// Field Manual · Match-3 Tower Defense

Defend the Castle. Match the Match-3.

Tower Swap is a match-3 + tower defense hybrid by Curtastic Corp — released June 2020, still actively updated, and quietly playable in browser on CrazyGames, iOS and Android. This guide covers every defense's stats and tiers, the 15 castles you fight on during weekend clan wars, and the tactical decisions the official pages don't spell out.

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6
Defenses
15
Castles
4
Tiers per defense
30M+
Plays since 2020
All 6 Classes

The Roster

All defense data verified from the official tower pages on towerswap.app. Every defense has four tiers — Regular → Bronze → Silver → Gold — applied with the matching Anvil item. Resources also have their own tiered version, upgraded with the basic Anvil.

Arrow Tower

// short-range · all-directions
Arrows (Regular) primary
Power 3 1.09 shots per second Range 1 tile
Arrows (Bronze) primary
Power 3 2.61 shots per second Range 1 tile
Arrows (Silver) primary
Power 3 6.28 shots per second Range 1 tile
Arrows (Gold) primary
Power 3 15.0 shots per second Range 1 tile
Power 3
Fire dir All directions
Best paired with Ice walls (keep dragons in 1-tile range)
Castle integration Arrow Towers can be dragged onto castle turret slots. They cannot be removed once placed there.

Cannon

// infinite L/R · area sweeper
Cannonball (Regular) primary
Power 6 0.61 shots per second Range infinite L+R
Cannonball (Bronze) primary
Power 6 1.46 shots per second Range infinite L+R
Cannonball (Silver) primary
Power 6 3.52 shots per second Range infinite L+R
Cannonball (Gold) primary
Power 6 8.46 shots per second Range infinite L+R
Power 6
Fire dir Left and right only
Tip Tap to flip preferred direction (small effect)
Cannon Slot bonus +30% firing speed
Direction toggle Tap an existing cannon to change its preferred shooting direction. Effect is minor — both sides still fire — but it matters when one side has more dragons.

Ballista

// infinite U/D · column hunter
Bolt (Regular) primary
Power 6 0.30 shots per second Range infinite U+D
Bolt (Bronze) primary
Power 6 0.73 shots per second Range infinite U+D
Bolt (Silver) primary
Power 6 1.76 shots per second Range infinite U+D
Bolt (Gold) primary
Power 6 4.23 shots per second Range infinite U+D
Power 6
Fire dir Own column only
Visibility rule Only fires once dragons are out of clouds
Tracking Bolts auto-track horizontal movement
Column lock Bolts always hit a dragon in the same column, even if the dragon has shifted horizontally — but if no dragon remains in that column, the bolt simply vanishes.

Ice Wall

// slowdown · area denial
Slowdown (Regular) slow
50% slow on dragons on top of the wall
Slowdown (Bronze) slow
63% slow on dragons on top of the wall
Slowdown (Silver) slow
76% slow on dragons on top of the wall
Slowdown (Gold) slow
89% slow on dragons on top of the wall
Effect Slow
Range On top of the wall only
Lore Dragons breathe fire and dislike cold — that's why ice slows them
Don't stack rows Spreading walls across different rows is better than stacking them in one row — dragons reach your towers at staggered times, so cannons fire across the whole wave instead of in a single burst.
Pair with best cannon Place your highest-tier Ice Wall in the same row as your highest-tier Cannon. The Cannon shoots the slowed-down dragons the longest. Add your best Arrow Tower in the same lane.

Treasure Chest

// utility · swap refill
Contents (Regular) primary
2 swaps inside 4% chance of a special item (TNT, Anvil, Genie, Devil)
Contents (Bronze) primary
12 swaps inside 12% chance of a special item
Contents (Silver) primary
70 swaps inside 33% chance of a special item
Contents (Gold) primary
380 swaps inside 100% chance of a special item
What's inside Swaps + maybe item
Best use Open Gold chests if you have board space
Day-end trick Tap a chest in the 1-second window after your last swap to extend the day
Overtime loophole When you run out of swaps, the day usually ends instantly. But the game gives you a 1-second window to tap a chest — opening one buys you more swaps and keeps the day alive. In-game lore explains it as 'paying workers overtime.'

Iceberg

// passive · permanent slow
Slowdown slow
Equivalent to a Silver Ice Wall (~76% slow), slows dragons flying directly over it
Tier Fixed at Silver-equivalent
Acquisition War chest reward; place from inventory
Site analysis

How to Choose Your Unit

These are decisions the official tower pages don't spell out. Each row is our reading of the system from the official stats — not random tier-list opinion. Test them in your own runs.

You have 3 same-tier defenses lined up

Wait before merging

Merging costs you board coverage — three Silver Cannons cover three rows, one Gold Cannon covers one. Merge only when board space is the bottleneck.

You're approaching Day 10 or Day 20 boss

Spend swaps on Ice Wall density first

Boss dragons are slow but tanky. A row of Silver+ walls gives your cannons the long window they need. Bosses release small dragons on death — make sure the lane behind them isn't empty.

You see a Devil tile offering hearts for a defense

Accept only if hearts > 30%

Devil deals trade castle HP for instant defenses. Early game (Day 1-5) you have hearts to spare; late game the cost can sink a run. Refuse if your castle is below ~30% HP.

A row has both a Gold Cannon and a Gold Ballista

Put your best Ice Wall there

Two infinite-range golds in one lane is the kill zone. A Gold Wall (89% slow) holds dragons in that lane for a full lifecycle of both towers.

Your last swap ran out and the day is ending

Tap a Treasure Chest within 1 second

The 1-second window after final swap is an undocumented overtime mechanic. Opening a chest then refills swaps and lets the day continue. Position chests where you'll see them mid-day-end.

Reality check Resource and defense tiers stack additively, not multiplicatively — a Silver Cannon is better than two Bronze Cannons in the same lane, because two Bronzes still both only fire 1.46/s while one Silver fires 3.52/s.
11 Confirmed Modes

Game Modes

Tower Swap has 15 castles — each one a distinct level with different rules. Castles 2 through 17 are only playable during clan wars on weekends, so you need to join a clan with 2+ active members before Friday or the levels stay locked. Patreon supporters can practice them any time. The summary below is for the most distinctive castles; full details at towerswap.app/castle.

// default

First Castle

The base level. Always playable solo. Standard rules: 5 swaps per day, dragon waves escalate, Day 10 and Day 20 are mother-dragon bosses. This is the rank-grind level.

// specialty

Cannons Castle

Special slots on the board only accept Cannons. Gold dragon replaces mother dragon — it deals no damage and drops gold coins each hit instead.

// specialty

Island Castle

Castle 2. The first weekend-only level; water-themed board layout.

// specialty

Icy Castle

Castle 10. Ice-heavy board, slowdowns matter more than usual.

// specialty

Lanes Castle

Castle 11. Restricted lane structure changes how Ballistas and Cannons cover the board.

// scarcity

Poor Castle

Castle 12. Resource-starved variant — every swap counts twice as much.

// tempo

Speed Castle

Castle 13. Faster dragon arrival; rewards aggressive merge timing over slow building.

// chaos

Quake Castle

Castle 14. Board state changes during the day — you can't rely on a slow defensive build.

// items

Fairy Castle

Castle 15. Fairies appear on the board more often, so 'swap anywhere' play is dominant.

// blitz

One Day Castle

Castle 16. Compressed to a single day — strategy gets cut from a week-arc to a single push.

// puzzle

Alone Castle

Castle 17. The most-hated level (per the developer's own changelog). You're a single tile on the board and must fight from there.

Vote First Castle (#1) is the only one playable solo without weekend wars or Patreon — it's where you grind ranks 1-100 and learn the merge economy.
Complete Keybinds

Controls Reference

Tower Swap is touch-or-mouse only — no keyboard required. Below are every interactive action, drawn from official documentation across towerswap.app.

ActionKey
Swap two adjacent tiles to form a match-3Click & drag (mouse) / Tap & drag (touch)
Upgrade that tile — basic Anvil upgrades resources, Bronze/Silver/Gold Anvil upgrades defenses to that tierDrag tile onto an Anvil
Repair the castle / add heartsDrag a stone onto the castle
Mount it permanently on the castle wall — cannot be removedDrag an Arrow Tower onto a castle turret
Flip its preferred shooting directionTap a Cannon
Blast away tiles. Stick count on the TNT shows remaining usesTap TNT
Restart the day to its starting state. Swaps reset to 5, hearts and board reset — but used items, fairies, and TNT do NOT come backTap Time Machine
Buy overtime — refills swaps and extends the dayTap Treasure Chest in 1-sec post-last-swap window
// Around the combat

Match Flow & Systems

Everything around the match-3 board itself — tiering, items, clans, wars, the Devil. These are the systems that decide whether a high-score run is reachable.

// tiering

Resource and Defense tiers

Every resource (Stone, Iron, Wood, Ice, Treasure) has a regular form and an upgraded form. Every defense (Arrow Tower, Cannon, Ballista, Ice Wall, Treasure Chest) has four tiers: Regular → Bronze → Silver → Gold. Tiers are reached either by matching 3 same-tier items, or by applying the matching Anvil.

// items

Anvils

Four flavors. Basic Anvil upgrades a resource (Stone→upgraded Stone). Bronze Anvil takes a Regular defense to Bronze. Silver Anvil takes Bronze to Silver. Gold Anvil takes Silver to Gold. Anvils also work inside your inventory for pre-day upgrades.

// items

Fairies and Fairy House

Fairies can swap any two things on the board, anywhere — they bypass adjacency. Match 3 Fairies to spawn a Fairy House, which then produces more Fairies passively.

// items

TNT

Tap-to-blast tile-clear. Each TNT has a finite charge count (shown as sticks of dynamite). Use it to clear unwanted resources blocking a merge — never use late-day TNT for marginal cleanup.

// items

Genie

A special item found in chests. Swaps any 2 things on the board. Rarer than fairies.

// items

Cannon Slot

Board tile that only accepts Cannons. Gives any Cannon placed on it +30% firing speed. Found on Cannons Castle and obtainable via Devil deals on other castles.

// clans

Clans

Player groups for high-score competition. Top 3 scorers in a clan earn 'nobility' status — they get a gold bonus every time another clan member finishes a level. Leaving a clan erases your scores in it. Joining a new clan starts you from zero on that clan's board.

// wars

Weekend Wars

Levels 2 through 17 are ONLY playable during weekend clan wars. You must be in a clan with 2+ active members before the weekend starts. War chests drop unique items like Icebergs. Patreon supporters bypass this and can practice levels any time.

// economy

Devil Deals

A devil tile occasionally appears on the board, offering you a fortified watchtower or special defense in exchange for some of your castle's hearts. The math: only profitable when your castle HP is high enough that losing some doesn't shorten your run.

// meta

100 Ranks

Personal progression. Earned by finishing days and surviving boss rounds. Independent of clan score.

// meta

Avatar Maker

Customizable pixel-art avatar tied to your account. Cosmetic only, but Patreon supporters get premium tinting options.

Watch out Time Machine does not refund items used during the day. Hearts, swaps, and board state come back; TNT, Fairies, and inventory-placed items do not. Use Time Machine to undo a swap-economy mistake, never to undo a TNT misclick.

Play in the browser

Tower Swap runs free on CrazyGames, iOS, Android, and the official site. The web version and the apps share progress if you log in.

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