Playable Vectrex game
About Mine Storm
Play John Hall’s Mine Storm, the built-in Vectrex shooter that introduced every console owner to vector arcade play without a cartridge.
- Collection
- Games
- Classification
- Official library
- Catalog year
- 1982
- Programmed by
- John Hall
- Designed by
- John Hall
- Publisher
- GCE / Milton Bradley
- Genre
- Multidirectional shooter
- Players
- 1–2 players, alternating
- Research confidence
- verified
- ROM editions
- 1
- Browser controls
- Keyboard, joystick, or gamepad
Development and history
Mine Storm was designed and programmed by John Hall and built into the Vectrex ROM in 1982. Every console could run it without a cartridge, while the system package supplied a dedicated overlay and manual.
The game is often compared with Asteroids, but its staged mine types, minelayer, fireballs, and magnetic behavior give it a distinct progression. A well-known high-level bug in early code also led to Mine Storm II replacement cartridges, making the title important to both Vectrex play and preservation history.
This page uses one stable canonical URL for the title and loads its embedded ROM directly into the emulator after the Vectrex BIOS is ready.
Gameplay and background
Rotate, thrust, fire, and use escape to survive successive minefields. Large mines divide into smaller threats, later types fire or home in, and the minelayer replenishes the field. Clearing groups of minefields earns extra ships.
How to play in Vectrexia
- Move with the Arrow keys or WASD. Compatible controllers can use the left analog stick or D-pad.
- Vectrex buttons 1–4 map to Z, X, C, and V, and to the standard face buttons on most gamepads.
- Press a controller button after connecting it so the browser can expose the gamepad to the page.
Audio may begin after the first click, key press, or controller input because browsers can restrict autoplay.
Research sources
Available editions
Alternate dumps and revisions share this canonical page to avoid duplicate search pages. Choose a specific edition from the in-app Library.