Free to play, in your browser
A free co-op tower defence game for your browser
Towers of Aurum is a free multiplayer tower defence game. Up to four friends each hold a gate of the Ember Ring, build towers along one long shared road, and stop the Hollow before they reach the ember at its heart. There is nothing to install: open the page and play.
Tower defence in the spirit of Warcraft III
If you spent nights on the custom tower defence maps of Warcraft III, such as Green TD, this will feel like home. Creeps pour out of four gates and walk one long road that winds past every player, then turns in towards the ember at the centre. Every wave passes every gate, so every tower you build helps the whole party, and every leak is felt by everyone. Races have their own towers, leaders and rules, the way the old maps had their builders. (Tower defense, if you spell it the American way.)
How to play
- Pick your raceFour races, each with its own towers and its own way to win. Your first night gives you three towers, and more open as the waves get harder.
- Build beside the roadSmall towers take one tile and stronger ones take more, and any tower can sit on a half tile, so finding the best spot is a real choice.
- Use the holdYou get 30 seconds before every wave to build and upgrade. Call the wave early when you are ready.
- Upgrade and choose a pathTowers climb through tiers, and at a split you choose one of two branches that change how the tower fights.
- Spend your gold wellGold arrives as each wave starts, and from wave 6 a saved purse earns interest.
- Keep the ember burningEvery creep that reaches the centre costs lives. Lose them all and the night is over.
The four races and their towers
Oni
Orcs of the Red Reach, at the Ashfall Gate
the Iron Father
A horned, tusked people of red-skinned giants who live by the war band, the forge and the drum. What they build is rough timber, black iron and bone, and it does not fall down.
How they play. Mortars, toxic vats, flak totems and rocket carts. You flatten crowds, keep the sky clear, and hold the line while your friends do the clever work.
Their rule. Heat: firing heats a tower up for more damage, and at full heat it vents in a blast.
Towers And later
Ronin
Humans of the Shirogane Marches, at the Riverwhite Gate
the Unbent Blade
A human people of castles and sword schools, who raise white keeps on granite and ride to war under their clan banners. They trust drilled steel, precise engineering and an unbroken oath.
How they play. Sword turrets, railgun keeps and sniper towers that cut down the one creep that matters. Bosses are yours. Few towers, placed well, upgraded hard.
Their rule. Focus: every hit on the same target hits harder, so choosing the target is half the craft.
Towers And later
Kitsune
Moon elves of the Moonwood, at the Moonrise Gate
the Ninth Tail
An ancient elven people of the moonlit forests, long-eared and fox-blooded, who grow their towers from living moonwood and fill them with foxfire. They fight with frost, lightning and old illusions.
How they play. Frost lanterns, volt coils, stun bells and spreading foxfire. You decide where the fight happens and make every other tower on the map better.
Their rule. Hex: the more debuffs on a creep, the more damage it takes from everyone, so your party hits harder too.
Towers And later
Shrine
Panda druids of the Jade Groves, at the Greenroot Gate
Keeper of the Root
A gentle panda people of the deep groves, druids who sing to living wood, river stone and jade until it rises to guard them. Every tower they raise is bound into one web of roots.
How they play. Spirit totems that strengthen towers nearby, gold plum trees, spirit poles that curse armour, and lantern roots that reach a neighbour’s lane. You make the whole party richer and stronger.
Their rule. Links: your towers join into networks that share their buffs, and an aura reaches any tower the network touches.
Towers And laterPlay with friends
Make a lobby and send your friends its invite key, join a public lobby, or use Quick Join. Each player holds one gate of the Ember Ring. Bots can take any gate nobody is in, and they build and upgrade on their own: steady, not brilliant. Creeps grow tougher for every gate that is held, so a full party faces a bigger night, not an easier one.
Want something new? Play a Full Night, a Short Night or Endless, choose a difficulty from Story to Nightmare, and add changes to the rules such as Swarm, Gold Rush or Mixed Armour. Each week a weekly challenge sets the same night for every player, with leaderboards for the best gates and the longest nights.
The Ember Ring Journey
The Journey is a story mode for one player or a whole party. Each race sets out from its own land and crosses Aurenthal zone by zone, closing the Hollow Gates on the long road home to the Ember Ring. Its levels draw on each race’s own history, and new zones open as they are finished.
Grow stronger by playing
Every match earns Neons, which buy tower levels and power-ups for the race you play. Ember Shards buy skins that change how your towers look. Nothing in the shop makes a tower stronger: power comes from playing.
A story worth reading
The world has about 72,000 words of original story behind it: the last star-fire Hoshibi at the heart of the Ember Ring, the four peoples who swore to guard it, and the night grey gates opened in the corners of their city. Read the lore of Aurenthal, starting with the Chronicle.
Questions
Is Towers of Aurum free?
Yes. The whole game is free to play in your browser. Optional skins change how your towers look, and power is never for sale.
Can I play with friends?
Yes. Up to four players share a match, one at each gate. Make a lobby and send your friends its invite key, join a public lobby, or let bots hold the gates nobody is in.
Can I play on my own?
Yes. Hold one gate by yourself, or add up to three bots that build and upgrade towers on their own.
Is it like the Warcraft III tower defence maps?
That is the spirit of it. If you loved custom maps such as Green TD, you will know the feeling: one long road shared by every player, races with their own towers, and a party holding the line together. Towers of Aurum is an original game and is not made by or connected with Blizzard Entertainment.
Do I need to download anything?
No. It runs in a recent version of Chrome, Edge or Safari on a computer, and in Firefox on Windows and on Apple Silicon Macs.
Do I need an account?
No. You can play as a guest straight away. Signing in keeps your level and Neons on every device.
How long is a match?
A Full Night takes about 25 minutes and a Short Night about 20. Endless keeps going for as long as you hold.
What are the four races?
The Oni are orcs who love big explosions, the Ronin are humans who cut down bosses, the Kitsune are moon elves who slow and stun, and the Shrine are panda druids who make the whole party stronger.
Ready to hold the gate?
It is free, it runs in your browser, and your first night starts in seconds.