This page lists every pointer gesture and keyboard command available during a match. Keep it open during your first game. For what these commands do to the board, see Pipes, Reserves, and Special weapons.
Most commands act on your selected cell — the one highlighted by your last click or arrow-key move. The selected cell is also the launch point for paratroopers and guns.
| Gesture | Effect |
|---|---|
| Left-click near an edge of a cell | Toggle a pipe from that cell toward the clicked direction (north, east, south, or west). Click the same edge again to remove the pipe. |
| Right-click near an edge of a cell | Lay an exclusive pipe toward the clicked direction. This replaces all pipes in the cell instead of adding to them. |
Alt + click near an edge of a cell | Same as right-click: an exclusive pipe toward the clicked direction. |
| Mouse wheel or middle-button drag | Camera control — see Camera below. |
Shift+click currently behaves like a plain left-click. The modifier is reserved for a future multi-select feature.
| Key | Effect |
|---|---|
| i | Pipe north from the selected cell |
| j | Pipe west from the selected cell |
| k | Pipe south from the selected cell |
| l | Pipe east from the selected cell |
| Alt+i / Alt+j / Alt+k / Alt+l | Exclusive pipe north/west/south/east (replaces all pipes in the cell) |
| Space | Clear all pipes in the selected cell |
| Key | Effect |
|---|---|
| p (or h) | Paratroop: launch from the selected cell to the target picked by your cursor’s position (see Aiming) |
| g (or o) | Gun: shell the target picked by your cursor’s position inside the selected cell |
| 0–9 | Set reserves on the selected cell (0 = none, 9 = hold back 90%) |
| Key | Effect |
|---|---|
| Escape | Cancel the current selection |
| Arrow keys | Move the selection one cell up, left, down, or right |
Pressing p/h or g/o fires from the selected cell. The target is picked by your cursor’s position inside that cell — you never need to leave the cell to aim.
While a cell is selected, the cursor’s position inside it acts as a miniature map of everything within 2 cells:
A red aim dot on the selected cell shows exactly where you are pointing. Each new target cell is announced to screen readers as it changes. If the cursor is near the center of the cell, nothing launches — slide it off-center toward your target first.
Invalid targets are rejected with a short message above the order bar (see Reading the screen):
| Gesture | Effect |
|---|---|
| Mouse wheel | Zoom in or out, keeping the point under the cursor pinned in place |
| Middle-button drag | Pan around the board |
Zoom ranges from 12 to 96 pixels per cell. A fresh match starts at 32 pixels per cell, which fits a standard 32×32 board on a typical desktop screen.
The console’s clickable controls mirror the keyboard commands, so mouse-only play works end to end:
| Control | Where | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Mode badge (“Mode: Toggle pipes” / “Mode: Exclusive pipes”) | Order bar, below the board | Shows whether your next pipe command adds or replaces. Announces changes to screen readers. |
| Exclusive pipes toggle | Order bar | Flip sticky exclusive mode: while engaged, every pipe command (pointer or i/j/k/l) replaces the cell’s pipes instead of adding. |
| Clear pipes | Order bar | Clear all pipes in the selected cell (same as Space). |
| Reserves slider | Reserves panel | Drag or arrow-key a value from 0% to 90% in 10% steps for the selected cell. |
| Digit buttons 0–9 | Reserves panel | One-click presets matching the number keys (“Set reserves to 70%”, and so on). |
| Surrender… | Below the order bar | Opens the confirmation dialog. Confirming eliminates you on the spot (see Objective); Cancel or Escape backs out. |
All order buttons disable themselves when orders cannot be sent — while connecting, reconnecting, spectating, or after the match ends.