About Thornhold
Thornhold is a forest-defense auto battler where your best weapon is water. Orcs want the forest for lumber, and you protect the Great Tree by deciding where a river flows, which tree structures grow and which troops stand in the way.
The map is a grid. Water starts at one source, and you extend the river a single cell at a time from its current head. It can stack with other terrain but cannot pass through mountains. Where the river runs decides which bonuses trigger, which groves wake up and whether the Forest Core is charged, so the route is the real puzzle.
Your cards add the rest, from tree buildings like the Mycel Bloom Hall to units like the Thorn Archers. Once everything is placed, the battle plays out by itself, and you can speed it up. Seasons matter too: in spring, a mountain cell passes its terrain bonuses to the cells around it at double strength.
How to Play Thornhold
- To play Thornhold online, click inside the game window, then use the mouse to place pieces on the grid.
- During the water phase, place water next to the current river head to grow the river.
- Route around mountains, since the river cannot cross them.
- Play cards to place tree structures and troops along the river's path.
- Start the battle and watch your defenses take on the orc wave, using the speed button if you want it faster.
- Repeat each round as the orc hordes grow, and keep the Great Tree standing.
What to Expect in Thornhold
Thornhold feels like a puzzle before each fight and an auto battler during it. You spend the planning phase thinking about shape: where the water bends, which cells it touches and how the bonuses stack. Then the battle starts and you see if the plan holds.
The waves grow with every round, so a river that worked early may need rethinking later. It's a roguelike with deck building on top, which keeps each run from playing out the same way. A full sitting takes about half an hour, and you can play Thornhold free right here.
Tips for Thornhold
- Plan the river several cells ahead. It only grows from its head, so a bad turn early is hard to undo.
- Steer the river past cells with useful terrain, since where the water goes decides which bonuses fire.
- Use mountains in spring. Their terrain bonuses hit neighboring cells twice, so build next to them.
- Mix ranged units like the Thorn Archers with structures, so the orcs face more than one kind of threat.
- Speed the battle up once you trust your setup, and drop back to normal speed when a new wave looks tougher.
Who Made Thornhold
Thornhold was made by chaostheorygames, who released it on itch.io. It was built in Unity, and the same studio made Stoneheart Archive. FunClicker embeds the creator's own version so you can play it here without downloading anything. We did not make the game, and the credit for its design, code, and art belongs to its creator. You can find the original on the Thornhold page on itch.io.
FAQ
Is Thornhold free?
Yes, and there's no sign-up step either. Thornhold runs right in your browser tab, so you can start placing water and planting forest defenses straight away. Every card, structure and troop comes from playing, with nothing to buy along the way.
How do you play Thornhold?
Each round starts with planning. You extend a river across a grid one cell at a time, play cards to place tree structures and troops, and then the battle runs on its own. Where the water flows decides which bonuses trigger, so the river route is the key choice. Survive the orc waves to protect the Great Tree.
What is the goal in Thornhold?
Protect the Great Tree. Lumber-hungry orcs attack in waves that get tougher as you go, and your forest has to hold them off. You do that by shaping the land, mostly by guiding the river, and backing it up with tree structures and troops from your cards.
Who made Thornhold?
Thornhold was made by chaostheorygames, who released it on itch.io. It was built in Unity, and the same studio also made Stoneheart Archive, a walking-castle tower defense game. We embed the original web version here with a link back in the credits.
Can I play Thornhold on a Chromebook or phone?
A Chromebook works, since Thornhold runs in the browser and plays with a mouse or trackpad. Phones are a poor fit. The grid, the cards and the tooltips are small and detailed, and placing water one cell at a time is much easier with a cursor on a wider screen.
Is Thornhold unblocked at school?
Thornhold unblocked depends on your school's filter. It needs only a browser tab and installs nothing, so if FunClicker opens on your network, the game should load as well. Each school decides what it blocks, and that part is out of our hands.
How does the river work in Thornhold?
Water starts from a single source, and you add cells one at a time next to the current head of the river. It can share a cell with other terrain types but cannot go through mountains. The route you build decides which bonuses go off, which groves come to life and whether the Forest Core gets charged.
Is Thornhold a tower defense game?
Partly. Thornhold has the core of tower defense: you place structures and troops to stop waves of enemies before they reach what you're protecting. But the fights play out as an auto battler, and the river routing and card play add puzzle and deck building layers on top.
