About Retrocycles
Retrocycles is a browser build of Armagetron Advanced, a free and open-source light cycle game that Wikipedia describes as a multiplayer snake game in 3D based on the light cycle sequence from the film Tron. Manuel Moos started the project, and its developers and contributors have worked on it since. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, AmigaOS 4 and OpenBSD, and it is released under the GNU GPL, version 2 or later.
Your cycle always moves forward across a large flat grid and leaves a solid wall behind it. You can only turn at right angles, and hitting any wall crashes you. You score when another rider hits your wall. Riding close to a wall makes you faster, and doing that without crashing is the main skill. Rounds are short.
Velvet Innovations LLC runs Retrocycles.io, separately from the Armagetron Advanced project. It isn’t the desktop release on Steam that is also called Retrocycles.
How it runs in your browser
Play opens retrocycles.io in a new tab, since the site doesn’t allow framing. Its about page explains that the game’s original client is compiled to WebAssembly, so it plays the same as the desktop version and connects to the same servers. You need a recent Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari with WebGL and WebAssembly. There’s no download, and the build’s source is public.
You play as a guest unless you sign up. An account keeps your name, level and leaderboard place, and lets you add friends and join or watch a friend’s room.
The home screen offers Quick Play, which drops you straight into an online room where you ride again after each crash, plus Fortress, Leaderboards, a Server Browser for the Armagetron Advanced community servers, and Training alone against the AI. Challenge a Friend sends an invite link for a 1v1 Sumo duel in a private room, first to 12 points, with a Rematch button. Anyone with the link can watch, and it expires after a short time.
On 1 November 2026 the home screen loaded in desktop Chrome and showed 7 players in Quick Play. We didn’t play a round, so we can’t say how well online games run.
Controls and devices
Turn left with the Left arrow, D or F, and right with the Right arrow, J or K. Hold Space or the down arrow to brake; the brake runs out and refills slowly. A, S and ; glance left, right and back, V changes the camera, Enter opens chat, Tab shows the scoreboard and Escape opens the menu. Pressing D then F, or J then K, turns twice very quickly for a U-turn. Keys can be changed under Settings, Controls.
On a phone or tablet, arrow buttons sit at each side of the screen under your thumbs, a single arrow for one turn and a double arrow for two, with a brake key in the middle. We haven’t tested it on a phone, and Chromebooks haven’t been confirmed.
Who it’s for
It suits anyone who wants short online rounds with simple rules, and Armagetron Advanced players who want to reach the same servers without installing anything. For another open-source game in the browser, try OpenTTD.
Is Retrocycles Free, Safe and Official?
Is Retrocycles free to play?
Yes. You can play as a guest in a browser tab with nothing to download. An account is optional and keeps your name, level and leaderboard place. Armagetron Advanced itself is free software under the GNU GPL.
Is this the Retrocycles game on Steam?
No. Retrocycles.io is an independent browser build of Armagetron Advanced run by Velvet Innovations LLC. The desktop release on Steam called Retrocycles is a separate thing, as the site’s about page points out.
Can I play Retrocycles with a friend?
Yes. Challenge a Friend sends an invite link for a 1v1 Sumo duel in a private room, first to 12 points, and others with the link can watch. We haven’t tested how well online games run.
