Build Earth, Water, Air and Fire towers that each beat one element, and hold a winding road for twenty waves.
Elematter is a compact tower defense game where everything belongs to one of four elements. Both the creatures marching down the road and the towers you build are Fire, Water, Earth or Air. Every tower hits one enemy type for an extra 50 percent, so the real question is not only where to build but which element to pick.
A single long, twisting road crosses the board. You need to survive twenty waves on it and keep as many of your thirteen lives as you can. The game was made for the 2014 js13kGames contest, where every entry had to fit in 13 kilobytes.
The element cycle
The matchups form a loop. Earth is strong against Air, Air beats Water, Water beats Fire, and Fire beats Earth. A bar along the bottom labeled Next lists how many of each type the coming wave holds, which tells you what to build before it arrives.
Each tower also has its own style. Water slows the enemies it hits and picks targets at random, so its slow spreads across a crowd. Air reaches farther than any other tower.
Building and upgrading
Click an empty gray square beside the road to open the build menu. Prices differ by element: Water is the priciest at 300 fragments, Fire and Air sit at 250, and Earth is cheapest at 200. Hover over an option to compare its damage, range and rate of fire. You start with 500 fragments, and every defeated enemy adds more.
Every tower can be upgraded twice for better damage, range and speed. A white marker shows on a tower once you can pay for its next level. If a tower is in the wrong place, reclaim it to get 75 percent of what you spent.
How the waves build
Press Play and the first group walks in from the left. Each wave is tougher and quicker than the last. Every fifth wave, up to wave 20, a huge single-element boss leads the charge. Bosses have far more health but move at half speed, and they pay three times the usual reward.
Strategy notes
- Start with Fire. Your opening wave is all Earth, eleven of them, and Earth dominates wave two as well.
- Prepare for each boss. They arrive as Earth, then Water, then Air, then Fire, so you need strong counters ready in turn: Fire first, then Air, then Earth, and Water last.
- Place Water on long straights where it can slow many enemies in a row.
- Tuck Air inside bends, where its range covers several stretches of road.
- Send waves early when safe. The bonus shrinks the longer you wait, so call the next wave quickly if your defense is holding.
Controls
| Action | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|
| Open the build menu | Click any empty gray square beside the path | Tap an empty square |
| Build a tower | Click Earth, Water, Air or Fire in the menu (hover to see its stats) | Tap the element |
| Upgrade or reclaim a tower | Click the tower, then the upgrade or reclaim button | Tap the tower, then the button |
| Start or pause the game | Click Play at the top | Tap Play |
| Change game speed | Click x1, x2 or x3 | Tap x1, x2 or x3 |
| Send the next wave early for bonus fragments | Click Send Next at the bottom right | Tap Send Next |
Elematter FAQ
Can I play Elematter on a phone or Chromebook?
On a Chromebook or laptop it plays well with a mouse or touchpad. Phones are only partly supported. Tapping works for building, upgrading and every button, but the board is small on a phone screen and tower stats appear on hover, so a bigger screen helps.
How many lives do I have?
You begin with thirteen. Every enemy that walks all the way to the end of the road takes one away. If you lose them all, the game resets and you can try again from the first wave.
Can I speed the game up?
Yes. Buttons at the top switch between normal, double and triple speed. You can also press Send Next to call the coming wave early, which pays bonus fragments that are largest right after a wave begins.
What counts as winning?
Survive all twenty waves. Your score is then the fragments left in your bank plus 100 points for each life you kept, so careful spending and a clean defense both raise the final number.
