Asciilands: Play Free & Game Guide
A free multiplayer sandbox where the whole 3D world is drawn in text characters. Play it below, then use the guides to craft, forge, build and found a town.
An unofficial fan guide. Asciilands is made by Qaz; the official site is asciilands.io.
Updated
⟳ Synced from the official game files at (build ca54ab855359)
Signing in with Discord (to keep your character across devices and join towns) may not open inside this frame. Use the asciilands.io button for that. Guest play works here.
- Price
- Free (optional donations)
- Runs on
- Desktop & laptop browsers
- Status
- Open beta
- Account
- Guest, or Discord sign-in
- Servers
- Europe, North America
- Made by
- Qaz (solo developer)
What is Asciilands?
Asciilands is a "towny" survival sandbox that runs in a browser tab. Every tree, rock, river and roof is built from text glyphs, but the world is fully 3D: you walk it from a tilted camera, it has a day-night clock, and everyone on a server shares the same map. What you build stays in that world for other players to find.
The loop is the familiar one from survival crafting games, done at a gentle pace: punch trees for wood, make a workbench and stone tools, smelt copper and tin into bronze, forge better heads at a forge, build a house from foundations and wall panels, then team up to found a town with its own treasury. On the side there are farming, fishing, tin panning, tameable companions and a small magic system you unlock by finding glyph flowers.
How to start playing
- Open the game (above, or full screen on asciilands.io/play) in Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a computer. WebGL has to be on.
- Make a character: pick a name of at least 3 characters and adjust body, hair and clothes. You can change it later with Customize.
- Pick a server (Europe or North America; the login screen shows how full each one is) and choose Play as guest or Sign in with Discord.
- Choose where to begin: Start together places you near other settlers; Start farther away drops you in a remote patch of forest or plains.
- Follow the 11-step tutorial. It teaches walking, the camera, gathering, your first plank and the main menus. Our beginner guide covers what comes next.
Quick controls
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| WASD | Move (Space jump, Shift sprint) |
| Left click | Gather, strike, cast with a wand |
| F | Use a station, door or chest; harvest; offer food |
| I | Pack (inventory) |
| C | Crafting by hand |
| B | Build |
| M | Map and world atlas |
| J | Journal goals |
| H | Help (the in-game Field guide) |
| Esc | Menu / finish building |
The full list, including building, fishing, bows and spells, is on the controls page.
Latest update: The Frontier Update
The newest update named on the official site and title screen is The Frontier Update. Its notes list:
- A North America server alongside Europe
- Farming: plant, tend and harvest berry and wheat plots (farming guide)
- Hoes in every metal
- Meat pies and berry tarts
- New coastal lands
- Town upkeep (towns guide)
- A supporter queue
More Asciilands guides
Asciilands FAQ
Is Asciilands free to play?
Yes. Asciilands is free in the browser. The developer takes optional donations to pay for servers; there is nothing to buy in the game.
Can I play Asciilands on my phone or tablet?
Not yet. Only desktop and laptop browsers are supported. The developer has said mobile and a downloadable or Steam version are next in line.
Do I need a Discord account?
No. You can play as a guest, and guests can explore, craft, build in the wilderness and trade. Signing in with Discord lets you use the same character on other devices and unlocks friends, parties and towns.
Does my progress save?
Yes, on the server, for both guests and Discord accounts. A guest character belongs to that browser, so clearing site data or closing a private window can lose it. The developer has said a future wipe, if one is ever needed, would most likely reset builds and the world rather than items.
Can I play with friends?
Yes. Everyone shares one persistent world on each server. With Discord connected you can add friends with a friend code, form a party of up to eight players and found or join a town.
Who makes Asciilands?
Asciilands is an independent game by a solo developer known as Qaz. Its text-based 3D rendering is derived from Asciicker by gumix (msokalski), which is MIT-licensed.
Sources
- asciilands.io: official site and FAQ
- asciilands.io/play: the game client
- Asciilands in-game Field guide (Help menu, H); numbers on this page re-read from it automatically on every game update
- asciilands.io: credits and licenses
- Our own guest session on the North America server, Oct 22, 2026
Spotted something out of date? Email lliu07113@gmail.com and we will re-check it in the game.