PastForward
Forward Near-future spaceflight, in your browser

UpMass

Pack a reusable rocket, land the cargo on the Moon, and grow a city on the rim. A daily packing-and-flying game in your browser, on phone, tablet or PC.

  • Phone
  • Tablet
  • PC & Mac browser
  • Works offline
Play freeLeaderboards

Free. No download, no account, no ads.

The Colony Run's Moon to Mars leg. On the left, the yard of modules still to send; in the middle, Hearth's cargo bay with a hab, life support, crew and solar modules packed low and central; on the right, the colony's people, air, food, power and morale tiles and a Launch Lift 1, 24 t button.
What you do

How it plays

  1. Pack the cargo bay: every tonne you take costs fuel, and the manifest is always too heavy.
  2. Fly the lift and set it down on the Moon. What lands safely builds the colony.
  3. Play the same Daily Lift as everyone for a score and streak, or the five-leg Colony Run to a base that breathes.
Colony RunStart here · five lifts to a colony that breathes · ~10 min a legDaily LiftSame overweight manifest for everyone · score, streak, shareFree buildThe Program: 100 t lifts, Shackleton Rim, the Sling · open
On every screen

See it on your phone, tablet or PC

Phone

  • Pack Hearth on a phone: payload, destination and module counts at the top, the cargo bay with Life, Hab, Solar and Crew placed down the middle, Miner and Food waiting below, and a Launch button. A thumb puzzle: keep the mass on the centre line
  • The Colony Run on a phone: people, air, food, power, beds, parts, morale and payload tiles above the cargo bay, with Food, Solar and Life loaded and a scrolling yard of modules below. The colony breathes, eats and sleeps: tiles show what this lift will change
  • The Daily Lift result on a phone: the rocket on the Moon, 87.2 points, grade A, the scoring breakdown, a grid of the packed bay and Share and Home buttons. Grade A on today's lift. Share it, then come back tomorrow
  • A Mars landing card on a phone: the rocket settling onto rust-red ground, 'Landed at Hellas Reach', 'Amara and Yusuf stepped out at Hellas Reach.' and a Pack Lift 2 button. Landed at Hellas Reach: the first two colonists step out on Mars
  • The UpMass home page on a phone: the title, the Colony Run card for Moon to Mars with a Play button, the leg row with Earth to Moon at three stars, and the Daily Lift card. Moon cleared with three stars. Mars is next

Tablet

  • The Daily Lift on an upright tablet: score tiles reading 96 of 100 tonnes and 87.2 grade A, a centre of gravity bar, and the bay packed with heavy metal crates low and a forge above them, with the remaining modules below. 135 tonnes on the manifest, 100 on the lift: choose what flies
  • A landscape tablet showing the landing card: the rocket touching down on the Moon, 'Landed at Shackleton Rim' and a Pack Lift 2 button over the Colony Run desk. Every lift is a landing: watch Hearth settle on the Moon

Desktop

  • The Colony Run's Moon to Mars leg. On the left, the yard of modules still to send; in the middle, Hearth's cargo bay with a hab, life support, crew and solar modules packed low and central; on the right, the colony's people, air, food, power and morale tiles and a Launch Lift 1, 24 t button. Pack Hearth for Mars: every ton counts and the centre line decides if it flies
  • Pack Hearth: a 6 by 10 cargo bay with labelled Life, Hab, Solar and Crew modules stacked down the centre, a payload of 28 of 100 tonnes, a centre of gravity bar and a Launch button. Tap a module, tap the bay: a cargo puzzle with mass and balance
  • The Daily Lift result card: Hearth standing on the lunar surface, 'Landed at Shackleton Rim', 87.2 points and grade A, the scoring formula, an emoji-style grid of the packed bay, and Share and Home buttons. The Daily Lift: same manifest for everyone, one flight, one grade
  • A landing card over the dimmed Colony Run screen: the rocket settling onto grey lunar ground with its engine still lit, 'Landed at Shackleton Rim', 'Quiet sol. Everything held.' and a Pack Lift 2 button. Touchdown at Shackleton Rim: lift one of five, and everything held
  • The UpMass home page: the Colony Run card offering Moon to Mars, a row of legs showing Earth to Moon cleared with three stars, Moon to Mars open, and Callisto, Titan and Beyond still to come, plus the Daily Lift card. Colony Run: build a base, then the next one. Moon, Mars, Callisto
Plays on

Phone, tablet and computer

  • Any modern browser: Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari, on a phone, tablet or computer.

  • Touch, mouse or keyboard: the layout fits a phone held upright, a tablet either way round, or a big monitor.

  • Works offline after the first visit, and installs to your home screen like an app.

  • An Android app of UpMass is in the works; the browser version is the same game, free.

  • No account needed. Progress saves on your device; sign in only if you want it on all your devices.

Compete

Leaderboards

Everyone plays the same daily challenge. Post your score under a name you choose, if you like: boards are opt-in.

UpMass leaderboards