# Nehemiah

> Nehemiah is a co-op game for 2–4 players, like Overcooked meets tower defense, set in 455 BCE Jerusalem. Carry wood, stone and mortar, raise the wall stone by stone, and drive off Sanballat's raiders before they break through. Free to play in your browser.

- Play (free, desktop browser): https://play.nehemiahgame.com
- Website: https://www.nehemiahgame.com
- Studio: Takiko Games (https://takikogames.com), independent studio making Bible-based games.
- Status: Open beta. No install, no account. Keyboard, mouse or gamepad.

## Rebuild the wall in 52 days.

Overcooked meets tower defense, in ancient Jerusalem. Carry wood, stone and mortar, raise the wall stone by stone, and drive off the raiders before they break through. Co-op for 2–4 players.

## How it plays: Every day, the same three jobs.

Enemies come in waves while the crew works, and every day ends at nightfall. Raise the whole stretch before the stars come out on its last day. Too many breaches and the city falls.

- **Carry.** Haul wood, stone and mortar from the stockpiles to the wall. Drop a load, pass it on, keep the line moving.
- **Build.** Stand at the wall and work it up, course by course. Extra hands build faster, and a hit stops the work.
- **Defend.** Sling stones at the raiders. Builders have full hands, so someone has to guard them, like Nehemiah's workers who kept a weapon close. Raise a watch post and keep its slinger in stones.

## Co-op: More hands, faster walls.

- Online co-op with a five-letter room code or an invite link
- Up to four builders in one crew; bots fill empty places
- 12 sections of wall around the city, each with its own twist
- Scouts first, then brutes and raiders as the days go on
- Full gamepad support on every screen

## The account behind the game: A broken wall, a hostile neighborhood, and 52 days.

In 455 BCE, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild its walls. The work went around the city section by section, starting at the Sheep Gate, while Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem did all they could to stop it. The builders kept working, and kept their weapons close.

> “So the wall was finished in the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.” (Nehemiah 6:15, World English Bible)

## How to play (https://www.nehemiahgame.com/how-to-play)

The day is lost if 10 enemies get into the city. Finish the wall on day 52 to win.

### Controls (keyboard and mouse / gamepad; all remappable)

- Move: WASD or arrow keys / Left stick
- Aim: Mouse / Right stick
- Pick up, deliver, build, help up, climb: E / A (bottom button)
- Drop: Q / Y (top button)
- Dash: Space or Shift / B (right button) or left bumper
- Sling: hold to charge, release to throw: Left mouse button / Right trigger or right bumper
- Horn (sections with the horn): R / Left bumper
- Hold to light up what you can do nearby: Tab / View (back button)
- Menu (pauses when no one else is playing): Esc / Start

### Enemies

- Scouts (from day 1): Quick and light. About half go for the wall; the rest look for gaps.
- Brutes (from day 9): Slow and tough. They always go for the wall and batter it back down.
- Raiders (from day 21): Fast. Some hunt for gaps, some go for the wall.

### The 12 sections (in the order of Nehemiah 3, from the Sheep Gate)

1. Sheep Gate (Nehemiah 3:1; days 1–4). Built by Eliashib the high priest and the priests. Twist: Finish the gate: hang its doors, bolts and bars.
2. Fish Gate (Nehemiah 3:3; days 5–8). Built by The sons of Hassenaah. Twist: Heavy beams that two builders carry together.
3. Jeshanah Gate (Nehemiah 3:6; days 9–12). Built by Joiada and Meshullam. Twist: No quarry stone: salvage it from the burned rubble.
4. Broad Wall (Nehemiah 3:8; days 13–17). Built by Goldsmiths and perfumers. Twist: A double-thick wall: more stone, and room for four at the work.
5. Tower of Ovens (Nehemiah 3:11; days 18–23). Built by Malchijah and Hasshub. Twist: Make the mortar: lime and water into the trough, then to the wall.
6. Valley Gate (Nehemiah 3:13; days 24–29). Built by Hanun and the people of Zanoah. Twist: Enemies come up the valley in surges; sound the horn to gather the crew.
7. Dung Gate (Nehemiah 3:14; days 30–33). Built by Malchijah son of Rechab. Twist: A long haul from the yard: pass loads from builder to builder.
8. Fountain Gate (Nehemiah 3:15; days 34–36). Built by Shallun son of Colhozeh. Twist: A quieter stretch by the pool of Shelah, with water close at hand.
9. Water Gate (Nehemiah 3:25-26; days 37–41). Built by Pedaiah son of Parosh; the temple servants lived nearby on Ophel. Twist: Night falls on the work: keep to the torchlight.
10. Horse Gate (Nehemiah 3:28; days 42–47). Built by The priests, each in front of his own house. Twist: Narrow lanes between the priests' houses.
11. East Gate (Nehemiah 3:29; days 48–50). Built by Shemaiah, keeper of the east gate. Twist: Messengers call you down to Ono. Don't go with them.
12. Miphkad Gate (Nehemiah 3:31; days 51–52). Built by Malchijah the goldsmith, then goldsmiths and merchants back to the Sheep Gate. Twist: Everything at once, to close the circuit.

### Marks (earned per section)

- In good time: Finish the section inside its par time.
- None got through: No enemy reaches the city during the section.
- The wall holds: Keep the wall at least 80% sound on average.

## Questions

### Is the game finished?

Not yet. Nehemiah is in open beta: you can play the whole campaign, but it changes often and still has rough edges. Your suggestions help decide what gets fixed and added next.

### What kind of game is it?

Think Overcooked meets tower defense. The crew splits up to carry materials, build the wall and guard the builders while enemies attack in waves, and it only works if everyone talks to each other.

### Is Nehemiah free?

The browser version is free to play right now. Open the game, gather your crew and start building.

### How do I play with friends?

One player hosts and gets a five-letter room code. Friends enter the code, or open the invite link, and join the same crew. Up to four players can build together.

### Can I play alone?

Yes. The first day teaches itself: a tag over your next job shows what to do until you have done it once. Play alone or add bots to fill the empty places in your crew. A lone builder works the wall a little faster to make up for the missing hands, and the menu pauses the game when no one else is playing. It is at its best with two to four players, though.

### Do I need to install anything?

No. The game runs in a desktop browser. A Windows build is also available, and a Steam release is planned.

### Can I play on my phone?

On Android, yes: download the beta app from this page. It has touch controls built for the phone, and friends on Android join your crew with a five-letter room code. Phone and browser players can't share a crew yet. An iPhone version isn't available.

### Does it support a gamepad?

Yes. Every action works on keyboard and mouse or on a gamepad, and the on-screen button hints follow whichever you are using.

### Is it based on the Bible?

Yes. The game follows the account in the book of Nehemiah: the wall is rebuilt section by section around the city, starting from the Sheep Gate as in Nehemiah chapter 3, and it is finished in 52 days as in Nehemiah 6:15. The opponents, Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem, come from the same account.

## Blog

### Why did Nehemiah's builders work with a sword in one hand?

Case #004, 2026-09-28. https://www.nehemiahgame.com/blog/why-did-nehemiahs-builders-carry-a-sword

Nehemiah 4:17 says the builders worked with one hand and held a weapon in the other. What threat they faced, how the guard was organized, and what the trumpet was for.

- Their enemies had **plotted a surprise attack** to stop the work (Nehemiah 4:8, 11).
- Nehemiah answered with prayer and a guard: half the men worked while half stood armed (Nehemiah 4:9, 16).
- Those who carried loads worked with one hand and held a weapon in the other; builders wore a sword at their side (Nehemiah 4:17-18).
- A trumpeter stayed with Nehemiah so everyone could rally to any point that was attacked (Nehemiah 4:19-20).

**Verdict:** The attack was real, the wall was long and the crew was spread thin. So they built and guarded at the same time, and the work never stopped.

### Who were Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem?

Case #003, 2026-09-28. https://www.nehemiahgame.com/blog/who-were-sanballat-tobiah-and-geshem

The three men who opposed Nehemiah: a Horonite with power in Samaria, an Ammonite with friends in Jerusalem, and an Arab ruler. What the Bible says about each, and what history adds.

- **Sanballat the Horonite** was the leading opponent, with influence over the army of Samaria (Nehemiah 4:1-2).
- **Tobiah the Ammonite** had family ties to leading men of Judah, and was later given a room at the temple, until Nehemiah threw his things out (Nehemiah 6:17-18; 13:4-8).
- **Geshem the Arab** joined the ridicule and the plot to lure Nehemiah to Ono (Nehemiah 2:19; 6:1-2).
- Their tactics went from mockery to threats of attack, false reports and a hired prophet, and none of it stopped the wall (Nehemiah 6:15-16).

**Verdict:** Three neighbours who stood to lose influence if Jerusalem was strong again. They tried everything short of open war, and the wall went up anyway.

### The gates of Jerusalem in Nehemiah 3, in order

Case #002, 2026-09-28. https://www.nehemiahgame.com/blog/the-gates-of-jerusalem-in-nehemiah-3

Nehemiah 3 goes around the wall counterclockwise from the Sheep Gate and names ten gates. A map of the circuit, who built each gate, and the landmarks in between.

- **Ten gates** are named in Nehemiah 3, starting and ending at the Sheep Gate.
- In order: Sheep, Fish, Old, Valley, Dung, Fountain, Water, Horse, East and Inspection (Hammiphkad).
- Between them are landmarks like the Broad Wall, the Tower of the Ovens and the pool of Shelah.
- Each stretch names who built it, from the high priest to goldsmiths, perfumers and one man's daughters.

**Verdict:** Nehemiah 3 is a full lap of the city, gate by gate. Read in order, it works as a map of Jerusalem in 455 BCE.

### How long did it take to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem?

Case #001, 2026-09-27. https://www.nehemiahgame.com/blog/how-long-did-it-take-to-rebuild-the-wall-of-jerusalem

52 days, according to Nehemiah 6:15. Here is how the work was organized, what the builders were up against, and why it went so fast.

- **52 days.** Nehemiah 6:15 says the wall was finished on the 25th day of Elul, in 52 days.
- The wall was split into sections, and each was assigned to a family, a trade or a town (Nehemiah 3).
- The builders faced ridicule, threats and a planned attack, and kept working with weapons close at hand (Nehemiah 4).
- When it was done, even the surrounding nations realized the work had been accomplished with God's help (Nehemiah 6:16).

**Verdict:** 52 days, despite ridicule, threats and a planned attack. Fast enough to leave the people trying to stop it afraid.

## Latest updates (https://www.nehemiahgame.com/updates)

### 2026-11-10: More music, a narrator for the story, and a balanced mix

- More music: the menu, the story cards and the last stretch each have their own, and from the Valley Gate on the work music turns darker. Tracks now follow one another instead of one looping all day.
- The story is read aloud in English, card by card. Turn it up or down with the new Narration slider in Settings.
- Music, effects, the day's chimes and the narrator are balanced against each other at the default settings.
- On fast screens your own builder now moves as smoothly as everything around it.

### 2026-11-10: Smoother play: lighter graphics, steadier crowds, a quicker sling

- Lighter on your graphics card: on High, each frame takes about half the work it did. Grass, plants and houses are only drawn where you are looking, and the edge smoothing and shadows cost less but look the same.
- Enemies in a crowd walk and lean steadily, without twitching back and forth.
- A quicker sling: the cursor becomes an aiming mark while you play, and a throw pressed a moment too early still goes.
- You can no longer climb the wall while carrying a load.
- On your first day, footprints lead from your first load to the wall. Press E at the wall to deliver.
- Online co-op: the other players move more smoothly, and if a friend has a different version of the game, joining tells you so.

## Other languages

The game and its home page are also available in these languages:

- Español (es): https://www.nehemiahgame.com/es — Nehemías: reconstruye la muralla de Jerusalén en 52 días | Juego cooperativo
- Português (pt-BR): https://www.nehemiahgame.com/pt-br — Neemias: reconstrua a muralha de Jerusalém em 52 dias | Jogo cooperativo
- Deutsch (de): https://www.nehemiahgame.com/de — Nehemia: Baue die Mauer Jerusalems in 52 Tagen wieder auf | Koop-Spiel
- 한국어 (ko): https://www.nehemiahgame.com/ko — 느헤미야: 52일 만에 예루살렘 성벽을 다시 쌓으세요 | 협동 게임