Tower Guard

Tower Guard is a cozy 3D tower defense game set in clay dioramas. Little raiders leave their cave and march down a dirt road toward your keep, and you stop them by building towers on the grass beside the road. Each raider that reaches the keep costs lives; big brutes and yetis cost two, and a boss costs ten.

There are eight towers. Archers fire quick arrows, cannons hit whole groups but cannot hit flyers, frost crystals slow raiders, mage towers throw lightning that jumps between enemies and ignores armour, bee hives poison over time, ballistas pierce a whole line, bell towers boost nearby towers, and gold mines pay at the start of every wave. Each tower has three levels and then splits into one of two paths, such as a long-range Longbow Nest or a Volley Deck with three archers, a Mortar or a Cluster Cannon, a Market or a Vault that pays interest on your savings.

The campaign has 120 levels in eight worlds, from Clover Meadow to Cloudtop Keep. Each world brings new raiders: bats that fly over the road, shamans that heal, slimes that split, wisps that resist magic and frost, ghosts that fade from sight, armoured imps and dragons. Levels 5 and 10 of each world are challenges with a twist, such as less gold, faster raiders, only three tower types or extra armour, and level 15 is a boss. A hero fights beside your towers: Knight Bram from the start, while Ranger Wren and Witch Moss become available later in the campaign and are bought with gems. Send your hero where the road needs help and use their ability when a wave gets crowded. Heroes keep their experience from level to level.

Practical tips: when the warning for flying raiders appears, make sure archers, mages, frost or hives cover the road, since cannons cannot reach bats. Mix damage types, because armour halves physical damage and wisps halve magic. Place bell towers in the middle of a cluster so they boost several neighbours, and build a gold mine early in long levels. Calling the next wave early pays bonus gold, and you can set each tower to target the first, strongest or closest raider.

Stars depend on how many lives you keep: three for 90% or more. Stars buy permanent workshop perks such as extra starting gold, more lives or cheaper upgrades, and gems buy heroes and roof paint colours. After level 5, Endless mode opens with waves that never stop and keep getting tougher, and a limit of 22 towers. The game works with a mouse, keyboard or touch on any screen orientation.

In each level you stop the raiders from reaching the keep. Build towers in the right spots, upgrade them between waves and sell when you need to. Heroes gain levels as you play. Stars from each level buy permanent upgrades in the workshop, and gems unlock more heroes and paint colours for your towers.

When you want a longer test, Endless mode sends waves that never stop and keep getting tougher.