Towline Treasures fills a narrowboat’s hold with canal-side cargo arranged in a ladder. It begins with a sprig of water mint, moves through a golden kingcup, a jar of blackberries and a bullfinch, then a painted ladle, a rose water can, a cabin lantern, a mooring pin, a rope fender, a windlass and a paddle gear, before a little butty boat and finally the brass tiller badge.
Every slide moves every tile on the board at once. When two identical pieces bump together they join into the next rung and earn points, with each step up the ladder worth double the one before. After each move a new piece appears, usually water mint and now and then a kingcup, so space slowly runs out. The round ends when no slide can change anything.
How to play Towline Treasures
- Press Play on the start screen, or switch to the wider 5x5 board first if you want more room.
- Swipe, or use the arrow keys or WASD, to slide every piece of cargo in one direction.
- When two matching pieces collide they join into the next rung of the ladder and score points.
- Watch the ladder strip under the board light up each time you reach a new rung for the first time.
- Keep sliding until the board locks solid, then set out to beat your personal best next time.
Towline Treasures controls
Getting better at Towline Treasures
- Choose a home corner for your biggest piece and keep it there; strong boards grow outwards from that corner.
- Lean on two directions most of the time so your high rungs stay lined up along one edge.
- Keep your Undo for a real calamity, like a slide that drags your best piece out of its corner.
- Before each move, picture where the new water mint could appear and whether it would block your chain.
- The 5x5 board gives you room to breathe and is a kind way to see the top rungs for the first time.
A cargo ladder that tells a story along the cut
Plain doubling numbers are tidy, but we wanted every merge to feel like loading something worth carrying. Mint and berries gathered from the towpath become tools of the trade, the tools become a working butty boat, and the boat earns you the badge every skipper secretly wants. The ladder strip under the board makes that journey visible, with all thirteen pieces waiting in a dim row until you reach them.
That strip changes how a round feels. Even a short game can light a new rung, and seeing the paddle gear still dark gives a gentle reason for one more go. It turns each session into progress along a shelf of canal finds, which is a pleasant thing to glance at while the kettle boils on a chilly British morning.
Spending your one Undo like a seasoned skipper
Every game hands you exactly one Undo. With several, the board stopped mattering, because you could test each direction in turn. With none, a single slip felt harsh. One is the sweet spot: enough to rescue a calamity, not enough to remove the thinking.
Use it when a move breaks your structure, not when it is merely messy. Losing your corner piece, or letting a sprig of mint wedge itself into the middle of your chain, is worth it. A slightly untidy row usually sorts itself out in a few slides. Take a breath before pressing it, because the urge often fades once you spot a way through.
Questions about Towline Treasures
A message tells you the whole cargo ladder is loaded, the badge lights at the end of the ladder strip, and you can keep playing the same board for an even bigger score.
It is roomier. More space means the board takes longer to fill, so rounds last longer and the higher rungs come within reach more readily.
Every merge scores, and each rung is worth double the one below it. The biggest totals come from late merges high up the ladder.
