Military Tuesday : Crush The Castle(s) with a Mighty Trebuchet
The counterweight trebuchet was one of the most awe-inspiring siege machines of the medieval age (or the one of the most fearsome, depending on which side you happened to be)
Its range and power may pale in comparision to the gunpowder artillery that rendered it obsolete – advances in gunpowder and artillery design resulted in the infamous Paris Gun of WWI which fired 94 kg shells out to a range of 130 km – but a trebuchet’s ability to hurl 100+ kg rocks, diseased cattle and other projectiles at or over the walls of an enemy castle 270 metres away was mightly impressive for its time.
Inspired by Liam Bowmers’s Castle Clout, Armor Games’ Crush the Castle offers you the chance to tear down 24 different castles with a wonderfully animated trebuchet recreated in loving detail. Artwork in this game is supplied by Chris Condon of Con-Artist Productions (The Last Stand, Warfare 1917, etc)
The first few “castles” are questionably designed – I’m certain that medieval lords did not build their castles on stilts like this one here.
This masochistic lord probably wanted a superior vantage point to better witness his own (literal) downfall, I guess 
Besieging a shabby wooden stockade complete with three beautiful princesses in Crush The Castle? How unchivalrous 
It’s a delight to watch the physics kick in as stones (and later, primitive bombs) from your trebuchet make solid hits on the weak points on the castle causing the entire shoddy structure to crumble and collapse like a house of cards. And no, Crush the Castle isn’t meant as a history lesson – castles back then definitely didn’t topple over by themselves even when hit by the huge projectiles fired from an even more massive trebuchet and neither did they build castles this badly
Behind the comic facade of silly lords falling to their death from their grandoise but obviously unstable fortifications, there are several good puzzle-like designs in here – particularly a couple where the wrong shots would bring down half the castle but trap the remaining characters beneath multiple collapsed pillars of wood and stone, while simultaneously protecting them from your projectiles.
Once you have destroyed all 24 strongholds, you can create your own castles and then test their defensive strength with the built-in level editor.
Overall, Crush the Castle is a wonderful little timekiller – nothing to complain about there except for the fact that you only get five shots to take out all the inhabitants of the castle, be they haughty royalty or loyal knights and men-at-arms. Why anyone would take the trouble to erect a powerful trebuchet only to fire only five rocks is beyond my comprehension – must be the fickle pettyiness of those feudal times.
Play Crush The Castle.
MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
Papercraft Trebuchet Plans by Sheila Mertens
800mm Dora Railgun
War and Game – Military History Blog
A Simulation of Trench Warfare : Warfare 1917
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Yes, this game “rocks”. I’ve played a few other similar games online but none are anywhere near as good (Castle Clout included). My only complaints are that it’s way too short – I’ve played the same 24 levels over and over and over again and now I’m bored with it, and it doesn’t automatically advance you to the next level when you’ve completed one. The level editor is kind of pointless too. Overall it’s a very addictive little game and I hope they come out with a new version soon, with few changes and a lot more levels. Better yet, a huge downloadable version.
Very nice original review Roys, btw.
Hi Bob, Armor Games is gonna produce a Player Pack with user-submitted levels soon – see this post on the Armor Blog.