What is a moon shot in OGame?

A moon shot is a coordinated attack between two friendly players, where a debris field is deliberately created in a planet's orbit. The attacking player sacrifices cheap ships, which the defender destroys, to generate a moon chance. If successful, a moon is created in the defender's planet orbit.

Which ships are best suited for a moon shot?

Cheap ships are best for moon shots, as they are meant to be destroyed. Small Cargo ships and Light Fighters are classic moon shot ships. They're cheap to build, quickly turn into debris and generate a debris field close to the 20% moon chance limit when built in sufficient numbers.

How many attempts do I need for a moon?

With maximum moon chance of 20%, you statistically need 5 attempts for a moon — but that's just the average. You might get lucky after one attempt or still have no moon after 15 attempts. Many players plan for 3–8 attempts and share the costs with the attacking player.

OGame Moon Shot 2026 — Creating Moons, Moon Chance & Process

What is a moon shot?

A moon shot is a coordinated action between two friendly OGame players with the goal of providing one of them with a moon. The process: Player A sends a large number of cheap ships to Player B. Player B destroys these ships — either with their own fleet or with built-up defences. The resulting debris field creates a moon chance.

The term "moon shot" comes from literally "shooting for the moon" — you invest resources hoping for the 20% chance of getting a moon. It's one of the most important social mechanics in OGame, as it requires cooperation between players.

Why do a moon shot?

A moon is virtually essential for advanced OGame players. It offers exclusive advantages that no planet can provide:

Sensor Phalanx: Observe fleet movements in neighbouring systems — the intelligence advantage par excellence
Jump Gate: Instant transport between your own moons without deuterium costs
Fleetsave concealment: Fleets on the moon are invisible without phalanx

Without a moon, you're fighting with one hand behind your back. You can't see what your neighbour is doing, can't instantly reposition fleets and must rely on planetary missions for fleetsaves. With a moon, this changes fundamentally.

Moon shot process step by step

Step 1: Find a partner

Coordinate with a trustworthy fellow player. Decide who attacks and who should get the moon. The attacker bears the ship costs — some players split the costs fairly.

Step 2: Build or provide ships

The attacker builds cheap ships worth at least 5 million resources (for maximum 20% moon chance). Small Cargo ships or Light Fighters are the usual choice.

Step 3: Build defences (optional)

The defender can build up their defences so the ships are safely destroyed. Alternatively, they station their own fleet in orbit.

Step 4: Launch attack

The attacker sends the ships on an attack mission to the defender's planet. Important: Don't send any valuable fleet — only the moon shot ships.

Step 5: Battle and moon chance

After the battle, a debris field is created. The game then rolls for the moon chance. If successful, the moon appears immediately in the defender planet's orbit.

Step 6: Send recyclers

The debris field contains valuable resources. Who sends the recyclers (and who gets the resources) is agreed beforehand.

Moon chance table and ship costs

For maximum moon chance (20%), the debris field must contain at least 5 million resource units. The debris field contains 30% of the resource value of destroyed ships (in standard universes). To get a debris field of 5 million, ships worth at least 16.7 million must be destroyed.

Target debris field	Required ship value (30% rule)	Moon chance
1,000,000	~3,333,333	~4%
2,500,000	~8,333,333	~10%
5,000,000	~16,666,667	20% (Max)

Cheap moon shot ships compared

Ship	Cost (M+C)	Debris field per unit
Small Cargo	4,000 M + 2,000 C = 6,000	1,800
Light Fighter	3,000 M + 1,000 C = 4,000	1,200
Heavy Fighter	6,000 M + 4,000 C = 10,000	3,000

The Small Cargo is often the best choice: comparatively cheap to build and gives a good debris-to-cost ratio. Light Fighters are cheaper, but you need more units for the same debris value.

Statistics: How many attempts do I need?

With 20% moon chance (one dice roll per attempt), the probability of having a moon after N attempts is:

Attempts	Probability of moon
1	20%
3	~49%
5	~67%
8	~83%
10	~89%
15	~96%

Statistically, you need an average of 5 attempts (= 1/0.20). Plan for 5–8 attempts to realistically get a moon — and reckon with the possibility of still not being lucky after 10 attempts. That's part of the OGame experience.

Moon shot etiquette in the community

A moon shot is a matter of trust. Typical community rules:

Costs are clearly agreed beforehand — who pays for the ships, who gets the debris field
The defender ensures the ships are actually destroyed (no phalanx trap)
If no moon has formed after several attempts, alliance members often help with new ships
Reciprocity: Those who have been helped return the favour when opportunity arises

Ready for OGame?

Build your empire, find allies, dominate the competition. Right in your browser.

Play OGame now

More Gameforge worlds

All free — action, strategy, anime

Oriental Action MMORPG