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Pixel Signal: Score After Dark

Pick the instant, light the sky, pop the lanterns.

Arcade

Pro

Press Space or tap to burst the oldest shell so its sparks pop the lanterns.

A pixel-art night sky over a floating carnival: pink and cyan firework bursts open between paper lanterns and silver balloons, above a deck with a crowd and three mortars.

Arcade

Pixel Signal: Score After Dark

Pick the instant, light the sky, pop the lanterns.

About Pixel Signal: Score After Dark

Pixel Signal: Score After Dark is a one-button fireworks game on a floating carnival at night, drawn in pixel art. Three mortars on the wooden deck fire shells into the dark one after another. Between the shells float paper lanterns, some of them gold, and a few big silver balloons. You never aim a mortar and you never steer a shell. What you choose is the instant to burst the oldest shell in the sky, and that is everything: where the shell is at that moment, and the shape of the burst it carries, decides where the ring of sparks opens.

Sparks pop every lantern they touch, and bounce off the balloons like light off a mirror, so a burst can reach round a corner onto a lantern the ring could never touch directly. Lanterns rise and drift away, so a cluster is worth waiting for, but not for too long: a shell nobody bursts fizzles at the top of its climb, and five fizzles send the crowd home. A burst that pops three or more lanterns pays a cluster bonus, gold lanterns pay triple, and the multiplier climbs with every pop and falls on a fizzle.

A night is five sets, each with its own sky: an opening night, a canopy of lanterns, a tower, twin clouds and the last lights. Get through all five and the Grand Finale fills the sky. Everything is exact, so tonight’s sky is the same for everyone, each night draws one rule such as a sea breeze or a big bang, and your best night is kept as a ghost to chase. Assist shows how many lanterns the oldest shell would pop if you burst it right now.

How to play

  1. Press Space, Enter or the up arrow, click or tap anywhere, or press the on-screen button to burst the oldest shell in the sky.
  2. You cannot aim: the instant you burst the shell decides where the sparks open. Each shell carries its own shape of burst.
  3. Sparks pop the lanterns they touch and bounce off the silver balloons. Three or more in one burst pays a cluster bonus; gold lanterns pay triple.
  4. Lanterns rise and float away. A shell you do not burst fizzles at the top of its climb; five fizzles end the night.
  5. Five sets lead to the Grand Finale. Tonight’s sky is the same for everyone.

Controls

  • Space, Enter, the up arrow, W, a click or tap anywhere, the pad’s A button, or the on-screen button — burst the oldest shell
  • P, Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

How do I aim the fireworks?

You do not. The mortars fire by themselves and the shells fly on their own. You press to burst the oldest shell in the sky, and the moment you choose decides where the sparks open and what they reach.

What do the silver balloons do?

They are mirrors. Sparks that hit a balloon bounce off it, so a burst on one side can reach lanterns on the other. Balloons never pop and never score.

What is a fizzle?

A shell that reaches the top of its climb without being burst. Each one costs a fizzle and steps the multiplier back. Five fizzles end the night.

Why do the lanterns float away?

Lanterns rise from the deck and drift off the top of the sky, so a cluster will not wait for ever. Pop them while they are in reach.

Can I slow it down?

Yes. In Settings, Pace: Relaxed runs the whole game at three-quarter speed, and Assist shows how many lanterns the oldest shell would pop if you burst it right now.

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