Have you ever wanted to be put into a flying bus with one hundred other players, skydive out of it, and forage for weapons to just end up dying when a guy in a tree shoots you with his assault rifle? Fortnite Battle Royale, created by Epic Games, is a 100 player PvP game where players are pitted against each other and the last one alive wins. The game is free to download on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Mac.

A player, whether in a solo, duo, or squad queue, is stuffed into the battle bus, which flies across the map. After choosing a location, you can jump and glide into your desired target. Loot, such as assault rifles, shotguns, grenades, ammo, med kits, and traps, are located in structures like houses or warehouses. Using the complimentary pickaxe every player receives at the beginning of the game, you can also harvest trees, cars, and rocks for materials. The Storm is a large dome-shaped barrier that closes in every few minutes, dealing continuous damage to people outside of the safe zone, in order to prevent the game from becoming like hide-and-seek. You can also build staircases and platforms using the materials you have gathered to either get to higher areas or to create a tactical barrier in a fight.

Now, there are various strategies for winning this survival game. One: land in a highly-populated, loot-rich battleground in order to get a good early-game start and face the many players trying to shoot you through buildings. Two: hide in a forest, harvest trees and find the occasional house to loot, as you stay on the edge of the Storm to avoid confrontation. Three: harvest about 999 wood, and build a ramp miles into the sky, and stay there to shoot unsuspecting players underneath you (this is actually done by the occasional player). Always have headphones on to hear players sprinting around or gunshots.

Fortnite Battle Royale is a very mechanical game, utilizing shooting skills, tactical prowess, and overall awareness of where other players are. The first time I played this, I spent all the game without a single item other than the pickaxe, and I ended up dying to the storm, placing fifteenth (I would not recommend this strategy). The second time, I hid in a bush for the entire game and managed to get in the top 5 (again, I would not recommend this strategy). However, as I got bolder on my skydive locations, I began to die earlier due to my lack of experience, even though I had a large arsenal of rare pistols and traps. As frustrating the game is when you die to a player smacking you with a pickaxe, Fortnite Battle Royale is very addicting and hilariously fun when playing as a squad.

Due to its recent increase in popularity, Fortnite Battle Royale has been prevalent in the gaming community, and it is a great addition to the other PvP battle royale games like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. I would definitely recommend this game to everyone, as it is highly enjoyable, yet it still requires mechanical prowess and skills to get that glorious #1.