Gildhold
Gildhold screenshots and trailer
Gildhold is a free castle strategy game you play in your browser
Gildhold is a free castle strategy game you play in your browser. Two castles face each other across one field. You grow gold with farmers, traders and tax wagons, then spend it on troops, catapults and castle upgrades. Your army marches and fights by itself. Break the enemy castle before yours falls. A match takes about five minutes.
How to play Gildhold
- 1Click or tap the buttons in the buy bar, or press the hotkey shown on each one.
- 2Press 0 to hire one farmer at a time; each new farmer costs a little more. Farmers pay gold on a steady payday.
- 3Press w to upgrade farm tier. The job takes 30 seconds, then each farmer pays 2 gold per payday at tier 2 and 3 at tier 3.
- 4Press 6 to send traders along the trade road. The first trader pays 10 gold per payday, the next 9, then 8, down to 1 for later ones.
- 5A tax wagon counts down on the left, then unloads gold into your castle over 10 seconds. Nothing can stop that delivery.
- 6Buy troops with 1–5. They march out, fight what they meet, then attack the enemy castle. Catapults only hit castles, reload for 12 seconds, and hit hard; knights counter them.
- 7Spearmen beat Knights, Knights beat Archers, Archers beat Swordsmen, and Swordsmen beat Spearmen. Bring the enemy castle to zero before yours falls.
Gildhold controls
Keyboard
- 0
- Hire one farmer
- w
- Upgrade farm tier (30 s build)
- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
- Buy Spearman, Swordsman, Archer, Knight or Catapult
- 6
- Send a trader on the trade road
- 7, 8, 9, q
- Upgrades for Ballistas, Walls, Repair and troop Armour
- P
- Pause
- Esc
- Pause, or resume from the pause menu
Mouse
- Click a buy button
- Hire, buy or upgrade
Touch
- Tap a buy button
- Hire, buy or upgrade
Gildhold tips and strategy
How to earn gold fast in Gildhold
Hire farmers early, while they are cheap. Once you have several, press w to raise the farm tier, which lifts what every farmer pays. The first upgrade costs 250 gold and the second 500. Add traders too, since the first few pay the most.
How to protect your traders
Traders cannot fight and fall to any troop. Keep some troops on the field before you send many traders out. A killed trader drops gold, and the nearest troops claim it for their own side.
How to stop catapults
Buy knights. They deal extra damage to catapults, which walk past your troops and fire only at your castle, with a 12 second reload. Walls, on 8, also cut the damage your castle takes.
Why troop prices go up
Each troop of one type you already have raises that type's price by 10 percent, up to six times the base price. Prices fall again as those troops die. Mixing your army keeps costs down and covers more counters.
When to repair your castle
Press 9 to send a builder, up to three at once. Builders put up scaffolding and slowly restore the castle, but any hit on the castle knocks them all off. Repair once the attackers are cleared from your walls. Each repair costs more than the last.
Gildhold features
- Three sources of gold, farmers, traders and tax wagons
- Spearmen, swordsmen, archers and knights in a loop of counters
- Catapults that ignore troops and bombard castles
- Castle upgrades for ballistas, walls, repairs and troop armour
- A new computer opponent style every match
About Gildhold
Gildhold is a short castle strategy game on a wide ink-drawn field. Two castles face each other, and the first to fall loses.
You grow gold three ways. Farmers are hired one at a time and pay on a steady payday. A farm upgrade raises what each one earns.
Traders set up stalls in front of your castle. The first pays most, and each extra one a little less. Tax wagons arrive on a visible countdown and unload for ten seconds that nothing can interrupt.
You spend that gold on spearmen, swordsmen, archers, knights and catapults. The first four form a loop of counters. Knights also answer catapults, which ignore troops and hammer castles from range.
Units march and fight by themselves while you read the field and buy the right answer. Each troop you own makes the next of its kind cost more, so a mixed army goes further.
Castle upgrades add ballista bolts, strengthen walls, send builders to repair, and armour your troops.
Each match rolls a new computer opponent with its own style, from early rushes to patient economies and large waves. A match takes about five minutes on a widescreen stage.
Gildhold FAQ
Is Gildhold free to play?
Yes. Free in your browser, no payment.
Do I need to download or sign up for Gildhold?
No. Runs in the browser, no account.
Can I play Gildhold on my phone?
Yes. Touch controls are supported.
How long does a game of Gildhold take?
About 5 minutes per round.
Does Gildhold save my progress?
Yes. Progress is saved in your browser on this device.
How do farmers and traders earn gold?
Farmers pay on a regular payday; upgrading the farm with w raises what each farmer pays after a 30 second upgrade. Traders pay on payday too, starting at 10 gold for the first one you send and stepping down to 9, 8, and so on for each extra trader on the road.
What does the tax wagon do?
A timer on the left shows when the next tax wagon arrives. When it reaches your castle it spends 10 seconds unloading gold, and that delivery cannot be interrupted. Each wagon brings more than the last, and a badly damaged castle collects extra.
Which troop beats which?
Spearmen beat Knights, Knights beat Archers and Knights also counter Catapults. Archers beat Swordsmen and Swordsmen beat Spearmen. Catapults ignore troops and only bombard castles; they are slow and need 12 seconds to reload after each shot.
What happens if an enemy kills my trader?
It drops a pile of gold on the field. The first troop from either side to reach it claims the gold for its own castle. The pile is bigger when you have more traders out, and it vanishes after 45 seconds.
Who am I playing against?
A computer opponent that rolls a new style each match. It might rush early, build a big economy, sit behind castle upgrades, mass large waves, or send archers after your traders. Watch what it buys and counter it.
What's new in Gildhold
- v0.1.0
- First release.
Gildhold game details
At a glance
- Genre
- Strategy
- Lane battler
- Medieval
- Castle siege
- Economy
- Play time
- About 5 minutes
- Play with
- Mouse, Keyboard, Touch
- Progress
- Saved in your browser
- Version
- 0.1.0
- Price
- Free
- Sign-up
- Not needed