Stick Defenders — Play Free Online

Stick Defenders is an action and shooting game built around stick-figure characters. You move around with the keyboard, aim with the mouse and fire at whatever is coming for you, so the pace is quick and the goal is easy to read: stay alive and hold your ground. It is listed on this site under Action & Shooting and carries a Poki credit, and it opens right in the page with nothing to install.

It sits a long way from the vertical hopping of Doodle Jump, the headline game here, but it shares the same appeal. A round is short, the controls respond immediately, and a failed attempt makes you want another go straight away. If you have spent a while bouncing upward and fancy something more hands-on, this is a change of tempo rather than a change of habit.

How to play

Use the arrow keys or WASD to move, and use the mouse to aim and to pick options in the menus. On a phone or tablet the game takes touch instead: tap and swipe to control your character and make selections.

The flow is the usual one for this kind of game. Start a round, position yourself, aim with the mouse and keep firing while you shift around to stay clear of trouble. Moving and aiming are on separate inputs, so you can reposition with one hand while the other keeps your aim on target.

Tips

• Keep moving. Standing still while you aim is the easiest way to lose a round, so aim as you step.
• Rest your mouse hand and move only with the keyboard; WASD leaves your other fingers free if you prefer the arrow keys for something else.
• If a round goes badly, restart and try a different position instead of repeating the same one.
• On touch screens, use short swipes rather than long drags so you keep control.

Similar games on Doodle Jump

If you like defending against incoming waves, Bloons Tower Defense 2 and Day D Tower Rush are on the site, and both are about planning more than aiming. Fireboy and Watergirl is a puzzle-platformer that rewards patience and works well with a second player. For a quick arcade game with simple one-hand controls, Helix Jump or Bouncy Basketball suit short breaks.

Stick Defenders suits short sessions on a laptop or Chromebook with a mouse, and it also runs on a phone when you only have a few minutes.