Space Encounters

Space Encounters was produced by Midway in 1980.

Space Encounters is a shoot-em-up where you control an assault ship that resembles a Star Wars imperial tie fighter, and must eliminate the attacking ships while confined to a narrow but straight canyon. Shooting a ship leaves debris from the explosion, which bounces around the screen giving you another obstacle to avoid. The debris can be destroyed by shooting it a second time. It is important to avoid colliding with enemy ships, their bullets, debris, or the side of the canyon.

There is a timer which starts running down from the start of the game. While there is still time left on this timer, a collision does no damage, but you are spun out of the canyon for a few seconds. Once the timer has run down, crashing results in a lost life, and you only start with the one. Additional lives can be earned by reaching certain high scores.

The enemy ships of various appearances arrive in waves. Ships of the first wave are worth 20 points each, the second 30 points, etc. After each of the waves has been destroyed, the cycle repeats. Saucers will occasionally attack, and destroying these will cause a target to appear. Shooting the target within a certain amount of time will give substantial bonus points. Additional speed points may be earned by positioning your ship as far towards the top of the screen as possible.