Iron Defense

Mission briefing

Iron Defense is a one-screen defense shooter set in an industrial scrapyard. Hold a turret on a scrap wall while waves of junk robots march in from the right. Hold to fire, and drag fire, ice and lightning abilities onto the field. Between stages, spend salvaged gold and crystals on your turret, the wall, an electrified floor and auto-gun pylons. Fight through a 100-stage campaign with bosses, then climb the endless stages to see how far a fully upgraded defense can hold.

Field manual

Hold the mouse button or your finger on the field to fire at the robots. Drag the fire, ice or lightning button onto the field and release to cast it; release on a button to cancel. Abilities use energy, which refills over time, and the + button refills it for crystals. Win a stage by destroying every wave before the wall falls. Spend gold and crystals in UPGRADES between stages. Clear stage 100 to unlock Endless.

Launch orders: press Launch mission above and the game loads on this page itself — nothing downloads and no form stands between you and the first move. It is designed for a flexible screen and takes its orders from mouse, keyboard or touch, depending on the mission. It adapts to both upright and wide screens, so phones, tablets and desktops all frame it sensibly. If it offers a fullscreen control, use it — a fight this size deserves the whole screen.

Field notes for strategy operations

• Economy first, army second. The player who builds one more resource structure in the opening minutes out-produces the player who built one more soldier — arithmetic is the quietest weapon in strategy.
• Scout before you commit. Every strategy game hides a paper to your rock; two minutes of reconnaissance is cheaper than twenty minutes of building the wrong answer.
• Hold a reserve. Committing everything to the first fight leaves nothing for the second, and there is always a second — usually arriving while you are still rebuilding from the first.

Iron Defense — questions from the ranks

What does it cost to play Iron Defense?

Nothing at all. The mission is free from the first order to the last — no sign-up, no download, no paid tier guarding the good levels. The advertising around this page is what keeps the board free.

What sort of mission is Iron Defense?

Iron Defense is filed in our Strategy theatre. Like every operation on this board, it is a browser game — read the briefing above for the publisher's own account of what you are deploying into.

Can I run Iron Defense on a phone or tablet?

Yes. It plays in the browser on phones and tablets exactly as it does on a computer. It adapts to both upright and wide screens, so phones, tablets and desktops all frame it sensibly.

Do I have to install anything before playing?

No installation of any kind. Iron Defense is an HTML5 game: press the launch button and it loads on this page, and closing the tab leaves nothing behind.

After-action

Mission complete, or still pinned down? The full Strategy theatre is one click away — The thinking soldier's shelf: 115 operations where the decisive weapon is a plan made thirty seconds before it is needed. Build first, then hold what you built.