You move along the safe borders, then push out into the open field to draw a new line. Complete the line back to safety and the area you fenced off is claimed and sealed. Claim the target percentage of the field to clear the level, but while you're mid-stroke in the open, you're exposed, and the enemy is hunting your unfinished trail.

• Travel the safe edges freely; press out into the field to start drawing.
• Close a loop back to a safe border to claim the enclosed area.
• Get caught mid-line, by the enemy or by your own tail being hit, and you lose a life.

• Desktop: Arrow keys or WASD to move; Shift toggles a slower, more careful draw. Keyboard recommended.
• Phone & tablet: keyboard play recommended for precise line control.

• Take small, quick bites near a wandering enemy and big sweeps when it's far away.
• Cut the field in half early to shrink the space the enemy can roam.
• Never start a long stroke unless you can clearly see your path back to safety.

Claim revives Qix, released by Taito in 1981 and strange even by the standards of its era: no protagonist, no enemy you can shoot, and barely a theme. You draw boxes into an open field to fence off a share of it — typically three quarters — while the Qix, an unpredictable bundle of twitching lines, roams the space you have not claimed.

The tension is built into the scoring. Draw slowly and a captured area is worth far more; draw fast and it is worth little but you are exposed for less time. Meanwhile Sparx patrol the very edges you must stand on to start a line. Almost every decision is a bet on how long the Qix will stay away.

Claim is an original take on the area-capture / territory-drawing arcade genre, free to play instantly in your browser.

A free, original browser game on PlayPendium. No download, no install.