Aldmark Calls for Aid

Aldmark Calls for Aid is a medieval kingdom-defence strategy game about calling reinforcements instead of commanding them. You build the beacon network that finds your allies, decide what each of them produces, and choose when the call goes out.

Build the beacon network

Place signal fires by hand across the map to sweep the surrounding fog of war and find your allies. Far away castles can provide powerful friends, but the further away they are, the longer they take to reach you in your hour of need.

Choose your allies

• Three kinds of hold are hidden in the fog: farms, towns and castles

• Set every hold to raise troops or make supplies, and switch it whenever the situation changes

• Five troop types: billmen, pikes, archers, cavalry and footmen. Each beats something and loses to something

• Ruins and barrows hold artefacts: single-use items, played where and when you choose

Light the chain

When you give the order, the signal runs visibly from fire to fire, and every hold under a burning beacon sends everything it has mustered. Reinforcements march in real time and can be attacked on the road. When the fires burn out, the chain must be reset before you can call again.

The enemy is coming

Your scouts will inform you when the enemy army is approaching and, when close enough, will tell you what you'll be facing. As the defender of the city, your job is to make sure that the walls are not breached. Organise your allies wisely.

Hold the city

The battle itself resolves without your input. Pause at any moment to read exact numbers: build times, muster counts and the hour of the next attack. Run time at 1x, 2x or 3x.