What it is #
Hold the Line is a tower defense game in short assaults. Enemies walk a path across the board towards your base; you build towers on the marked pads beside it, and every enemy they stop gives you energy to build and upgrade more. Each enemy that reaches your base costs one of your ten lives, and the assault is lost when none are left.
Assaults are numbered and never run out. An assault's number sets how hard it is, and its board is drawn anew every time you play, so a second try never plays the same way. As you get further, new enemies and new towers join in, each one introduced with a short line the first time you meet it.
How to play #
| Phone or tablet | Computer | |
|---|---|---|
| Build | Pick a tower in the bar, then tap an empty pad | Arrows move between pads, the digits 1 to 4 pick a tower, Space builds |
| Look and upgrade | Tap a tower: its card shows what it does now and at the next level, and its button raises it | Space on a tower opens its card, and Space again raises it |
| Abilities and speed | Tap their buttons beside the towers | Arrow down into the bar and press Space |
| Menus | Tap the buttons | Left and right arrows change the assault, Space or Enter plays, Escape pauses and closes panels |
- Four towers, each good at something the others are not: Dart for quick single shots, Burst for crowds, Frost to slow everything in reach, and Lance for one heavy shot that goes through plate.
- Every upgrade raises a tower's strength, range, speed and splash. A new colour shows every third level, and at level 7 each tower gains a special move.
- The coins you collect are kept even when you lose. Spend them in the store on shields, upgrades, abilities and new looks for your towers, their shots and the ground.
Modes #
- Assaults: numbered assaults that get harder as you go, in worlds of ten, each world with its own colours and music. Every assault has three stars: hold it, collect every coin, and hold it on the first try.
- Daily assault: one assault a day, the same for every player. A new one arrives at midnight UTC.
- Endless: one assault that keeps getting harder until your lives run out. Your score is how long you held.
Free, with or without an account #
Hold the Line is free to play and needs no download. It works on phones, tablets and computers.
As a guest, your progress, coins and settings are saved in this browser, on this device only; we don't receive them, and clearing your browser's data for this site erases them. With a free player account, your progress and coins follow you to every device where you sign in. The first time you open the game, you choose how to play: log in, create an account or play as a guest. Creating an account or playing as a guest asks your date of birth; the answer stays on this device, and is saved with your account if you create one. See the privacy policy and your account page.