1. Overview

Wizard of Wor is a classic arcade-style dungeon shooter. You control a warrior navigating maze-like arenas, shooting monsters before they shoot you. The game never ends — dungeons loop forever, growing harder with every level.

This edition is a faithful browser remake of the C64 version, extended with an Endless Connected Dungeon network multiplayer mode where players each inhabit their own dungeon and can invade each other through tunnel connections.

Game modes

2. Controls

Single-player & classic two-player

Starting a game

Multiplayer

Open /multiplayer.html on your server (same host you are playing on). Use the on-screen buttons to choose Solo or 2-Player. Both warriors are controlled from the same keyboard tab — open a second browser tab for true split-screen network play.

3. Objective

Clear each dungeon of all enemies before they escape or kill you. You earn points for every monster you shoot. The game ends only when all lives are lost.

Every completed dungeon leads to the next, which is harder. Enemies become faster and more aggressive, and the layout changes. There is no final dungeon — the game loops indefinitely.

Win conditions & failure

4. Enemies

Six enemy types appear across the dungeon levels. Each has distinct behaviour, speed, and point value.

5. Dungeons

Dungeons are rectangular 11 × 6 tile grids with configurable inner walls. The layout changes each level.

Progression

Radar panel

The centre panel at the bottom of the screen is a mini-map showing the position of all visible enemies (invisible ones are also shown). The label above the map changes to reflect the current dungeon name, or special event text.

Double Score dungeon

Killing the Worluk sets a Double Score flag. The next dungeon is played with all point values doubled. The double-score banner is shown at the start of the dungeon.

6. Speed System

Enemy speed is controlled by two factors: the speed level (1–16) and the background music tempo (1–7). Both increase as you progress through dungeons and as time passes within a dungeon.

Speed increases when

• Every 25 seconds that pass inside a dungeon
• Every 4th monster killed in a dungeon
• The Worluk appears (speed jumps to 14)

Speed tiers

7. Scoring

High scores

The top 5 scores are saved in localStorage and shown on the title screen. Scores are per-browser and persist between sessions.

8. Tunnels (Teleport Gates)

The left and right walls of the dungeon have teleport gates at row 3 (counting from the top). Walking into a gate teleports you to the other side of the dungeon — or, in multiplayer, to a connected dungeon.

Tunnel rules

• Tunnels are open at the start of each dungeon.
• After use, a tunnel closes for a cooldown period (default 13 seconds).
• Some events force a longer or immediate close: Worluk appearance (5 s), Worluk death (immediately), wizard activity.
• Most monsters can also use tunnels; the Worluk and Wizard of Wor have special behaviour.

Cross-dungeon transfer (multiplayer)

In multiplayer, each dungeon has a left tunnel target and a right tunnel target — references to other connected dungeons. When you enter a tunnel that is linked to another dungeon, you are transferred to that dungeon and appear at the matching tunnel exit on the opposite side.

9. Special Events

Worluk sequence

Once you have killed enough Thorwors (the threshold decreases at higher levels), the Worluk appears. The radar displays WORLUK, the wall colour changes, and enemy speed jumps to 14.

1. Tunnels close for 5 seconds.
2. Background music switches to the Worluk theme.
3. Kill the Worluk → Double Score flag set for next dungeon.
4. Worluk escapes → All living players lose a life; penalty timer begins.

Wizard of Wor sequence

After the Worluk event resolves, there is a 1-in-7 chance the Wizard of Wor spawns:

1. Speed resets to 12, tunnels open, radar shows WIZARD OF WOR.
2. The Wizard teleports randomly and fires in all four directions.
3. Kill the Wizard → Double Score flag is set; dungeon ends.
4. Wizard shoots a player → Wizard escapes; that player (and all others) lose a life.

10. Multiplayer — Endless Connected Dungeon

The multiplayer server runs separately from the single-player static server:

npm run multiplayer
# → /multiplayer.html (same host you are playing on)

Joining rules

Dungeon lifecycle

PvP rules

Server authority

The server is fully authoritative. Clients send only raw keyboard state; the server validates all movement, shooting, hits, scoring, tunnel transfers, respawn, and dungeon lifecycle transitions. The client is a pure renderer.

11. Visual Filters

Available from the in-game menu (single-player mode). Each filter also recolours the sprite palette to match the aesthetic.

12. Tips & Tricks

Combat

• You can only have one bullet on-screen at a time — time your shots carefully.
• Bullets from two players cancel each other out if they collide mid-air.
• You are briefly invulnerable after spawning — use this window to orient yourself.
• The Wizard of Wor fires in all four directions; don't stand in a straight line from his position.
• Invisible Garwors and Thorwors still appear on the radar — always check it.

Score maximisation

• Always kill the Worluk to trigger Double Score for the next dungeon.
• The Wizard of Wor is worth 2,500 pts (5,000 during Double Score) — worth the risk.
• In multiplayer, shooting other players earns 1,000 pts — but leaves you exposed.
• Killing monsters in groups of 4 triggers a speed-up — use this strategically to control difficulty.

Multiplayer tactics

• When a dungeon starts collapsing, tunnels open — enemy dungeons become accessible.
• Fast-mode monsters (×1.8 speed) in abandoned dungeons pose a real threat if you visit without preparation.
• Entering via a tunnel puts you at row 3. You exit moving right (left tunnel) or left (right tunnel) — use this predictable entry to prepare for combat.
• Respawn always sends you back to your home dungeon — dying in an enemy dungeon is safer than in your own.