Star Prospector
Mine the belt, haul the minerals to the planet that pays best, refuel and upgrade your ship. Earn each system's target to jump to the next - fifteen systems, pirates, rival miners, minefields and suns that pull you in.
Left thumb: point the stick where you want to go - the ship turns that way and fires its engine forward; push further for more thrust. Right thumb: hold anywhere to fire.
Left: turn left and right. Right: thrust forward and fire - just like the arcade cabinets.
←→ or AD turn · ↑/W thrust · ↓/S reverse Space fire · E missile · P pause
Start again?
Your credits, cargo, upgrades and progress will be erased and you will start in the first system with the stock ship.
Planet
Paused
Your progress is saved every time you dock.
Ship destroyed
Mission complete
←→ turn ↑ thrust Space fire E missile P pause
Free online Star Prospector - mine, trade and upgrade
Star Prospector puts you in a small mining ship in a star system full of asteroids. Shoot a rock with the mining laser and chunks of mineral break off; fly through them, or let the tractor beam pull them in, and they go into the cargo hold. When the hold is full, fly to a planet, dock and sell. Every planet pays its own prices, so the same cargo can be worth far more on the other side of the system. Earn the system's target and you can jump to the next one. It plays directly in your browser, with no download and no account.
Real spaceship flying
The ship turns and fires its engine forward, and it keeps drifting until you burn the other way - just like the classic arcade asteroid games. Every burn costs fuel, and the tank is small, so plan your trips between planets. On a phone you can steer with a stick (point it where you want to go and the ship turns and thrusts that way) or use classic turn, thrust and fire buttons. On a computer, turn with the arrow keys, thrust with ↑ and fire with Space.
Six minerals, five kinds of planet
Iron and copper are everywhere; silver, gold, platinum and the rare glowing xenite lie further out and close to the suns - whose gravity pulls on your ship and whose heat will burn it. Mining colonies pay best for iron and copper, tech worlds for platinum and xenite, frontier outposts for gold. Ice worlds sell the cheapest fuel. Only trade hubs and tech worlds have a shipyard.
Thirteen upgrades
- Laser power, Laser cooling and Multi-laser - mine faster, fight harder.
- Engines and Fuel tank - fly further between planets.
- Cargo hold and Tractor beam - carry more on every trip.
- Shield generator, Shield recharger, Hull armour and the Autorepair unit.
- Missile rack for guided missiles, and a Long-range radar.
Pirates, rivals and minefields
Pirate fighters, raiders with missiles and heavy gunships hunt you in the later systems - but they cannot follow you inside a planet's shield. Rival miners compete for the same rocks and sweep up your loose chunks; destroy one and the system authority pays a bounty. Proximity mines guard some of the richest fields.
Read the full guide: controls, minerals, planets, prices, every upgrade and tips →