Knife Tower

The pitch

Race up a colorful tower, throw knives into every block, and reach the top before your rival. Time each shot around the bouncing ball, build combos with precise hits, collect coins, unlock new knives, and upgrade your speed, combo range, and income.

Controls & how it runs

Tap and hold to throw knives into the tower. Avoid hitting the bouncing ball. Land accurate shots to break blocks, create combos, and climb faster. Reach the final block before your opponent to win. Use earned coins to unlock knives and improve your upgrades.

Getting a run going takes exactly one press: Press start, up top, and the game boots inside this page — nothing downloads in the background and no form wants your details before the first jump. The cabinet is drawn for a portrait (upright) screen and listens to mouse, keyboard or touch, whichever the game prefers. This cabinet stands tall: it was built for portrait screens, so a phone held upright gives it the frame it wants — though it will squeeze politely into any window. Given a fullscreen button, use it — scores look better at full size, that's just science.

Knife Tower — quick-fire questions

Does Knife Tower cost anything to play?

Not a token. The cabinet is free from the first run to the five-hundredth — no wallet, no sign-up, no toll booth hiding three levels in. The adverts around the page are what keep the floor's lights on.

What sort of game is Knife Tower?

It stands on our 3D row — that's the family it plays most like. The pitch above is the publisher's own rundown of what it throws at you and what it hands back.

Can I play Knife Tower on my phone?

Happily, yes. It runs inside the browser on phones and tablets the same way it does on a computer. This cabinet stands tall: it was built for portrait screens, so a phone held upright gives it the frame it wants — though it will squeeze politely into any window.

Do I need to install anything first?

Nothing whatsoever. Knife Tower is an HTML5 game: hit the start button and it boots on this page, and shutting the tab sweeps the cabinet clean behind you.

Before you wander off

Personal best banked, or still chasing it? Either way the full 3D row is powered on and waiting — A hundred and nineteen cabinets with depth — jumps you can misjudge in three dimensions and racetracks that fall away under you. Everything on this row has a horizon.