Lode Runner

Embark on a retro puzzle-solving adventure with Lode Runner, now playable online in your browser—no downloads needed! This classic NES title combines Action, Puzzle, and Platform genres, delivering a timeless challenge for fans of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). If you’re into NES Online games, you’ll find plenty more nostalgic treasures to explore on our site!

Lode Runner, first published by Brøderbund in 1983, is a groundbreaking puzzle game that introduced one of the earliest level editors in gaming history. This innovative feature allowed players to design their own levels, sparking creativity and community engagement. Magazines like Computer Gaming World even held contests for the best custom levels, cementing Lode Runner’s place in gaming lore. Today, Tozai, Inc. holds the intellectual property and trademark rights to this iconic game.

In Lode Runner, you control a stick figure on a mission to collect all the gold in each level while evading guards determined to catch you. Once all the gold is gathered, you must reach the top of the screen to advance to the next level. With 150 progressively challenging stages, the game tests both your problem-solving skills and reaction times, keeping you hooked for hours.

The levels are designed with multi-storey brick platforms, ladders, and suspended hand-to-hand bars, offering multiple paths to navigate. Your primary tool? Digging holes! You can temporarily trap guards by digging into floors, and even walk over them safely. If a guard falls into a hole while carrying gold, it’s yours for the taking. But beware: floors regenerate over time, and if a guard is trapped when this happens, they’ll respawn at the top of the level. However, if you’re caught in a hole when it fills, it’s game over. Levels also feature trapdoors for unexpected falls and bedrock that’s impossible to dig through.

Digging is an art in Lode Runner. You can only dig holes to the sides, not directly underneath yourself, adding a layer of strategy to your moves. For X-block-high holes, you’ll need to dig a gap at least X blocks wide, as the space shrinks with each layer. Exceptions exist when digging while on a ladder or hanging from a bar, allowing you to descend row by row. These mechanics are key to solving many of the game’s puzzles.

You start with five lives, and completing a level grants an extra one. If a guard catches you, you lose a life and restart the level. While your character can survive falls from any height, they can’t jump, and getting trapped in a pit means restarting the level at the cost of a life. Lode Runner is a true test of wit, patience, and strategy—ready to take on the challenge?