How Turf Wars works
Turf Wars is our take on Street Crimes: Gang Wars Edition, the top-down arcade cabinet from GTA Online. Four gangs start in the four corners of a city of 24 blocks: the Cash Crew, the Skull Riders, the Neon Punks and the High Rollers. You play one and the other three are run by the computer. The round lasts sixty seconds.
Everywhere you walk, the street is sprayed your colour. Paint all four sides of a block and it is yours: your emblem goes up on the roof. A block stays yours only while all four sides stay your colour, so a rival who paints over part of one side breaks your claim, and blocks change hands all round.
Everyone starts empty-handed. Pistols, SMGs and RPGs turn up at intersections, along with health kits, speed shoes and duffel bags of cash. You can only shoot along the street you are on. Traffic tears down the streets too, with police cars and ambulances faster than the rest; a flashing sign warns you a second before a car comes in, and getting hit costs a life. Each gang has five lives.
Benchmento is not affiliated with Rockstar Games, NoPixel or any roleplay server. This is an original game with its own city and art, made for fun in the browser.
Play it free in your browser
Turf Wars runs in any modern browser on a computer, phone or tablet. There is nothing to download or install and no account to make; your best score is kept on this device. A round lasts sixty seconds. On a keyboard, W A S D or the arrows set your direction and Space shoots. On a phone, tap the on-screen pad and hold FIRE.
Pac-Man controls, a paint-the-city goal
You never hold a key to walk: like Pac-Man, you keep running the way you last pressed, and a turn pressed early is taken at the next corner. The goal is territory, the way paint and turf games work: every street you cross turns your colour, and a block is yours once all four of its sides are. Three computer gangs are doing the same, so claims change hands all round. The top-down city, the traffic and the guns on the street come from the classic top-down crime games, and the idea from Street Crimes: Gang Wars Edition, the arcade cabinet in GTA Online.
How scoring works
- Blocks. 1,000 points for every block you hold when the clock runs out.
- Takedowns. 250 points for every rival you waste.
- Duffel bags. 500 points for every bag of cash you grab.
- Paint. 10 points for every street tile in your colour at the end.
- Placing. 3,000 points for finishing first on blocks, 1,500 for second and 500 for third.
Your final score is also what you get paid: five chips per point, into the same vault the hacks pay into.
What counts as a good score
| Points | Standing |
|---|---|
| 7,000+ | Kingpin |
| 4,000 – 7,000 | Runs the city |
| 2,000 – 4,000 | Holding turf |
| 800 – 2,000 | Street level |
| Under 800 | Lost the war |
Finishing first is worth as much as three blocks, so the last ten seconds matter most: a block taken or broken right before the buzzer can swing the placing.
How to score higher
- Start near your corner. The blocks next to your corner are the quickest to close, and you respawn there.
- Close a block before you start the next. Three sides are worth nothing; the fourth is worth 1,000.
- Get a gun early. You cannot shoot without one, and the computer gangs go for guns first.
- Break claims late. Painting over one side of a rival block in the last seconds takes 1,000 off them and can win you the placing.
- Read the warning signs. A flashing sign at the edge means a car is about to come down that street. Turn off it at the next corner.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the Street Crimes arcade game from GTA Online?
It is our own take on it. Street Crimes: Gang Wars Edition is one of the arcade cabinets in GTA Online's Arcade, a top-down game about gangs fighting over the city. Turf Wars keeps the idea, painting streets and holding blocks, and adds its own city, pixel art, traffic, guns on the street and duffel bags. Benchmento is not affiliated with Rockstar Games or NoPixel.
How do I take a block?
Walk all four streets around it. Every street tile you cross is sprayed your colour, and once all four sides of a block are fully yours, your emblem goes up on it. A rival only has to paint over part of one side to break your claim, so guard your blocks or take them back.
How do lives work?
Each gang has five lives. Getting shot until your health runs out, or getting hit by a car, wastes you: you lose a life and come back at your corner a few seconds later with no gun. Lose all five and you are out of the round, and your score is counted as it stands.
Do I earn chips?
Yes. Every round pays five chips for every point you score into your vault, where they spend on the Diamond Heist Slot and card packs. Chips and cards are play items with no value, saved on this device.
What are the controls?
W A S D or the arrow keys. Like Pac-Man, you keep running the way you last pressed, and a turn pressed early is taken at the next corner. Space shoots the way you face and Esc pauses. On a phone, tap the on-screen pad to steer and hold FIRE to shoot.
Can I play Turf Wars on my phone?
Yes. The game fits phone screens and adds an on-screen pad: tap a direction and you keep running that way, and hold FIRE to shoot. It also works with a keyboard on any computer.
Do I need to download anything?
No. Turf Wars runs in your browser, free, with no download, install or account. Your best score and chips are saved on your device.