Space Rangers
Fly a ranger ship through 22 star systems: buy low and sell high across jump routes, run timed government missions, upgrade your weapons and engines, and liberate star systems from the Dominator fleet.
How to play Space Rangers
You begin as a new ranger in one of the 22 star systems of the coalition. Flying is handled with W / A / S / D, or by clicking a point in space to let the autopilot carry you there. Trading means docking at planets, buying goods that the local economy produces cheaply and selling them where demand is high — every planet's market is generated from its economy type, its political system and a daily price drift. Government missions are timed cargo runs: accept one at the Government building and deliver it to the named system before the deadline, or lose reputation with that species. Combat uses the manual's damage model: your accuracy pushes the ten-step ruler one way, the target's manoeuvrability the other, then shields reduce the result by a percentage and armour subtracts a flat value. Victory comes from clearing Dominator fleets out of all 22 systems across five territories and the neutral zone, which raises your rank from Rookie to Admiral.
Controls
W / S thrust and brake, A / D turn, F afterburner. Click empty space for autopilot.
Click a ship to lock it, hold Space to fire. Accuracy versus manoeuvrability decides damage, shields cut it by a percentage and armour subtracts a flat amount.
Request delivery missions in the Government building, then reach the destination system before the deadline. Late deliveries cost you reputation.
Five species track your reputation separately. Good standing unlocks missions and better prices; attacking civilian ships and smuggling drugs ruins it.
Tips
- You can refuel for free near any star, so long hauls rarely need the hangar.
- Buy where a commodity is cheap (agricultural worlds sell food and medicine low) and sell where it is expensive.
- Your engine sets the hyperspace jump radius in parsecs and the fuel cost is one unit per parsec.
- Pirates first demand a toll. Paying is cheaper than repairing a hull, but refusing and winning earns merit points.
The core loop
- Click empty space to set an autopilot course; click a ship to lock onto it.
- W thrusts and A/D turn. F is the afterburner and drinks fuel fast.
- Hold Space to fire at the locked target. Damage comes from your accuracy versus the target's manoeuvrability, the ten-step ruler from the official manual.
- Fly close to the star to refuel for free, but the corona burns your hull.
- Land on planets to trade, accept government missions, repair and refuel. Prices follow the local economy and political system.
- Clear every Dominator in a system to liberate it. Liberate all 22 systems across five territories and the neutral zone to win the war.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have another question? Let us know.
Is Space Rangers free to play?
Yes. The game runs entirely in your browser with no download, no account and no in-app purchases.
What kind of game is it?
It is a real-time space trading and combat game with a strategic layer: you fly one ship, but you trade, take contracts and liberate systems across a six-system galaxy that keeps evolving as days pass.
How do I make money?
Three ways. Trade commodities between planets that produce them cheaply and planets that need them, complete timed government delivery missions, or destroy Dominator and pirate ships and sell the salvage and minerals you collect.
How do I win?
Clear every Dominator ship from all 22 star systems. Each liberation pays a bounty and grants merit points, and liberating the last system ends the war.
What happens if I lose my ship?
Your run ends and a summary of your days, kills, liberated systems and final rank is shown. You can start a new ranger immediately; your best score is kept in your browser.
Do I need to play for a long time in one sitting?
No. The game runs on a twelve-second day cycle, so a full campaign of trading and liberation fits into a short session, and you can simply fly free without pursuing the war.
Explore Game Details
About Space Rangers
Space Rangers is a browser space trading and war game built around the classic loop of a lone ranger in a galaxy under invasion. You fly a single ship through six named star systems, each with orbiting planets, stations, asteroid fields and patrols. Between the systems sits an economy: eight commodities with different base prices, three economy types and five political systems that change what is cheap, what is expensive and what is outright illegal.
The Dominator fleet holds most of the galaxy. Clearing a system of Dominators liberates it, pays a coalition bounty and pushes your rank up the eight-step ladder from Rookie to Admiral. Meanwhile the war keeps moving without you: systems can fall back under Dominator control, and AI rangers liberate systems of their own, so the map you see on day one is not the map you will see on day thirty.
The game exercises planning and resource management: reading a market, estimating a route's fuel cost, deciding whether a contract is worth the deadline, and choosing when to trade instead of fight. It is a single-player strategy sandbox with no account, no download and no timers.
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