Word Fortress

The glowing amber row is your active course. Drag tiles from your rack onto it, then tap Submit. Words must be real — the dictionary is unforgiving and has heard every excuse.

Minimum word length is 1 letter, but only "A" and "I" qualify. Useful when you're cornered with one orphan letter at the end of a row.

Caught with a rack full of nothing? Skip abandons the active row — no Fortitude, no penalty, but the row stays empty and won't have any tiles to crumble for you in the siege. A short wall is still a wall, but only just.

Skip only appears on an empty row. Once you start placing tiles, you've committed — drop them back to the rack first if you want out.

Shields stay tucked in your bandolier until the War Council. Charges are not earned by spelling — see Hero Charges below.

Each hero arrives with 3 actions for the entire game. No regen, no respawn, no second chances — your hero is a person, not a battery. The split between combat and build depends on who you brought:

Combat charges light up the intervene bar in battle — spend 1 to cancel an incoming attacker with your hero's signature move.
Build charges fund desk-side actions: extra tiles, summoned vowels, free hints. Every charge has one trigger pull. Make it count.

Rack stuffed with consonants and not a vowel in sight? A swap button appears. Trade one consonant for any vowel — it costs that tile's Fortitude, deducted on the spot. Even at 0 Fortitude the cost still applies (the gods of grammar do not extend credit). Spell your way back into the black before the siege. Once per word.

Looking at a hand of garbage? Tap Swap to discard a rack tile and pull a random replacement from the bag. Costs that tile's Fortitude — yes, it can dig you negative. Once per word. Sometimes the dice are kinder than the draft.

Stuck for 20 seconds? Your hero clears their throat and offers a suggestion. The bill depends on who's helping: Bloodrage grants 1 free hint per game (he's not paid to think). Every other hero charges 1 build charge per hint. Hint Packs from the Shop are always free — you already paid.

A hint names a real word and lights up the rack tiles that spell it. You still arrange them yourself — or use Reveal a Letter (below) to skip straight to victory.

After a hint fires, tap your hero avatar and you'll find Reveal a Letter. Tap it, then tap any glowing slot on the active row — the correct tile flies in from the rack and locks itself in place.

Cost: the value of whatever letter gets revealed. A free A or E is practically a gift; a Q or Z will leave a mark. Reveal as many as you like, or stop early and finish on instinct — that's between you and your conscience.

A few heroes have perks that turn build into a workshop. Each costs 1 build charge:

• +1 Tile (Thornwood, Aurelion) — Pull a free tile from outside the attacker pool. Doesn't reinforce the enemy, doesn't show up in the siege. Just yours.
• Summon Vowel (Malachar, Aurelion) — Replace any rack tile with a vowel of your choice. The wizard waves; the letter changes.
• Extra Draft (Ironsides, Aurelion) — Draft 8 tiles instead of 7. Passive — fires automatically at game start, no charge cost. The knight came prepared.

A long-word streak compounds. Lose a tile to the siege and the chain breaks — keep your wall tall.

After your 5th word locks in, the masons inspect the wall — columns and diagonals get scanned for hidden words. Bonuses fire automatically before the gates open.

Letters you repeated in your last word come back as reinforcements — extra copies join the wave, with the fervor of a sequel. Vary your finale, or expect the encore.

A scout's view of the enemy lineup, wave by wave. Place your shields where the worst hits are coming, then tap Ride out to lower the gates and meet them.

When an attacker steps forward and you have charges left, time pauses for the choice:

Charges carry between waves. Save your strongest swings for Dragons.

Each wave hits harder than the last. Wave 2 brings 35% more thunder than Wave 1; Wave 3 cranks it to 70%. Keep your tallest shields and best charges for the finale — that's when they bring the dragons.

Every hero brings their own pool of combat charges (spent during siege interventions) and, for some, build charges (for in-build favours like Hint, +1 Tile, Summon Vowel). Charges are a fixed allowance — no regeneration, no resupply. Each tile your fortress loses also costs your hero 1 HP. At zero HP they're done acting, but the wall fights on without them.

Each hero has a knack — they'll occasionally deflect their preferred enemy at no charge cost. There's a 2-attacker cooldown between deflections, so don't expect miracles every turn.