Trail Duel

Each cycle moves constantly and leaves an unbroken wall in its wake. You can never stop, only turn. Crash into a wall, your opponent's trail, or the arena edge and you're out, so the goal is to cut off your rival's space and force them into a wall first.

• You're always moving; steer with tight turns to carve up the open area.
• Both trails are permanent, the playfield shrinks as the duel goes on.
• Outlast your opponent to win the round.

• Desktop: Player 1 uses WASD (with / for a phase assist); Player 2 uses the Arrow keys. Keyboard recommended.
• Phone & tablet: keyboard play recommended, fast turns need physical keys.

• Vs CPU at adjustable difficulty.
• 2 Players, share a keyboard for a head-to-head duel.
• Online, race a remote opponent.

• Hug your own walls to leave big open regions for yourself and tiny ones for your rival.
• Bait your opponent toward the edge, then seal the gap with a sharp turn.
• Late in a round, plan a long spiral so you always have one more move than they do.

Trail Duel revisits the light-cycle stage of Tron, released by Bally Midway in 1982 alongside the film — a rare case of a tie-in outgrossing the picture it was tied to.

Two bikes carve a grid at constant speed, leaving solid walls behind them, and neither can stop or reverse. Every turn is therefore permanent architecture: you are simultaneously building the maze and trapped in it, and the arena shrinks with every second either player survives. Skilled play is about cutting off space rather than chasing, which makes it one of the purest competitive designs of its era.

Trail Duel is an original take on the light-cycle / snake-trail duel genre, free to play in your browser solo or head-to-head.

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