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Wind pushes your shells in flight, so every shot in Windage has to be aimed with the wind in mind rather than straight at the target. The game's own definition makes this the core of play: windage is "the force exerted by the wind on an object, or the act of compensating for it," and the tagline is "Mind the windage. Make the shot." Before you fire, read the wind indicator, then adjust your angle or power so the shell lands where you want.

What the wind does to a shot

Windage is a turn-based artillery game: you lob shells across destructible terrain, and the shell travels through the air for a while before it lands. During that flight, the wind acts on the shell and drifts it off the line you aimed along. The longer the shell is in the air, the more time the wind has to push it, so high, arcing shots are affected more than flat, direct ones.

That creates the basic trade-off of the game:

• Aim into the wind to cancel the drift, or aim with it to let the wind carry the shell further.
• Shorten the flight time (flatter, more powerful shots) when the wind is strong and you don't want to fight it.
• Re-check after every shot, because the wind is part of each turn, not a fixed setting for the whole match.

The name is the mechanic: you are always compensating for the wind rather than ignoring it.

Reading the wind before you fire

Each turn, check the wind indicator before choosing your angle and power. The indicator tells you the direction and strength the shell will face in flight; your job is to translate that into an adjustment. A practical routine:

1. Note the wind direction — which way it will push the shell.
2. Estimate the drift from how strong it is and how long your shot will be in the air.
3. Adjust your aim against the drift (or with it, if you want the extra carry).
4. Fire, then watch the impact and correct on your next turn using what you saw.

Because terrain is fully destructible, a shot that drifts can still be useful — it may carve a new path or drop a tank — but if you need a precise hit, compensate first.

Wind settings you can choose

Wind isn't one fixed condition. In the single-player and hot-seat setup screens, the physics options include a Steady wind setting alongside Normal, Low gravity, High gravity, and Thick air. Steady wind keeps the wind consistent, which makes it easier to learn how much a given strength drifts your shell — useful for practice or for players who want the aiming challenge without the wind changing under them. The default physics is Normal, where wind behaves as the standard variable condition.

The setup screens also let you change the map (Rolling hills, Mountains, Plateaus, Islands, Flatlands) and wall behavior (Open, Wraparound, Rubber, Spring, Concrete, and others), all of which change how far a shell travels and where a drifted shot ends up. Wind is one variable among these, so a strong wind on an open map plays differently from the same wind on a walled one.

Why it matters in a match

Wind is what separates Windage from a pure aim-and-fire game. Two players with the same tank and the same target can get different results because one read the wind and the other didn't. In online battles of 2–6 players, in hot-seat pass-and-play, or against CPU tanks, the player who compensates consistently lands more shots — and in a game where terrain is destructible and rounds are scored, that consistency is the difference between winning and losing rounds.

If you're new, start with Steady wind and the Basic game style (one missile, no aiming help) to feel how much a given wind moves a shell, then move to Standard (full arsenal, shop, and aim-assist) once the compensation becomes instinct.

Windage is a free, browser-based remake of the classic Scorched Earth artillery game. You take turns lobbing shells across destructible terrain, adjust for shifting wind, buy weapons from an arms shop, and fight 2–6 players — online, in hot-seat pass-and-play, or against CPU tanks. It runs in any modern browser on desktop or mobile with no download and no sign-up. It's a good fit if you want short, turn-based matches with light physics and strategy rather than real-time action.

How a match works

Each round is turn-based. On your turn you pick a weapon, set an angle and power, and fire. The wind pushes your shell in flight, so the same shot can land differently from round to round — the name itself refers to the force the wind exerts on a projectile, or the act of compensating for it. Terrain is fully destructible, so craters change the map and can drop tanks.

The site offers two game styles that change how much is going on:

• Basic — one missile, no aiming help. Good for quick, stripped-down duels.
• Standard — full arsenal, the arms shop, and aim-assist.

Game modes

Settings you can tune before a battle

The lobby exposes a fair number of options, so matches can range from simple to chaotic:

• Maps: rolling hills, mountains, plateaus, islands, flatlands
• Walls: open (shells fly off), wraparound, rubber (bounce), spring (kick back), concrete (stop), random per round, erratic per shot
• Turn order: random, losers first, winners first, round-robin
• Turn mode: sequential (take turns) or synchronous (everyone locks in and fires together)
• Physics: normal, low gravity, high gravity, thick air, steady wind
• Market: fixed prices or free market
• Sky: clear or stormy (with lightning)
• Scoring: standard (round wins), basic (wins only), greedy (net worth)
• Rounds: 3 or 5
• Aiming help: allowed or disabled

CPU difficulty can be set to Easy, Normal, or Hard.

Is it actually free, and do I need an account?

Yes — the site states Windage is completely free, with no download and no sign-up. You open it in your browser and play. The site does not list any pricing tiers or payment options, and no login is described, so you can start a match immediately.

What to expect in practice

• Short sessions. Turn-based rounds with a handful of players suit a quick break; a 5-round match with several tanks takes longer than a 3-round duel.
• Wind is the core skill. Reading and compensating for wind matters more than raw aim, especially with "steady wind" or "thick air" enabled.
• Terrain is a weapon. Destroying ground under an opponent is a legitimate tactic, so expect maps to degrade as a match goes on.
• Mobile works, but aiming is finer with a mouse. The game is playable on mobile browsers; precise angle and power tweaks are easier on desktop.

If you want a no-install artillery game to play solo against CPUs or pass a laptop around with friends, Windage covers that directly. If you specifically want real-time multiplayer or a persistent account with progression, this isn't that kind of game — the campaign is a ladder of CPU opponents, not an online ranked system.

Before a battle starts, Windage lets you configure game style, map and walls, physics and market, turn order and turn mode, scoring and rounds, and aiming help. The exact options depend on the mode you pick: Single Player (Quick Game or Campaign) and Hot Seat expose the full setup screen, while online multiplayer uses the same battle rules but is organized around joining a 2–6 player match. All of this is free in the browser with no download or sign-up.

Game style: Basic or Standard

The first choice is how much game you want.

If you want the shop and the wider weapon set, you must choose Standard — Basic strips both out along with aiming help.

Map and walls

You pick the terrain and how shots behave at the edges.

• Maps: Rolling hills, Mountains, Plateaus, Islands, Flatlands. Terrain is fully destructible in all of them, so cover erodes as the match goes on.
• Walls: Open (shells fly off the map), Wraparound, Rubber (bounce), Spring (kick back), Concrete (stop), Random (per round), Erratic (per shot).

Walls matter more than they look: on a small map, Rubber or Spring can turn a near miss into a hit, while Concrete rewards precise aim because nothing bounces back in.

Physics and market

These change how shells fly and how the shop prices work.

• Physics: Normal, Low gravity, High gravity, Thick air, Steady wind. Gravity and thick air alter shell arcs; Steady wind removes the shifting-wind guesswork that defines the game.
• Market: Fixed prices or Free market. Free market makes shop prices move, so buying early versus saving becomes a real decision.

Turn order, turn mode, scoring, and rounds

• Turn order: Random, Losers first, Winners first, Round-robin.
• Turn mode: Sequential (take turns) or Synchronous (everyone locks in and fires together).
• Scoring: Standard (round wins), Basic (wins only), Greedy (net worth).
• Rounds: 3 or 5.

Synchronous turn mode is the biggest change to how a match feels — it removes the wait-and-react rhythm of sequential play and rewards reading the wind before anyone else fires.

Aiming help

Aiming help can be Allowed or Disabled. Disabling it is the cleaner test of skill, since you must judge elevation and wind yourself. Note that Basic style already has no aiming help regardless of this setting.

Opponents and player count

• Single Player: choose 1–5 CPU tanks and difficulty (Easy, Normal, Hard). Quick Game is a one-off battle with your settings; Campaign is a ladder of tougher foes.
• Hot Seat: 2–6 human players on one device, with 0–4 CPU opponents added.
• Online Multiplayer: 2–6 players over the internet, versus humans or CPU.

A practical setup to start with

If you are new, pick Standard, Rolling hills, Open walls, Normal physics, Fixed prices, Sequential turns, 3 rounds, and aiming help Allowed. Once comfortable, switch walls to Rubber and disable aiming help — that combination sharpens both your wind reading and your precision without changing the core rules.

The one setting to decide first is game style, because it determines whether the arms shop and full arsenal are part of your match at all.

The arms shop is the between-rounds buying step in Windage's Standard game style: you spend on weapons and gear before firing, and the Market setting you pick at setup decides how prices behave. If you choose Basic instead, there is no shop — you get one missile and no aiming help. So the shop only matters if you are playing Standard, whether that is solo against CPU tanks, hot-seat, or online.

Where the shop sits in a match

Windage is a turn-based artillery game: lob shells across destructible terrain, account for wind, and outlast 2–6 players. The shop is the layer that turns a single shot type into a loadout decision. In Standard you get the full arsenal plus aim-assist, and the shop is where you stock up from. Basic strips all of that away, which makes it the better choice for a quick, pure-aiming duel.

The practical effect: in Standard, your round-to-round choices are not just angle and power, but also what you bring into the next exchange.

The Market setting changes how you buy

Two Market options appear in the battle setup:

Pick Fixed prices when you want the shop to be a straightforward budgeting step. Pick Free market when you want buying decisions to carry their own risk.

How the shop fits each mode

• Single player (quick game or campaign): the shop is part of your Standard loadout management against 1–5 CPU tanks on Easy, Normal, or Hard. In Campaign you climb a ladder of tougher foes, so what you buy compounds across levels.
• Hot seat: 2–6 humans pass and play on one device; the shop becomes a shared, visible decision point.
• Online multiplayer: 2–6 players over the internet, with the same Standard arsenal and shop.

Settings that interact with your loadout

The shop does not exist in isolation — these setup choices shape how much it matters:

• Game style: Basic (one missile, no shop, no aim-assist) vs Standard (full arsenal, shop, aim-assist).
• Walls: Open, Wraparound, Rubber, Spring, Concrete, Random, or Erratic — bounce and kick-back walls change which weapons are worth buying.
• Physics: Normal, low gravity, high gravity, thick air, or steady wind — heavy gravity and thick air shorten trajectories; steady wind removes the wind guesswork.
• Sky: Clear or Stormy (lightning).
• Rounds: 3 or 5, with scoring by round wins, wins only, or net worth (Greedy). Net-worth scoring makes purchases directly count toward your result.
• Turn mode: Sequential (take turns) or Synchronous (lock in and fire together).

Where to learn the weapons themselves

The site points to a Weapons & gear guide for the arsenal details. Use it to match purchases to your map and physics settings rather than buying blind — for example, bounce-friendly walls reward different choices than Concrete walls that stop shots.

Quick decision guide

• Want a fast, no-economy duel? Choose Basic.
• Want loadout strategy and are fine with prices? Choose Standard + Fixed prices.
• Want buying to be part of the tension? Choose Standard + Free market.
• Playing a 5-round match with Greedy scoring? Treat the shop as part of your score, not just your firepower.

Open Windage in your browser, pick a mode, and set Game style to Standard to see the shop in action — no download or sign-up needed.

Windage offers four ways to play, and the right one depends on who you want to fight and where. Single Player is a one-off battle against 1–5 CPU tanks at Easy, Normal, or Hard difficulty. Campaign is a ladder of increasingly tough opponents. Multiplayer Online puts 2–6 players in a match over the internet. Hot Seat is pass-and-play for 2–6 humans on one device. All four run in the browser with no download or sign-up, on desktop or mobile.

Single Player: Quick Game vs. Campaign

Both solo options are under the SINGLE PLAYER menu, but they serve different goals.

Quick Game

A one-off battle where you set the terms. From the game setup screen you choose:

• Game style: Basic (one missile, no aiming help) or Standard (full arsenal, shop, and aim-assist)
• Opponents: 1 to 5 CPU tanks
• CPU difficulty: Easy, Normal, or Hard
• Map: Rolling hills, Mountains, Plateaus, Islands, or Flatlands
• Walls: Open (fly off), Wraparound, Rubber (bounce), Spring (kick back), Concrete (stop), Random (per round), or Erratic (per shot)
• Turn order: Random, Losers first, Winners first, or Round-robin
• Turn mode: Sequential (take turns) or Synchronous (lock in, fire together)
• Scoring: Standard (round wins), Basic (wins only), or Greedy (net worth)
• Rounds: 3 or 5
• Physics: Normal, Low gravity, High gravity, Thick air, or Steady wind
• Market: Fixed prices or Free market
• Sky: Clear or Stormy (lightning)
• Aiming help: Allowed or Disabled

Pick Quick Game when you want a single match with your own rules, or when you are learning the wind and trajectory mechanics before committing to a longer run.

Campaign

Campaign is a ladder: you climb through progressively tougher foes, with START LEVEL and RESTART CAMPAIGN controls. Choose it when you want a sense of progression rather than a one-off match. The page does not specify how many levels the ladder contains, so treat the length as something you discover by playing.

Multiplayer Online: 2–6 Players Over the Internet

Online multiplayer supports 2–6 players and is described as playable over the internet. The setup screen shows a "reconnecting..." state, which suggests the game handles connection drops, but the page does not document matchmaking, room codes, or invite mechanics. If you plan a session with friends, expect to sort out how you join each other inside the game itself.

Choose online play when your opponents are not in the same room. The trade-off is that you depend on everyone's connection; hot seat avoids that entirely.

Hot Seat: Pass-and-Play on One Device

Hot seat supports 2–6 human players on a single device, with the same setup options as other modes:

• Human players: 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6
• CPU opponents: 0 to 4, so you can mix humans and bots
• CPU difficulty, map, walls, turn order, turn mode, scoring, rounds, physics, market, sky, and aiming help: same choices as Single Player

Choose hot seat for couch play or a shared tablet. Because turns are sequential by default, players pass the device between shots — the "pass & play" label on the menu reflects this.

Which Mode Fits Your Situation

Settings That Apply Across Modes

Most setup options are shared, so learning them once carries over. Two are worth calling out because they change how a match feels:

• Turn mode — Synchronous: players lock in their shots and fire together rather than taking visible turns. This rewards reading the wind without seeing opponents' adjustments.
• Walls — Wraparound or Rubber: shots that leave the screen return or bounce instead of flying off, which changes how you use the map edges.

Windage is free to play in the browser with no download and no sign-up, so you can try each mode without committing to one. Start with Quick Game to learn the wind, move to Campaign for a challenge curve, and use Online or Hot Seat when friends are involved.