Quirky App Of The Day: Crush The Castle
by Kathryn Zane
August 3, 2011
I love learning about the medieval times. Sure, they had awesome artwork, amazing music and threw some stellar balls. I'm more into the plagues, invasions, crusades, witch hunts and medical maladies. I won't even bother trying to explain myself. I think anyone who has spent sufficient time reading my posts understands that this is simply my nature. Crush The Castle is a game of invasion and demolition, so it fits the bill.
Crush The Castle is a game of trajectory. There is a pretty awesome twist to this game though. Rather than aiming with something like a slingshot or a bow and arrow, the trick is to get the trebuchet to unleash the rocks at the right minute. I actually recognized that the mechanism is a trebuchet by my lonesome. A catapult relies on on a crank system and locking mechanisms to utilize its elasticity. A trebuchet uses the release of counter-weights, usually of rocks, to enable the launch. I've watched too much TV.
You tap to release the counter-weights, and you tap again to release the projectiles. Usually covered with leather, the projectiles were released by yanking on a rope at the right angle of the counter-weight release. Scientific, right? Welcome to the height of technology from the Middle Ages. The fun comes from needing to aim while your weapon is in motion. Angry Birds doesn't make you do that. I'm just pointing that out.
Your goal is to kill the opposing royal family. None of this mamby-pamby fluff where the little animals just poof out of existence. There's a blood splat, some groans and body resistance when your rocks hit the people. There are also achievements for managing to do this in limited amounts of swings. It isn't as easy as it sounds. Some of those castle materials I would swear where made of titanium if it had existed back then.
Best of all, Crush The Castle has a free version in the AppStore.
