is a long run of short fights, and the winner is the player who wins more of them than they lose. Seen in first person, it is a game of aim, movement and choosing where to stand.

Playing Cinderpoint on AllFun

AllFun Cinderpoint is an arcade arena shooter in the browser, with sparks and shields instead of blood. Six runners drop in: you and five computer runners at Easy, Standard or Veteran level. Pick a runner and a starting weapon, then an arena: Kiln Yard, Tideworks or Aster Court.

On a phone or tablet the game plays sideways: the left stick moves you, dragging on the right looks around, and the big button fires. On a computer, click the arena to capture the mouse, move with W A S D, aim with the mouse, fire with the left button and aim down the sights with the right. Space jumps, Shift sprints, C crouches, R reloads and E picks up a weapon. More games like it are on our arcade games page.

The rules

Winning a match

Each elimination scores one point. The first runner to 15 wins, or whoever leads when the 2:30 clock runs out.

Health and respawns

Every runner has 100 health. Get caught and you are back three seconds later with a two-second shield that glows blue when it stops a shot.

Weapons

You choose one of five original weapons to start with and always carry a backup. The Rook carbine is balanced, the Flint sidearm precise, the Kestrel compact gun fast at close range, the Morrow marksman rifle has a scope, and the Brim pump gun fires eight pellets up close. Every weapon loses damage over long distances.

Headshots and pickups

A hit to the head does more damage, twice as much with most weapons, and the hitmarker turns gold. An eliminated runner drops their weapon for 40 seconds: press E or tap the prompt to swap, or to take its ammo if you carry the same gun.

Six tips to win more fights

1. Keep the crosshair at head height. Aim where a runner will appear, at the corner or the top of the stairs, not at the floor. Less movement means faster shots.
2. Fire in bursts. The first shots of a burst land tight, and a long spray spreads out. Fire a few rounds, let the crosshair settle, fire again.
3. Stop to shoot far, move to fight close. Moving and jumping make you less accurate; aiming down the sights steadies you. Up close, keep moving so you are harder to hit.
4. Take the high ground. Each arena has stairs up to a raised deck or terrace. From there you see more lanes, and the low walls give cover.
5. Reload behind cover. An empty magazine in the open is the easiest way to lose a fight. Reload after a fight, before the next one.
6. Read the red arc. When you are hit, an arc around the crosshair shows where the shot came from. Turn to it or step out of its line.

Arena shooter FAQ