Titled key art

Defend the Rook: Play the Roguelike Board Game on March 16

Summary

  • Defend The Rook is coming to Xbox on March 16, 2023.
  • The game is a turn-based roguelike with tower defense elements.
  • Another collaboration between Klabater and Goblinz Publishing. Previous collaborations include Iris and the Giant, Legend of Keepers, and As Far As The Eye.
  • You can pre-order today with 10% off.

Hi, this is Justyna Urbanska from Klabater, bringing you some good news. In cooperation with Goblinz Publishing, we proudly announce that the game Defend The Rook, developed by One Up Plus Entertainment, is coming to Xbox on March 16th!


What is Defend The Rook about?


To put it simply, Defend The Rook is a board game roguelike with tower defense elements.

map

Enemies are coming at you in five waves from different angles to destroy the main building – the Rook.

To stop them, you have heroes, towers, traps, barricades and spells.


Heroes


There are three basic types of heroes: The Warrior, the Rogue and the Sorceress. Each one of them has three more variations with unique skills.

WarriorRogueSorceress
SamuraiCorsairBanshee
BarbarianRangerBlack Witch
Elven CommanderMercenaryPossessed Soul
  • Possessed soul
  • Warrior
  • Samurai
  • Barbarian
  • Elven commander
  • Rogue
  • Corsair
  • Ranger
  • Mercenary
  • Sorceress
  • Banshee
  • Black witch

Towers


Here is where tower defense games come to mind when playing Defend The Rook.

You’ve got three basic towers:

  • Cannon Tower – long range, low damage
  • Arcane Tower – medium range, medium damage
  • Emerald Tower – short range, high damage

Playing around their range and damage is crucial from the tactical point of view. Each one of them has two upgrades, giving towers unique traits.

  • Cannon Tower
  • Mortar Tower
  • Sniper tower
  • Arcane tower
  • Gem tower
  • Splinter tower
  • Emerald tower
  • Frostbolt tower
  • Lightning tower

Traps and Barricades


We won’t make it easy for the monsters to reach your towers. To stop them, you have a few traps that can slow down your foes or damage them. Placing them in the right spot may be the difference between winning or losing the battle, as, for example, some of your heroes benefit from traps.

  • Freeze trap
  • Proximity mine
  • Sling trap
  • barricade
  • hero banner
  • Boom barrel

Spells


Again, just like with Towers and Barricades, spells pack a punch or provide utility for your units. You’ll face a choice to damage the enemy and possibly take them out, or protect your defenses.

Spell loadout

Enemies


Enemies come in waves. In each round, there are five waves of enemies with a boss in the last round. Killing the boss grants you a gem, which you can later use for upgrades. Your heroes don’t have to survive and their falling doesn’t mean the end of the game. They will be reviewed at the beginning of the next round. It means you can go all-in at the boss; however, you won’t want to lose heroes prior to the last wave.


The Rook


Contrary to MOBA games, like League of Legends, DotA 2, or Smite, the Rook is not just an immovable object you need to protect. In Defend The Rook, you can move the Rook, and it also has some offensive capabilities.

You can upgrade the Rook. This is where the game resembles mobile base-building games like Clash of Clans, and all of its clones.

Basic Rook

Rook

Fortress

Fortress

Sanctuary

Sanctuary

The Fun Doesn’t End There


The first campaign is just a starter before the main course, called the Ascension. In Ascension, the difficulty increases with each level you choose, making it more challenging. It is where the game will put your strategic and planning skills to the test.

Overall with all the upgrades, progression system, choices to make and sheer game mechanics Defend The Rook offers many possibilities with different outcomes to uncover. You’ll be facing tough decisions like: “Should I sacrifice the tower to prevent heroes from losing HP, or should I make the hero soak up the damage to prevent the tower from burning down?”. Defend The Rook is one of these games with a steep learning curve, but as soon as you get the hang of it, you’re sucked into it for good.

Xbox Live

Defend the Rook

Klabater

12
$14.99
Free Trial
A roguelike tactics board combat combined with tower defense elements. Defeat the invading hordes to stay alive and save the land! Deploy your heroes to outsmart the enemy! Enjoy more tactics than your average TD game, whilst fighting through waves of enemies. Turn the tables on the invaders with the aid of devastating spells! Overcome the odds and outsmart the enemy. Build and upgrade your towers to survive the onslaught! To survive you'll need to utilize more than just your heroes wit and prowess! Careful placement of towers and upgrades will be necessary to ensure victory. Place traps and barricades to defend your castle! Use these wisely to funnel and confuse the invaders. Wreak havoc amongst their ranks and break up their carefully manicured ranks! Become a champion to save the kingdom! Do you have what it takes to save the land? Jump right in and enjoy a set of procedurally generated roguelike turn-based battles like no other! Every battle fought is unique.