GemCraft 1.0

Warning: You need to have a program capable of running an SWF file to play this game. You can click here to find one such program right here on our website.

Tower Defense games have generally fallen out of favor in the mainline gaming industry in the 21st century. There are very few tower defense games in the AAA market, and even if they're there, it's usually as part of a gimmick or a minigame. Thus, Flash games have had time to refine and innovate on the formula by themselves. The Bloons Tower Defense series is probably the best example of this innovation. Let's look at GemCraft.

To play GemCraft, simply run the game with whatever SWF player you have.

The game has a campaign with different paths you can take throughout the level, but it seems somewhat pointless because of how there isn't a story regardless. The gameplay is what sets the game apart.

During levels, you have a primary resource called mana. It regenerates slowly and you earn more than killing monsters. You can also invest in a mana pool, which costs a ton of mana but will permanently increase how much mana you get from kills.

The main gimmick this game has is how you have to create your towers. Certain gem combinations will create different high tier gems, and they all do different things like have special attacks and bonus damage. You have to decide whether or not you want two towers that both cover different options, or combine them into one super tower.

If you're a fan of Tower Defense games, then GemCraft is definitely one of the better ones.