This game won 3rd place during the TSA 2023 State Competition

Welcome!

Controls and Rules

Units

• Before the game is started, players have the opportunity to select up to three out of the five units in their loadout to use during the game. Each unit varies in damage, health, speed, and price. To buy and summon units, use the “A” or “left arrow” key for the first unit in the loadout, the second unit in the loadout is summoned by the “S” or “right arrow” key, and lastly, the third unit is summoned by the “D” or “right arrow” key.

• Spearman- With being the cheapest unit the Spearman is really low in health and damage, but very effective in large numbers.  

  Cost: 15 Gold

  Health: 1

  Damage: 2

• Archer- As it sounds the archer deals damage at a range, but this comes at a higher cost with low health and damage.

  Cost: 75 Gold

  Health: 1 (Can take 5 hits from arrows though)

  Damage: 2

• Battering Ram- At a higher cost the battering ram deals higher damage and has more health. Its only disadvantage is its slower speed and short-range damage.

  Cost: 100 Gold

  Health: 10

  Damage: 15

• Meteor- Unlike the other units, the meteor is summoned from the sky and only does damage to opposing units, not castles, making it purely for defense. 

  Cost: 200 Gold

  Health: 1

  Damage: ∞

• Catapult- With dealing high damage at a range and having the most health, the catapult is the most expensive and slowest unit.   

  Cost: 300 Gold

  Health: 20   Damage: 30

Castles

• Before the game is started, the castles’ starting health is chosen by the players. 
• During the game, each player can spend gold to upgrade their castle (the “W” key for the blue player, and the “up arrow” key for the red player). Upgrading the castle causes it to produce more gold per second, plus it gains visually appealing features. Although with every upgrade the price to upgrade increases.

Money Management

How does money work? The castle itself produces a passive income of five gold every one and a half seconds. With each upgrade to the castle, another five gold is added to that rate. However, units can produce gold too. Each unit produces gold every 2 seconds while on the battlefield. The footman will produce 1 gold, the archer 1 gold, the ram 4 gold, and the catapult 6 gold. The meteor produces no gold as it is destroyed instantly.

Stages

There are a total of four different stages in Pointless Wars, which are selected by the player before the game (multiplayer only). Each stage has its own theme meaning the background, units, and castles all change visuals to match the theme.

Game Modes

Single-Player

• Single-player is one-on-one against the computer that includes eight levels, each with a different challenge and difficulty. 
• This allows the game to be played by anyone at any time without needing another player. 

Two-Player

• In two-player mode, the players go head-on-head to try and earn a victory.  
• Players can customize their loadout, choose the stage, and input the castle's starting health.

Tournament (3-8 Players)

• This mode consists of multiple rounds and multiple players. Players enter the number of players and their names, the computer will generate a double-elimination bracket. Players compete against each other to get to the top of the bracket and be crowned champion.  
• Players can customize their loadout, choose the stage, and input the castle's starting health.