Run your spaceship over a powerup to pick it up. The shield boost and double fire powerups take effect immediately. Pick up a beam, bolt and rocket powerup to add 20 units of that weapon to your available inventory. The beam, bolt and rocket weapons are limited use. The available inventory of each weapon is displayed on the lower left corner of the screen.
All ships have a hull rating.
Most ships are also equipped with shields. Damage is first inflicted on the shields. Once the shields are down damage is then inflicted on the hull. When the hull is knocked out the ship is destroyed. At the end of the game, if your score is high enough you will be prompted to enter your name for the high score list.