Ember Tower is a dungeon puzzle where every fight has a known price. You have health, attack and defence, and the goal is to reach the stairs with as much health left as possible. Tap a tile to walk, or use arrow keys or swipes. Walk into a monster to fight it. Each monster's badge shows exactly what the fight will cost you right now; a cross means you cannot survive it yet.
Red gems add attack, blue gems add defence, food restores health, and each key opens one locked door and is used up. Every pickup changes the prices, so order is the whole puzzle. The What if chips let you tick gems or food you have not taken yet and preview every fight after them. Undo takes back an action at no cost.
Your score is the health you have left at the stairs. Matching the highest possible score earns three stars, and reaching at least three quarters of it earns two. If the stairs become unreachable, a Dead end panel says so. The hint lights up the next step on an optimal line from where you stand and caps that floor at two stars. Sixty floors climb from Cellar to Summit, plus a daily floor.
Worked example
You have 10 attack and 5 defence. A crab has 30 health, 11 attack and 4 defence. You deal 6 a blow, so it takes five blows, and the crab hits back four times for 6: 24 health. A +2 red gem makes it four blows and 18 health. A +3 blue gem instead cuts each of its hits to 3, so the fight costs only 12. Take the blue gem first.
Strategy tips
Boosts before fights. A small gem can turn a cross into a number or halve later fights.
Save food. Food adds the same health whenever you eat it, so eat it when a fight needs it, not first.
Spend keys carefully. Check what lies behind each door before you use one.