Tower Line
Tower Line
Hold the mountain fortress with towers: build, upgrade, specialize.
Strategy · 1 player
How to play
The dark army is marching through the mountain pass toward the fortress. Build archer, cannon, frost, lightning, mortar and banner towers on the stone pads beside the road; in new regions alchemy, ballista, wind and flame towers unlock too. Upgrade each one three times, then pick one of two specializations. Across 112 maps in twenty regions, hold the walls against 26 kinds of enemies, from wolf packs to the Ember Titan, and spend the stars you earn in the Barracks on permanent power.
- 1Tap a stone pad beside the road and pick a tower from the ring that opens. Towers cost gold; new towers unlock as you advance.
- 2Start the wave when you are ready. Enemies march along the road; every one that reaches the fortress costs a life.
- 3Defeated enemies drop gold. Tap a tower to upgrade it; at level four choose one of two specializations. You can also sell a tower or change its targeting (first, last, strong, close).
- 4Every enemy has a weakness: magic and poison beat armor, arrows and cannonballs beat the warded; cannons, mortars and flames cannot hit fliers, and only lightning sees shadows. Ember walkers are immune to fire, and ice giants cannot be slowed.
- 5Meteor and Frost Storm save you in tight spots but take time to recharge. Call the next wave early for bonus gold; you can even call it while a wave is still marching, its troops join the fight.
- 6Earn one to three stars depending on the lives you keep. Spend stars on permanent upgrades in the Barracks; three-star maps unlock hard mode.
Keyboard
Move between pads with the arrow keys or W A S D, open and choose with Space, browse the ring with left-right, close with Backspace. Q meteor, E frost storm, F call wave, [ and ] speed, Z Barracks (before the first wave), I map and enemy info. Esc pauses.
Touch screen
Tap a pad, tap an option in the ring once (details and range appear), then tap it again to confirm. Use the big buttons at the bottom for abilities, calling waves and game speed. The i button at the top left brings back the map and enemy info; the cross on the card closes it.
Controller
On a controller the D-pad or left stick moves between pads, A opens and confirms the menu and B closes it; LT casts Meteor, RT Frost Storm and X calls the next wave. LB and RB change speed, and Y opens the Barracks before the first wave.
Your high scores and progress are stored only in this browser; clearing browser data resets them.
About Tower Line
Tower Line is a defence strategy game in which you hold a narrow road in front of the fortress with towers. You do not steer the enemy and cannot reshape the path; your only power lies in what you build on the stone pads, in which order, and when you spend your gold. Every map, with its bends and pad layout, is a puzzle of its own.
The depth comes from enemy variety. Armoured, warded, flying, shadow and fire-immune units can arrive mixed in the same wave, so a defence leaning on one tower type will crack sooner or later. Steering each tower into one of two specialisations at level four invites you to replay the same map with a different layout.
As you push through the twenty regions, new tower types unlock and the permanent upgrades in the Barracks prepare you for the next step in difficulty. It appeals to calm planners as much as to risk takers who speed up the clock and stack waves on top of one another.
Strategy and tips
- Fill the pads near sharp bends first. Enemies stay in range longer there, and splash damage from cannons and mortars is far more efficient at those spots.
- Place a frost tower just ahead of your damage towers so the slowed pack spends more time under archers and lightning. Remember that ice giants ignore the slow.
- On every new map press I to open the enemy info and see what is coming. If fliers appear, have at least one tower that is not a cannon, mortar or flame; shadows require lightning.
- When torn between a new tower and an upgrade, upgrading a well-placed tower usually pays off more; the specialisation tier is a noticeable jump in power.
- Tune targeting per tower: "strong" on long-range towers melts big units, while "first" on the last tower along the road stops leakers.
- Do not burn Meteor and Frost Storm at the first sign of pressure. Keep them for a boss or a dense column closing in on the gate.
- If your defence is solid, call waves early. The bonus gold becomes an extra upgrade later on.
Frequently asked questions
- How many maps and enemies are there?
- There are 112 maps across twenty regions and 26 enemy types. Alchemy, ballista, wind and flame towers unlock as you move into new regions.
- What are stars for?
- Finishing a map awards one to three stars based on the lives you kept. Stars buy permanent upgrades in the Barracks, and three-star maps unlock hard mode.
- Is my progress saved?
- Yes. Unlocked maps, stars and Barracks upgrades are stored in your browser, so you can continue where you left off on the same browser.
- Can I speed the game up?
- Yes, game speed is adjustable. Once your defence is settled, raising it shortens long waves.
