Games Like Kingdom Rush: Tower Defense Games to Play Online
Updated
Games like Kingdom Rush are tower defense games on a road: monsters march along a path, you place towers beside it and you upgrade them with the gold you earn. Kingdom Rush is a 2011 tower defense game by Ironhide Game Studio. The games below are original titles by independent studios, with towers, upgrades, heroes and spells.
How Kingdom Rush plays
The levels of Kingdom Rush are preset roads. Monsters march along them and you must stop them before they reach the end, because each one that gets through drains your lives and too many cause a game over.
You place towers at set points along the road. There are four kinds: archers, mages, artillery and barracks. Archers can hit flying enemies, and barracks send out melee soldiers that slow the enemy down.
Killing monsters earns gold, which buys towers and upgrades. Each tower can be upgraded three times, and then you choose one of two final upgrades. You also get two abilities that work anywhere on the level and need time to recharge: a meteor spell and reinforcement soldiers. You control one hero, stronger than ordinary soldiers, and completing levels earns stars that you spend on permanent upgrades (source).
So the game is tower choice, upgrades and well-timed powers. This table shows where the games below ask for the same.
| What you do in Kingdom Rush | Games that ask the same |
|---|---|
| Place towers at set points along a road | Royal Defense, Halloween Ghouls, Pirate Defense Online |
| Mix tower types | Royal Defense, Defense Designer, Cursed Treasure 2 |
| Upgrade towers with the gold you earn | Royal Defense, Pirate Defense Online, Cursed Treasure 1.5 |
| Use heroes and spells | Royal Defense, YAOGUARD, Cursed Treasure 2 |
| Hold the line against waves and bosses | Hot Barrel Cats, Kingdom Tower Defense, Tower Siege |
Towers beside a road
- Royal Defense is the closest match. Hold the road against incoming waves, choose tower spots and upgrade archers, mages, artillery and barracks, then summon heroes and use spells at the right moment. Victories bring new levels, stars and upgrades. You tap an empty build spot to place a tower, and you earn gold and upgrade during the fight.
- Pirate Defense Online has 15 levels in 3 regions. You drag units onto the highlighted tiles, and they attack incoming pirates on their own. To strengthen one, tap it and press the upgrade button in the pop-up menu.
- Halloween Ghouls sends ghosts, witches, vampires and more toward your village. Pick a tower from the bottom of the screen, click or touch the grass to place it, then press the start wave button.
- Defense Designer has you protect a castle from waves of enemies. Build and upgrade different types of towers, build walls and manage your resources. You click a tower to upgrade it.
Heroes, spells and special powers
- Cursed Treasure 2 turns the story around: the good heroes come for your gems, and you gather the evil forces. Build towers, upgrade them and cast spells. Hotkeys 1, 2 and 3 build a Den, a Crypt and a Temple, W casts Terror, E casts Meteor and holding Space gives you 3x speed.
- Cursed Treasure 1.5 is the earlier game. Build and upgrade towers, cast spells and pick up skills to keep the gems away from ninjas, angels and lizard riders. You use the mouse or a tap.
- YAOGUARD is set in the myths of the ancient Shan Hai world. You command legendary guardians to defend the Wall against waves of beasts and demons. Pick a hero, tap the map to deploy it, and use the buttons for pause, speed and hero skills.
- Kingdom Tower Defense puts you in control of a magic king. Use skills, heroes and magic to defend your castle, and collect money to upgrade your weapons and buy power-ups before the final boss reaches it. You aim with the mouse, or by touch on a phone.
The same idea in another shape
- Defenders of the Realm has you command knights to defend a kingdom from monsters. You place your troops to defend the castle, and the enemies come from the right along one of five lines.
- Hot Barrel Cats guards a gate with cats. A fungus horde marches down the road, and only the cats on the wall can shoot. Every shot heats a cat up until it jams, so you drag hot cats down to cool off and drop two matching cats together to merge them into a stronger one. It has 16 levels with 1 to 3 stars each, and boss fights on levels 8, 12 and 16.
- Tower Siege has you build the tower itself. Between waves you get a hand of four shapes, such as walls, archers, cannons, mortars and tesla coils, and a short window to place them. Blocks that lose their support fall, and you spend wood, stone and gold on a tech tree. It plays with one hand on a phone or with a mouse.
Tower defense tips covers placement and upgrades, and kingdom games has castle defense and realm building. Games like Bloons TD covers balloon-popping path defense, and every strategy game is on the strategy page.
Tips for path tower defense
- Mix tower types. Royal Defense offers archer towers, magic towers, artillery and barracks, and Cursed Treasure 2 has three different buildings.
- Upgrade during the fight. Royal Defense lets you earn gold and upgrade your defense while the wave is on, and Pirate Defense Online upgrades a unit from a pop-up menu.
- Keep spells for the right moment. Royal Defense says to use powerful spells at the right moment, and Cursed Treasure 2 puts Terror on W and Meteor on E.
- Use the speed button. Cursed Treasure 2 runs at 3x speed while you hold Space, and YAOGUARD has a button for speed.
- Place everything first. In Halloween Ghouls you set the towers and then press the start wave button.
Games like Kingdom Rush FAQ
Are there free games like Kingdom Rush?
Yes. They play free in the browser, with no install and no registration, and there are no in-game purchases, paid access or subscriptions on the site.
Are there games like Kingdom Rush for PC?
Yes. The site works in the browser of a phone, a tablet and a computer, so these play with a mouse on a PC. Halloween Ghouls, Defense Designer and Cursed Treasure 2 list mouse clicks, and Cursed Treasure 2 adds keyboard hotkeys.
Are there games like Kingdom Rush on mobile?
Yes. Royal Defense is played by tapping build spots, Pirate Defense Online by dragging units and tapping them to upgrade, and YAOGUARD by tapping on-screen buttons and the map.
Are there games like Kingdom Rush with heroes?
Yes. Royal Defense lets you summon heroes and use spells, YAOGUARD has you pick a hero and use its skills, and Kingdom Tower Defense gives you a magic king with heroes and magic.
Pick your tower spots before the first wave, upgrade as the gold comes in, and save the big spell for the boss.
