Blast blocks. Bounce protons. Break the high score.
01 The Game
XBoing is a blockout-style arcade game: you control a paddle at the bottom of the arena, keeping a proton ball in play as it bounces around blasting apart walls of blocks. Every block carries its own point value — the more you destroy, the higher your score climbs.
Juggle up to five balls at once, trigger bombs and teleports, land sticky-paddle catches, and chase power-ups across 80 unchanged original levels — or build your own in the in-game editor.
This is a new website for XBoing, replacing the look of techrescue.org/xboing — same home for the game, just a fresh design. The original 1996 release stays downloadable below.
02 History
First released
Justin Kibell wrote and released the first version of XBoing in July 1993, built in pure Xlib on a SparcStation 2.
Version 2.0
After heaps of feedback from a community of gamers and programmers suggesting improvements and bug fixes, version 2.0 shipped in March 1994.
Into X11R6
XBoing was included in the X Window System's contribution section as part of the X11R6 distribution — a genuinely exciting moment for a game that started out as a way to learn Xlib.
Version 2.4
Version 2.4 shipped in November 1996 via ftp.x.org/contrib/games and remained the last version for some time, as Justin changed jobs and moved on to other things.
Showing its age
As displays, sound systems, and compilers moved on, the original Xlib and /dev/dsp audio code became harder to build and run. Interest faded along with easy compatibility.
Reborn on SDL2
Jim Freeman ported the game to SDL2 — swapping Xlib for SDL2, XPM for PNG, and /dev/dsp for SDL2_mixer — while keeping the original physics, scoring, and all 80 levels unchanged. He reached out to Justin, and XBoing now compiles and runs on modern Windows, macOS, and Linux again, under active development on GitHub.
A new website
This is a new website for XBoing, replacing the design at techrescue.org/xboing — same home for the game, just a fresh look. The classic 1996 X11 release stays right where you'd expect it — in the download section below.
03 Features
20+ Block Types
Bombs, teleports, multipliers, sticky-paddle blocks — every wall plays differently.
Up to 5 Balls
Multi-ball power-ups pile on the chaos — keep them all in play at once.
Built-in Level Editor
A full WYSIWYG editor lets you design and share your own boards.
80 Original Levels
The same 80 hand-designed levels from 1996, unchanged, from warm-up to mayhem.
Full Sound Support
Crisp arcade sound effects and music, now powered by SDL2_mixer.
Keyboard & Mouse
Play it however feels right — precise mouse control or classic keys.
04 Screenshots
Click any shot for a closer look.
05 Get XBoing
Free and open source. Install with Homebrew, grab a Debian package, or build from source.
brew install jmf-pobox/xboing/xboing
Debian / Ubuntu
Build a native .debBuild from Source
CMake + SDL2GitHub Repo
Source, issues, releasesOriginal 1996 Release
xboing2.4.tar.gz — X11 / Xlib sourceSDL2 port maintained by Jim Freeman · Current release 1.0.10 · MIT licensed
06 Community
XBoing has always been better with company — come swap scores, tips, and opinions with other players.
Join us on Facebook
Head over to the XBoing Facebook page to chat with other players. Share a screenshot of your highest score, ask questions, and tell us what you think — what's the hardest level, your favourite block, and the one you can't stand.
Visit the Facebook Page07 Contact
Bug reports, feedback, or just want to say hi about the game? Get in touch.