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12 orbits header art

12 orbits

12 orbits is the only local multiplayer game for 2-12 people at once, no matter what you play on. A single keyboard, touchscreen or controller will do.

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Developer
Publisher
Release
October 24, 2016
9 years and 284 days ago
Steam Reviews
Very Positive290 reviews88.3%

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Updated: Jul 10, 2026Developer scaleThe operating scale of the game's developer.
Updated: Jul 15, 2026Publisher scaleThe operating scale of the game's publisher.
Updated: Jul 15, 2026Publisher statusHow the game's publishing relationship is classified.
Search Google: How is 12 orbits and Roman Uhlig funded?FundingThe known source of funding behind the game.
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Updated: Jul 10, 2026Release statusWhether and how the game has been released.

Media

8 items

About the Game

12 orbits is the only local multiplayer game for 2-12 people at once, no matter what you play on. If you can read this, be it on a PC, a laptop or even a tablet, you probably have everything you need. Additional controllers are supported, but not required unless you prefer to have a little more elbow room.

The game can be set up in seconds, even for 12 players at once. Rounds take about 5 minutes each. 12 orbits is friendly, competitive and a little chaotic. It is simple enough to quickly teach a group how to play it, but varied and deep enough to keep them entertained for a long time.

You can choose from 4 game modes, two of them for teams, with each one focused on a different playstyle. All of them adjust to any number of players from 2 - 12, so you can start small and add players as they come along.

Features


  • Competitive local multiplayer for everyone at once. Anywhere. On anything.
  • 4 vastly different game modes to choose from
  • Setup takes seconds, even for 12 players at once
  • The basic mechanics are simple and can be taught to a group quickly
  • ...yet they provide you with a lot of room for mastery and competition
  • One Switch accessible

Game Modes


Arena
Fill the arena with spheres of your own color and avoid those of your opponents. A bullet hell game that constantly grows more intense.

Multiball (Teams)
Kind of like football, but with exploding goals and multiple balls at once, which change color all the time.

Trails
Collect spheres to grow longer than your opponents. Then block their path and pay attention to your own. And should the other players try to keep their distance, just fling your spheres at them.

Blizzard (Teams)
Defend against a whole shower of spheres at once, and send them right back where they came from.

FAQ


My keyboard / touchscreen supports only 3 – 5 inputs at a time.
Will this even work?

Yes! 12 orbits needs only one button per player, and never requires button mashing or keeping that button pressed down. This makes it highly unlikely for too many buttons to ever be pressed during the same frame, even with 12 players at once.

There is only partial controller support. Does this mean I cannot play from my couch / in Big Picture Mode?
The game can be controlled entirely with a gamepad. But you will have to press Enter once to skip the launcher, that's why I cannot say it has full controller support. Sorry about that.

Is there a colorblind mode?
Yes. It is based on black and white symbols, so it should work for any type of color blindness.

Since this is a one-button game, does it also support One Switch inputs?
Yes, including the menus. More information on this can be found here