A space typing game where every letter is a laser
Keystroid is a free space typing game you play right in your browser. Your starfighter guards a planet from space rocks, icy comets and goofy alien saucers, and every one of them carries a word. Type the word: your ship turns toward it and every letter you press fires a laser that carries that letter, and the last one blows the target to pieces.
It's an asteroid typing game and a typing shooter in one. The first letter you type picks your target, so you decide what to blast first. Comets are fast and carry short words, Big Boulders split into two pebbles, Bubble Ships need two words (pop the bubble first), and zoomers dash forward in bursts. The aliens are prankster Blorbs: zap a saucer and its little pilot floats away in a bubble, giggling. Every fourth level the Blorbs' Mothership arrives with a whole sentence to type, one word at a time.
Here's the twist: between waves you pick an upgrade for your ship by typing its word. Twin lasers, a slow field, a helper drone that zaps rocks for you, shield boosts and shock pulses all stack up, so every run plays a little differently. Type the word on a glowing pod to slow time, set off a nova blast or fix your shield.
The 20 levels take you to five planets with their own sky: Bluebell the ocean world, Sunny Dunes, icy Glacia, the lava world Ember and the ringed giant Ringo. Easy words come first, then longer words, then capital letters and punctuation. Play endless mode for a high score, or the daily mission with the same rocks for everyone. After every game you see your words per minute (WPM), your accuracy, your best combo and the keys you missed. Keystroid is free, there's nothing to download, and it runs on school Chromebooks.
Ship upgrades between waves
When you clear a wave, three upgrade cards appear. Type the word on a card to fit that upgrade to your ship for the rest of the level (in endless mode, for the whole run). Some upgrades can be picked more than once.
| Type | Upgrade | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| armor | Shield Boost | +2 shield, and your shield gets 2 bigger |
| twin | Twin Lasers | Every word also knocks the next enemy back |
| chill | Slow Field | Every enemy flies 15% slower |
| drone | Helper Drone | Zaps a small rock for you every few perfect words |
| boost | Combo Booster | Combos level up twice as fast |
| repair | Repair Bots | +1 shield now and after every wave |
| pulse | Shock Pulse | Long perfect words push every enemy back |
| magnet | Power Magnet | Power-up pods come twice as often |
| gold | Gold Rush | +25% points |
Asteroids, comets, saucers and the Mothership
- Space rocks are the most common: one word each.
- Comets fly fast with a glowing tail, so they carry short words. Type them first.
- Blorb Saucers wiggle from side to side. Zap one and the Blorb inside escapes in a bubble.
- Bubble Ships hide inside a bubble shield. Type the blue word to pop it, then the ship's own word.
- Big Boulders are slow and carry a long word. Blast one and it splits into two pebbles with tiny words.
- Zoomers dash forward in quick bursts.
- The Mothership comes at the end of levels 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20. Its sentence is shown at the top of the screen: type it one word at a time while it launches little drones.
Screenshots
A starfighter firing laser letters at a space rock above the blue ocean planet Bluebell in the asteroid typing game Keystroid 
A laser letter flying at an alien saucer over the desert planet Sunny Dunes, with a nova blast pod nearby 
Bubble Ships with capital letter words over the ice planet Glacia while time is slowed down 
A Big Boulder exploding into pebbles over the lava planet Ember, with words that need punctuation 
The Mothership over the ringed giant Ringo with its sentence to type shown at the top of the screen 
Three upgrade cards between waves: type gold, repair or magnet to pick Gold Rush, Repair Bots or Power Magnet
How to play Keystroid
- 1
Pick a target
Type the first letter of a word on a space rock, comet or saucer. Your ship turns toward it and its word lights up.
- 2
Fire letter by letter
Type the rest of the word. Every right letter fires a laser; the last one blows the target up.
- 3
Guard your shield
Anything that reaches your shield knocks a piece off it. If the shield breaks, the level is lost.
- 4
Upgrade between waves
When a wave is clear, type the word on an upgrade card: twin lasers, a slow field, a helper drone and more.
Controls
| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| Letters | Type the words (the first letter picks the target) |
| Shift | Capital letters, from the Glacia levels on |
| Backspace | Drop your target and pick another one |
| Esc | Pause |
| Enter | Start a level, go to the next level |
| Phone or tablet | Hold it upright and type with the on-screen keyboard |
What's in Keystroid
- A 3D space typing game: every letter you type fires a laser that carries it to the target
- Scanned 3D asteroids, icy comets with glowing tails, alien saucers and a giant Mothership
- Five planets to defend, each with its own nebula sky: ocean, desert, ice, lava and a ringed giant
- 20 levels with stars: easy words first, then longer words, capital letters and punctuation
- Upgrades between waves: twin lasers, slow field, helper drone, shield boost, shock pulse and more
- Power-up pods: slow time, nova blast and shield repair
- Combos for perfect words, slow motion on the last rock of every wave
- Endless mode with space, everyday, tricky or home row words, with or without capitals
- A daily mission with the same rocks, words and upgrades for everyone, and a daily streak
- 8 starfighters to unlock with stars, each with its own laser colour
- Results with WPM, accuracy, best combo and the keys you missed
- Made for kids: no blood, friendly words, the aliens escape in bubbles; Easy, Normal and Hard
- Free on computers, Chromebooks, tablets and phones; no download and no sign-up; progress saves automatically
Tips for blasting more asteroids
Closest first
Type the words of the targets nearest your shield first. Faraway rocks can wait.
Accuracy wins
A wrong key doesn't fire and it breaks your combo. Typing a little slower without mistakes blasts more rocks.
Comets before rocks
Comets fly about twice as fast as rocks. Their words are short, so blast them as soon as you see them.
Save the nova
A pod drifts across slowly. When lots of rocks are close, type the gold pod's word: the nova blast clears them all.
Use Backspace to switch
Picked the wrong target? Press Backspace to drop it, then type the first letter of another word.
Frequently asked questions
Is Keystroid free?
Yes. Keystroid is a free space typing game that runs in your web browser. There's nothing to download, nothing to buy and no account to make.
What is a typing game where you shoot words?
It's a typing shooter: words fly toward you on targets, and typing a word shoots that target. In Keystroid every letter you type fires a laser at an asteroid, a comet or an alien saucer, and finishing the word blows it up. The faster and more accurately you type, the more you blast before anything reaches your shield.
Is Keystroid good for kids?
Yes. There's no blood and nothing scary: you blast space rocks, and when you zap an alien saucer the little Blorb pilot just floats away in a bubble. All the words are friendly. There's no chat, no sign-up and nothing to buy, and the Easy setting slows everything down.
Can Keystroid help me learn to type?
Yes. The levels start with short, easy words and slowly bring in longer words, capital letters (you need Shift) and punctuation, so you practise without noticing. After every game you see your words per minute, your accuracy and the keys you missed most. In endless mode you can practise only the home row keys, everyday words or long tricky words.
How is my typing speed worked out?
Speed is in words per minute (WPM): every 5 letters you type correctly count as one word. Because you sometimes wait for the next wave, Keystroid counts the time you spend typing, not the time spent waiting, so your WPM shows how fast you really type.
How do I beat the Mothership?
The Mothership comes at the end of every fourth level. Its sentence is shown at the top of the screen: type it one word at a time, and each word knocks it back. Clear the little drones it launches, keep typing, and it goes down in a chain of explosions. From the Ember levels on, its sentence has capital letters and punctuation.
What do the glowing pods do?
Pods drift across space carrying a power-up. Type the word on a pod to use it: the blue one slows time for six seconds, the gold one sets off a nova blast that clears every rock on the screen, and the green one fixes your shield.
Can I play Keystroid on a Chromebook, tablet or phone?
Yes. It's built to run smoothly on school Chromebooks, with a lower graphics setting for older ones. On a phone, hold it upright: the space rocks and their words sit above the on-screen keyboard. A tablet with a keyboard plays just like a computer.
Is there a daily challenge?
Yes. The daily mission gives everyone the same planet, the same rocks, the same words, the same upgrade cards and the same Mothership sentence each day. Play every day to build a streak, and share your score to challenge your friends.
Does Keystroid save my progress?
Yes. Your stars, ships and best scores are saved automatically in the browser you play in. Clearing your browser data resets them.
What's new
- Keystroid is out: type the words to blast asteroids, comets and alien saucers
- 20 levels on 5 planets, upgrades between waves, endless mode, a daily mission and 8 ships to unlock
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