How to Play TowerDefence
TowerDefence is a classic path-defense game: a horde of colorful slimes marches along a winding dirt path, and you tap the grass beside it to place towers that automatically target and attack anything that walks past. A short three-page tutorial on your first playthrough spells out the core loop — slimes march along the path, don't let them reach the EXIT, tap the grass to build a tower, and towers attack on their own once placed.
Towers are bought from a palette along the bottom of the screen. Level 1 opens with only the ARCHER tower ($200), and later levels unlock SPIKER ($320), CANNON ($480, splash damage), FROST ($340, slows enemies), SAW ($430, hits up to four enemies in a line) and LASER ($2,800, rapid-fire) — each with its own price and range. There's no abstract score in TowerDefence: instead, gold you don't spend on towers carries over to the next level, and the game flags this directly with lines like "$634 carried to the next level!" when a level ends.
The campaign runs eleven levels, each broken into several waves of slimes. Level 1 plays inside the embedded frame with three waves and a $300 starting budget; clearing it opens a full-screen "LEVEL 2" button, and from there the levels keep adding new tower types, tougher armored slimes, and, by the later levels, especially tough boss-type enemies. Clearing a wave pops a "WAVE CLEAR! +$130"-style reward on screen, and clearing all of a level's waves shows a "LEVEL n CLEAR!" overlay.
Each level starts with a set number of lives, shown as hearts — 10 on Level 1, 12 on Level 2 — and every slime that slips past your towers and reaches the EXIT costs one life. The level is lost if lives hit zero, but there's real slack early on: a Level 2 test run with only two towers placed still cleared the level after losing four lives.
Controls
- Tap a tower in the bottom palette to select it, then tap an open patch of grass beside the path to place it.
- Placed towers aim and attack automatically — no manual targeting is needed.
- Tap an already-placed tower to bring up its upgrade or sell options.
- Survive all of a level's waves without your lives reaching zero to clear it and carry any leftover gold into the next level.
Tips & Strategy
Spend what you can, bank what you can't
Because unspent gold carries straight into the next level, there's rarely a reason to sit on cash inside a single level — an extra tower on the path earns its keep faster than gold sitting idle. At the same time, don't feel pressured to spend every dollar just to zero out your balance; the carry-over is what rewards ending a level rich.
Match the tower to the threat
Each tower fills a different role: ARCHER is the cheap general-purpose option to start with, CANNON trades a higher price for splash damage against groups, FROST slows enemies down rather than dealing heavy damage, and SAW hits up to four slimes in a line for a mid-tier price. Pick towers for the wave in front of you rather than defaulting to whichever one you unlocked most recently.
Early lives have more slack than you'd think
Losing a life every time a slime slips past the EXIT sounds punishing, but the starting life totals — 10 on Level 1, 12 on Level 2 — leave real room for a few leaks while you're still working out where to place towers. Don't panic-place a tower in a bad spot just to plug one leak; a couple of losses early in a level rarely cost you the run.
Get through the tutorial once, then move fast
The three-page tutorial only appears on your very first playthrough and needs about two taps per page to advance — one to trigger the page's animation, one to move on. It only covers Level 1, so once you've cleared it, the flow from placing your first tower to the next wave starting is immediate for every level after.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is TowerDefence free to play?
Yes. It loads directly in your browser with no download or account required.
How do I place a tower?
Tap a tower option in the palette at the bottom of the screen, then tap an open patch of grass beside the path. Towers attack automatically once placed — no aiming is needed.
How many levels does it have?
Eleven. Level 1 plays inside the embedded frame with three waves and an ARCHER-only tower, and the rest continue in full screen with new tower types and tougher slimes as you progress.
What happens to unspent gold?
It carries over to the next level. TowerDefence doesn't track an abstract score — the game shows lines like "$634 carried to the next level!" when a level ends, and ending a level with gold in the bank is the reward.
What ends a level in defeat?
Each level gives you a set number of lives, shown as hearts. Every slime that slips past your towers and reaches the EXIT costs one life, and the level is lost once lives hit zero.
Do I need to place towers before the waves start?
The first wave begins automatically once you place your first tower, so it's worth getting at least one tower down early rather than waiting to plan out a full layout.
