Paper Territory
A fast paper.io-style land-grab. Steer a constantly-moving square around a grid, draw a trail out into open ground, and snap it shut back inside your own turf to flood-fill everything you enclosed. Outmaneuver four AI bots, cut their trails to wipe them out, and paint the biggest slice of the map.
About Paper Territory
Paper Territory is an original take on the classic territory-claiming arcade format. You and four AI rivals each control a square that never stops moving. The moment you leave your colored home turf you start trailing a thin line behind you; reconnect that line to your own territory and every cell you fenced off is instantly captured by a flood-fill, expanding your domain. The catch is that an exposed trail is lethal: if anything touches your line before you close it, you die and your land is released back to the board. Touch a bot's trail and that bot is eliminated, freeing its ground for the taking. There are no levels and no timer, just an endless scramble to hold the largest percentage of the map while the bots constantly redraw the borders around you. The whole field is rendered on a smooth canvas grid with a distinct color per player and a live leaderboard, and your best territory percentage and high score are saved between sessions.
How to play Paper Territory
Your square moves on its own and you only ever change its heading. Steer it out of your colored territory to begin drawing a trail, loop around some open or enemy ground, then steer back onto your own territory to close the loop and claim everything inside. The bigger the loop, the bigger the grab, but the longer your trail stays exposed. While your trail is out, keep it away from the bots: if a bot crosses your line you are wiped out. Run your own head across a bot's trail to eliminate it and open up its land. Hitting a wall or crossing your own trail also kills you. Watch the territory readout and leaderboard, and try to push your percentage higher than your saved best before someone fences you in.
Controls
Keyboard: Arrow keys or WASD to change direction. Touch: swipe in any direction to turn, or tap a spot relative to your square to steer toward it. Press R to restart, M to mute. On the start and game-over screens, any key, tap, or the on-screen button begins or respawns.
Tips & tricks
- Make small, quick loops near home. Short trails spend less time exposed, so you bank land safely and steadily instead of risking one huge grab.
- Your trail is your only weakness while it's out. If a bot is heading your way, dart back onto your own color to close the loop before it can touch your line.
- Hunt wounded bots: ramming your head straight through a bot's trail eliminates it instantly and dumps its whole territory onto the board for you to claim.
- Keep clear of the four walls. Bots get reckless near the edges and you can box yourself in, so do most of your expanding through the open middle.
- Reclaim fallen land fast. When a bot dies its territory goes neutral, so be the first to loop around that fresh ground before a rival grabs it.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Paper Territory?
Your square moves on its own and you only ever change its heading. Steer it out of your colored territory to begin drawing a trail, loop around some open or enemy ground, then steer back onto your own territory to close the loop and claim everything inside. The bigger the loop, the bigger the grab, but the longer your trail stays exposed. While your trail is out, keep it away from the bots: if a bot crosses your line you are wiped out. Run your own head across a bot's trail to eliminate it and open up its land. Hitting a wall or crossing your own trail also kills you. Watch the territory readout and leaderboard, and try to push your percentage higher than your saved best before someone fences you in.
What are the controls for Paper Territory?
Keyboard: Arrow keys or WASD to change direction. Touch: swipe in any direction to turn, or tap a spot relative to your square to steer toward it. Press R to restart, M to mute. On the start and game-over screens, any key, tap, or the on-screen button begins or respawns.
Is Paper Territory free to play online?
Totally free. You can play Paper Territory in the browser without paying, downloading or signing up for anything.
Can I play Paper Territory on mobile?
Yes. Paper Territory works in any modern mobile browser with full touch support, so it plays on phones and tablets as well as on a laptop or desktop — nothing to install.
Who made Paper Territory?
Paper Territory was built in-house by the GameStudioHub team using open web technology (HTML5), which is why it runs instantly without any download.
More free .io games
Paper Territory is one of many free .io games on GameStudioHub. Browse the whole .io collection, or head back to the home page to explore every category.