How to Win Space Invaders

Space Invaders was so popular in its original arcade release it caused a yen coin shortage in Japan. The arcade and Atari version have remained popular and although modern games have better graphics and more intricate game play, trying to beat Space Invaders remains a huge challenge. To score big, you must have quick hands and a winning strategy.

Take advantage of a cheat enabling double shots on the Atari console. Turn the power off and hold down the reset button. While holding down the reset button, turn the power back on. Let go of the reset button and start a game and you can fire twice every time you press the fire button.

Shoot a narrow path in one of your barriers and then hide under it. You can continue to shoot through your path and the barrier provides at least some protection as long as the opening is as narrow as possible. This strategy ends at level five however, as there are not more barriers.

Prepare to beat level five before it begins. For the first five levels of the game, the space invaders start lower and lower on the screen and by level five they are as low as they can get. Hold the joystick to the right before the level begins with your finger on the fire button. Move quickly across the screen stopping briefly at each space invader in order to shoot him to clear this dangerous, low row right away.

Repeat this movement for each subsequent level. All levels after level five are exactly the same. By clearing out the lower row immediately, you dramatically improve your chances to beat the game. If you move quickly you can even eliminate the lower two rows by holding in place slightly longer before moving on to the next space invader.

Get bonus points by shooting the mother ships which cross the top of the screen. Concentrate on shooting the space invaders until you get down to two rows of four invaders. Then, avoid the space invader's fire and wait for mother ships to pass, shooting them as they do. Be careful not to shoot anymore space invaders as the mother ships will not pass if there are less than eight invaders on the screen.

Beat the game with 500,000 points. Although the game does continue for infinity, getting 500,000 points is a benchmark at which you beat the game.