Gilded Age
Tower defence: build on high and low ground and defend the Anchor against what pours through the cracks.
Gilded Age is a tower defence game. Enemies come through a crack in the world, the rift, and walk the road to the Anchor. You build towers beside the road and on the terraces above it, and a hero, the Paladin, fights with them.
The goal
Hold the Anchor through all 20 waves of a map. You start The Ford with 20 lives and 200 gold. Each enemy that reaches the Anchor takes lives: most take 1, large ones 2, and a boss 20. At 0 lives the map is lost. Surviving the last wave seals the map, and sealing it opens the next one.
How a wave goes
- Between waves, build and upgrade. Press Next wave when you are ready; nothing comes until you do.
- Every enemy you defeat pays gold, and bigger enemies pay more.
- The 2× button doubles the speed; pause stops everything.
Building
- Pick a tower in the tray, then a free spot on the map. The tray shows each tower's price, in red when you cannot afford it.
- Most towers stand on land. The Cannon Ship floats on water only, the Void stands on land or water, and Prince Poison is a trap laid on the road.
- Drystone walls run between the terraces. The Cannon Ship's shells arc over them; bats fly over them.
- Tap a tower to upgrade it (three levels) or sell it for 70% of what it cost. Prince Poison has one level.
The towers on The Ford
| Tower | Price | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Turret | 50 | Steady shots at one enemy |
| Sniper | 120 | Long range and high damage |
| Glacial | 150 | Freezes what it hits, halving its speed |
| Prince Poison | 100 | A trap on the road; it fells the Prince |
| Inferno | 250 | Sets enemies burning |
| Barracks | 150 | Three soldiers hold the road |
| Cannon Ship | 350 | On water; shells arc over walls and burst |
| Void | 500 | Stops what it hits, on land or water |
Five more towers arrive with later maps: the Ninja, which sees hidden enemies, comes with The Switchback.
The Paladin
The Paladin fights wherever you place him: tap his portrait, then a spot on the map. He gains experience as he fights, up to level 10. At level 3 he learns Holy Fire, a blast around him that recharges after it is used.
Enemies
Each kind of enemy has its own trick. A few of them:
- The Knight wears armour; fire and shells still hit it fully.
- The Ghost fades out of reach for moments.
- The Goblin steals 15 gold if it gets through.
- The Skeleton falls to bones and rises once.
- The Bat flies over walls, and shells cannot hit it.
- The Prince comes with four Guards, and only Prince Poison fells him.
Maps
| Map | Waves | Gold | Lives | Opens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Ford | 20 | 200 | 20 | From the start |
| The Switchback | 20 | 220 | 20 | When The Ford is sealed |
On The Switchback the road doubles back three times past one long terrace, so a tower sees one stretch of road and the terrace hides the next, and its enemies are tougher.
Controls
| Action | Touch or mouse | Keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| Pick a tower | Tap it in the tray | 1 to 9, and 0 |
| Build | Tap a free spot on the map | — |
| Upgrade the chosen tower | Tap it, then Upgrade | U |
| Next wave | Next wave | Space or Enter |
| Holy Fire | Its button by the Paladin | Q |
| Double speed | 2× | F |
| Pause | The pause button | P |
| Cancel | Tap the chosen thing again | Esc |
Gilded Age plays in the browser on a phone, a tablet or a computer. Sealed maps are kept on your device.
More games
- Trailblades: Play a knight, an archer or a mage through rounds of slimes, goblins and golems, with a boss every third round.
- Orbit Rumble: Space dogfights with four ships, against bots or a second player on the same device.
- Moat & Mortar: Tower defence on four maps, with six towers to build and upgrade and boss waves to hold.
- Tic Tac Toe: Climb a ladder of five computer opponents, or play a friend on boards up to 5×5.