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How to play Starway Sweeper

A visual guide · Make your first core collection, build up to a 5x combo, and learn shield hazards, advancing phases and Bank Score.

Your goal

Sweep star cores. Dodge debris on the cosmic highway.

Pilot a collection ship across five cosmic lanes. Collect falling golden star cores to score points and build an escalating combo multiplier. Avoid space debris to keep your energy shields intact.

5 Cosmic Lanes · Falling Cores & Debris12345Move left and right across lanes to sweep cores and dodge debris.

Simplified teaching diagrams use clean vector geometry matching the game’s cosmic highway aesthetic. Spacing and positions are tailored for each lesson and are not live screenshots.

01Make your first collection

  • Your ship starts in the center lane (lane 3). Golden star cores and hazardous space debris fall from the top of the grid every tick.
  • Steer left or right into an incoming core’s lane. Collecting a star core immediately awards 10 points and adds to your combo tally.
  • On desktop, use the Left and Right arrow keys, or A and D. On mobile or touch devices, tap the left or right side of the screen.
  • Each press or tap moves your ship one lane instantly, between falling steps. Holding a key does not repeat movement, so press again for each lane.
  • Sliding into a lane where a core or debris is level with your ship touches it right away, so sidestep early.

Align and sweep

1. Steer into the Core's LaneLane 1Lane 2Lane 3Press Right Arrow, D, or tap right side to steer right.2. Core Swept · +10 PointsLane 1Lane 2Lane 3+10Core absorbed! Score increases and combo builds towards 2x.
Steer into the approaching lane before the star core reaches row 10. The ship absorbs the core, triggering a collection pulse and awarding base points.

02Build your combo multiplier

Consecutive collections multiply your score

Combo Multiplier ScaleEvery 10 consecutive star cores increases multiplier up to 5x1x COMBOInitial+10 pts/core2x COMBO10+ cores+20 pts/core3x COMBO20+ cores+30 pts/core4x COMBO30+ cores+40 pts/core5x COMBO40+ cores+50 pts/coreTaking debris damage resets your combo back to 1x!
Every 10 cores collected without sustaining damage escalates your score multiplier, peaking at 5x. At 5x, each core awards 50 points instead of 10.
  • Every core collected increases your combo counter by 1. Reaching 10 cores activates 2x; 20 cores unlocks 3x; 30 cores brings 4x; and 40 cores grants the maximum 5x multiplier.
  • At 5x combo, your score escalates five times as fast. Keeping a sustained streak is the key to mastering the leaderboard.

The combo counter requires unbroken concentration. Any collision with falling space debris immediately resets your combo back to 1x!

03Protect your energy shields

Debris collision costs one shield

Hazard Collision & Shield LossBefore Collision3 / 3 Shields3x Combo ActiveScore: 240After Debris Hit2 / 3 Shields (−1)Combo reset to 1xScore: 240 (Safe)3 shield hits end the run!Earned points are never lost. Shields do not refill.
Colliding with space debris expends one of your 3 energy shields and resets your combo multiplier to 1x. Points already earned stay completely safe.
  • You start every run with 3 energy shields.
  • When debris hits your ship at the bottom row, one shield is consumed with an alert sound. Shields do not replenish or regenerate during a run.
  • If all 3 shields are lost, your ship is disabled and the run ends with a Good Game result.
  • If your viewport falls below minimum playable dimensions, the More Space screen pauses the highway clock safely without losing your ship or progress.

04Bank your score or push further

Endless escalation with voluntary banking

Continue the Run or Bank ScoreSpeed and obstacle density increase as phase rises.Phase 1 (500ms) → Phase 10 (200ms) · Endless highwayBank ScoreSelect Bank Score at any time to bank your run as a win!Recorded score submits to the leaderboard with “You Win!”
The cosmic highway is endless. As phases advance from 1 to 10, the speed quickens from 500ms down to 200ms per tick. You can Bank Score whenever you are ready.
  • The cosmic highway continues indefinitely across advancing phases. The tick rate speeds up, and debris density increases as your phase climbs.
  • Select Bank Score in the top HUD at any time to bank your current score. Banking ends the run voluntarily and celebrates with a You Win result.
  • Banking preserves all accumulated points and submits them to the leaderboard. You can bank at any score, even early in a run.
  • After a run ends, choose Play Again for a fresh run or Menu to return to the Gameboard catalogue.

Opening this Visual Guide immediately pauses highway movement, item spawns, and sounds. When you close the guide with Escape or Back to Game, your ship and all falling objects resume right where you left them.

Play Starway Sweeper