About this game

Ricochet Lab inverts the usual shooting-game goal. Hitting the target is easy; hitting it after the required number of bounces is the puzzle. With gravity switched off and perfectly elastic walls, every path is made of straight lines, which means the whole solution can be reasoned out before you fire.

The angled deflector panels are what turn a simple geometry problem into an interesting one. Each panel rotates the contact normal, so a 45-degree panel turns a horizontal shot into a vertical one — and a chamber with three panels has a lot more possible routes than it first appears.

How to play

  1. Aim with the pointer or the arrow keys. A dotted preview traces the path through bounces.
  2. Check the bounce requirement shown at the bottom of the screen.
  3. Press Space to fire. The bounce counter in the HUD rises with each contact.
  4. Once the counter reaches the requirement, the target turns green and a hit scores.
  5. Hitting the target too early wastes the shot. Clear eight chambers to finish.

Physics mechanics

Here is what the simulation is actually doing while you play.

Reflection about the normal

When the shot hits a surface, the component of its velocity along the surface normal is reversed and the component along the surface is unchanged. The result is the familiar 'angle in equals angle out'.

Perfect restitution

The walls have a restitution of exactly 1, so no speed is lost on a bounce. That is not physically typical — real collisions always lose energy — but it makes the puzzle solvable, which is why it is the right choice here.

Rotated normals

A deflector panel is a rotated rectangle, so its surface normal points at an angle. The same reflection rule applies, but the outcome looks dramatically different from a wall bounce.

No gravity

Between bounces the shot travels in a perfectly straight line, because there is no force acting on it. That is what makes the preview exact rather than approximate.

Objective

Bank the shot off walls and deflectors at least the required number of times, then hit the target.

Scoring

  • A valid hit is worth 300 points, plus 120 for each bounce beyond the requirement.
  • Every unused shot at the end of a chamber is worth 100 points.
  • An early hit — before the requirement is met — scores nothing and consumes the shot.

Scores, favourites and play history are stored in your own browser using localStorage. There is no account, no leaderboard and no server: clearing your browser data clears them, and they do not follow you to another device.

Tips

  1. Aim at a wall, not the target. The preview shows you where the shot goes. Start by picking the wall that puts the first bounce somewhere useful.
  2. Count the preview dots. The preview traces through bounces. Count the corners in the dotted line before you commit.
  3. Corners are free bounces. A shot into a corner bounces twice in quick succession, which is the cheapest way to pad a bounce count.
  4. Deflectors change everything. A 45-degree panel converts horizontal motion to vertical. Routing through one is usually shorter than routing around the chamber.
  5. Overshooting the requirement pays. Each bounce beyond the requirement is worth 120 points. If you have shots spare, a longer route scores better.

Difficulty

Hard. The geometry is exact and the preview is honest, so nothing is hidden — but reading a five-bounce route through three deflectors is genuinely demanding. The lack of time pressure makes it fair rather than punishing.

Features

  • Perfectly elastic walls — no energy is lost on a bounce
  • Required bounce count that rises with each chamber
  • Aim preview traced through wall bounces and deflectors
  • Angled deflector panels that rotate the contact normal
  • The shot's actual path drawn behind it

How accurate is this?

Physics Arcade games use simplified, tuned physics built for playability. They are not scientific simulations: forces, masses and timings are chosen because they feel good at 60 frames per second, not because they match measured values. Where a game departs from real-world behaviour in a way that matters, the game page says so.

Ricochet Lab – FAQ

Why did my hit not count?

The bounce counter had not reached the requirement. The target ring turns green only once the shot is armed; until then it passes through.

Does the shot ever slow down?

Barely. Restitution is 1 and there is no friction or gravity, so the shot keeps its speed until the 12-second flight limit expires.

Is the preview accurate?

Yes. It uses the same integrator the shot will use, including the deflector panels, so the dotted line is the path the shot takes.

Can I hit the target on the way to a bounce?

Yes, and that is the main way shots are wasted. Plan a route that keeps the target out of the early legs of the path.