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Your first fortress

A familiar swipe becomes a survival decision. Start with the rhythm of the game: prepare one sector, watch the whole fortress fight, then build around what survived.

Game rules at a glance

Goal: build and protect your Research Core, secure the Cure Project milestones, and complete the Final Cure. Creating 2048 begins the project; it is not the final victory.

Build → Attack → repeat: spend limited Build moves merging equal tower tiers in a chosen sector, then defend against the next wave. Surviving towers and their damage carry forward.

Game Over: losing all firing defenses ends the defense. Once your Research Core exists, its destruction triggers Game Over—even if other towers are still standing. Protect the marked Core as well as your firing coverage.

If a valid checkpoint is available, the Game Over screen can offer a free restore. Core loss cannot be bypassed with a paid or ad revival. Follow the Core and its milestones →

1 · Read the four sectors

Your fortress has four defensive sectors, each with its own merge board. Before building, look for the side that needs help: thin coverage, damaged defenses, or enemies that your current towers struggle to stop.

2 · Build with a purpose

During Build, choose a sector and swipe its board. Equal tower tiers can merge into a stronger tower. Your Build moves are limited, so consider both the merge you want and where the remaining towers will end up.

Tower 2 is building material; Tower 4 is your first firing defense. A board full of pieces is not necessarily a board ready to fight. Meet the early towers →

A Core Merge opportunity uses the marked fortress center as a shared board. Prepare the participating cells before the window opens. Learn Core Merge →

3 · Watch the whole fortress attack

When Attack begins, the view opens to the fortress. Towers fire at enemies within reach. Watch which side is under pressure, where shots are landing, and whether a warning is about to become a problem.

4 · Use help when it matters

Ability cards change how a named tower tier fights for the designated wave. Tactical Support gives you commands to use when ready. Learn one effect at a time; you do not need to memorize every option to begin.

Ability Cards → · Tactical Support →

5 · Plan from what survived

Damage and destroyed towers affect your next board. Merging is not a guaranteed full repair. Before chasing a bigger tower, ask whether the next wave needs better coverage, a replacement defender, or a different response to its enemies.

Try this first

After a wave, name the sector that looked most vulnerable and one thing you would change. That observation is more useful than trying to find a perfect board on your first run.

Next: Reading the Battlefield →

Development guide · Updated October 9, 2026. Describes the current development build. Availability and balance may change before release.

What are you building toward?

Your fortress protects the research needed for the Final Cure. Follow The Cure Project →