Avoiding homework and playing 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘓𝘰𝘢𝘥 into the wee hours of the night was basically a rite of passage if you grew up in the early 2000s.
It’s reminiscent of old-school classics like 𝘋𝘪𝘨 𝘋𝘶𝘨 and 𝘉𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘴𝘩, pitting players in a quest for a fabled, precious bounty of rare ore buried deep in the dark recesses under the surface of Mars.
Players control a robotic mining pod, tunneling their way through the earth using the down, left, and right arrow keys, and flying upward to refuel their machine at the nearest depot. You can use in-game resources to purchase additional pod upgrades, such as an expanded fuel tank and a more advanced drill, while bonus items like the plastic explosives and Quantum Teleporter present welcome gameplay mechanics designed to interrupt what would be the stagnant humdrum of merely moving around the screen. It certainly won’t be the most inventive or prettiest title to grace your monitor, but it’s a Flash classic, and the unbridled sense of pleasure you’ll receive upon finding mineable gold is well worth the hours of gameplay.