What Tower Gate is

Tower Gate is a two-player area control board game in which you move two workers each on a 5x5 board, stack towers, and win by being first to stand on a tower of height 3. There are no dice and no luck - it is an abstract strategy game - and on this page you play against the CPU. Its own rule is that every block takes the colour of whoever built it, so you can only climb a tower where your colour is in the majority.

Rules

1. Board and workers: the board is 5x5, 25 spaces. You (terracotta figures with round heads) and the CPU (blue figures with square heads) have two workers each.
2. Placing: starting with you, each side places one worker at a time on an empty space. Choose Fixed symmetric and you start from B4 and D4, the CPU from B2 and D2.
3. A turn: choose one of your workers and move it one space, to any of the eight spaces around it, then build one block on any of the eight spaces around where it landed. The space you came from counts too.
4. Limits on moving: you can climb one block at a time, but you may step down as far as you like. Spaces holding another worker, and spaces with a dome, are closed.
5. The colour of a block: every block takes the colour of whoever built it. You may enter a space of height 2 or more only when your own blocks there outnumber your opponent's. If the colours are tied, nobody may enter. A space of height 1 is open whatever its colour.
6. Domes: build once more on a space of height 3 and it becomes a height-4 dome that nobody can stand on. You cannot build on a space with a worker on it.
7. Draws: if nothing is decided within 100 moves between the two sides, the match is a draw.

How to win

• You win the moment you climb onto a space of height 3, and the DONE stamp comes down on the drawing. A move that climbs to height 3 builds nothing.
• You also win if your opponent has no legal move at all on their turn.

Step by step

1. Choose the settings: pick the CPU level (Easy, Normal or Hard), a blessing for you and for the CPU, and the starting setup, then press Start match.
2. Place the workers: starting with you, each side places one worker at a time on an empty space. Once all four are down the match begins. If you chose Fixed symmetric, this step is skipped.
3. Move a worker: tap one of your workers and move it one space, to any of the eight neighbouring spaces marked with a dotted circle. You can climb one block at a time, and you may enter a space of height 2 or more only when your blocks there outnumber your opponent's.
4. Build one block: tap one of the eight spaces around the worker you moved, marked with hatching, to build one block there. The block takes your colour. Build on a space of height 3 and it becomes a dome that nobody can stand on.
5. Climb to height 3 and win: you win the moment you climb onto a space of height 3. You also win if your opponent has no legal move on their turn.

Before you build you can tap another destination to change your mind, and Undo takes the move back. Tap any space and its height and the number of blocks of each colour appear in the legend at the bottom of the screen. With a keyboard, Tab moves into the board, the arrow keys move between spaces and Enter confirms.

Run the tutorial againTUTORIAL

The blessings (special powers)

You and the CPU choose a blessing separately. They were tuned by measuring win rates in CPU-versus-CPU matches, so no blessing leaves either side badly ahead or behind.

Tips for winning

1. Stop a tower by tying it: build one block on a height-1 space holding a single opposing block, and it becomes height 2 with the colours tied, which closes it to everyone.
2. Grow a height-2 tower with two of your blocks: stand on it, make a height-3 tower beside it where your colour leads, and your next move wins.
3. Cap a dangerous height 3 with a dome: if one of your workers stands beside a height-3 tower where your opponent's colour leads, build on it and seal it.
4. Keep somewhere to go: a worker boxed in by the edge of the board or by domes can run out of moves, and that loses the match.

About the daily puzzle

A win-within-two-moves puzzle that changes at midnight every day. Everyone gets the same board, and the CPU defends with every move available to it. Only boards proved winnable against every reply are set. Clear it and you can share your move count and time on X, and the number of days you clear in a row is recorded.

Frequently asked questions

What kind of game is Tower Gate?

It is a two-player area control board game - an abstract strategy game with no luck in it - played on a 5x5 board with two workers each: you stack towers, and the first to stand on a tower of height 3 wins. What sets it apart is that every block takes the colour of whoever built it, so you can only climb a tower where your colour is in the majority. On this page you play against the CPU.

Is it free? Do I need an account?

It is completely free, with no account to create and no app to install. It runs straight in the browser on a phone, a tablet or a computer.

Why can't I climb a tower of height 2?

You may enter a space of height 2 or more only when your own blocks there outnumber your opponent's. Towers where the colours are tied, or where your opponent has more, are closed to you. A tower you cannot climb is marked with an x on the board, and tapping a space shows its height and the number of blocks of each colour in the legend at the bottom of the screen.

Can I choose how strong the CPU is?

You can choose Easy, Normal or Hard. Easy plays a less than best move now and then; Hard reads up to five moves ahead.

What is a blessing?

It is a special power you choose before the match. Wind moves two spaces straight in one direction, Mason builds two blocks at once but only once per match, Paint recolours the top block of an adjacent empty space instead of building, and Leap climbs two blocks at once. You and the CPU choose separately.

What is the daily puzzle?

It is a win-within-two-moves puzzle that changes at midnight every day. Everyone gets the same board, and the CPU defends with every move available to it. Clear it and you can share your move count and time on X, and the number of days you clear in a row is recorded.

Are my results saved?

Your wins, losses and draws, and the number of days you have cleared the daily puzzle in a row, are saved in the browser you are using. They are not shared with other devices or browsers.

Are there draws?

There are. If nothing is decided within 100 moves between the two sides, the match is a draw. Most matches finish in about 20 moves.

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