Tower defence
Enemies march along a winding path towards your castle. Build towers on the free squares beside the path to stop them before they get through. Every enemy you defeat earns money for new towers and upgrades, and every wave is harder than the last. Hold out for 20 waves to win. Choose a tower in the panel, then click a free square next to the path to build it. Click a tower to upgrade or sell it. Press Start wave to send the enemies.
How it works
- Choose a map and a difficulty. Pick a tower in the panel and hover over the map to see its range, then click a free square next to the path to build it.
- Press Start wave to send the enemies. Your towers fire at the enemy furthest along the path, and each enemy you defeat earns money.
- Click a tower to upgrade it or sell it. If an enemy reaches the castle, you lose lives. Survive all 20 waves to win.
The towers
The Gun is cheap and fires quickly. The Cannon fires slow shells that damage every enemy near the point of impact. The Frost tower does little damage but slows enemies down, so the other towers get more time to hit them. The Sniper is expensive but hits hard from very far away. Each tower can be upgraded twice. On the keyboard, 1 to 4 choose a tower, the arrow keys move over the map and Enter builds there or selects the tower on that square. U upgrades the selected tower, Delete sells it, Space starts the wave and P pauses.
The enemies
Normal enemies are the basic threat. Fast enemies are fragile but run past slow towers, and tanky enemies take a lot of damage and cost two lives if they get through. Every fifth wave brings a boss with a huge amount of health. The health bar above each enemy shows how much it has left.
Money and lives
You earn money for every enemy you defeat and a bonus at the end of each wave. Selling a tower returns part of what you paid. You start with a number of lives that depends on the difficulty, and the game is over when they run out.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I build towers?
On any free square that is not part of the path. When you hover over a square, the map shows whether you can build there and how far the tower will reach.
Which enemy do the towers shoot at?
Each tower aims at the enemy that is furthest along the path within its range, because that enemy is closest to reaching the castle.
Can I speed up the game?
Yes. Set Speed to ×2 or ×3 to play two or three times as fast, and turn on automatic waves to start the next wave a few seconds after the last one ends. Pause stops the game at any time.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. On a touch screen, tap a square once to see the range and tap it again to build. The panel moves below the map in portrait mode.
Is it free?
Yes. It is free, runs in your browser and needs no sign-up. You can also save the map as a PNG.
Related tools
About Tower Defence - History, Strategy and Famous Games
A short guide to tower defence games: from Rampart in 1990 and the Warcraft III and StarCraft custom maps to Desktop Tower Defense and Plants vs. Zombies, plus basic strategy and answers to common questions.
Reversi
Play Reversi, also known as Othello, in your browser. Place discs to flip your opponent's, see every legal move, and play the computer from Easy to Hard, a friend, or watch the computer play itself.
Chess
Play chess in your browser with all the rules: castling, en passant, promotion, check and checkmate. Play the computer from Easy to Expert, a friend on the same screen, or watch the computer play itself.
Connect Four
Play Connect Four in your browser: drop red and yellow discs and get four in a row to win. Play a friend on the same screen, or the computer from Easy to Hard. Or watch the computer play itself.
Five in a row
Play five in a row, also known as Gomoku, in your browser: with a friend on the same screen, or against the computer from Easy to Hard. Get five stones in an unbroken line to win. Or watch the computer play itself.
Ready to try it?
Open PictorX in your browser — no install, no credit card required to start.
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