Lair Defense

Lair Defense flips tower defense on its head: you are the cryptids. The humans have found your den, and now hikers, hunters, recon drones, Men in Black and the dreaded containment vans are marching down five lanes to drag you into the light. Plant a row of defending cryptids, harvest moonlight, and hold the line for ten relentless waves.

How to Play

Humans advance from the right, one lane at a time, toward your den on the left. Place defending cryptids on the grid to stop them. Every defender costs moonlight — your only resource — so build your economy before the horde swells.

Place a cryptid: drag a card from the top bar straight onto a lane cell to plant it — or tap the card to select it, then tap a cell.
Collect moonlight: tap the glowing 🌙 motes that drift down. Uncaught motes are auto-collected at the bottom, but tapping is faster.
Build economy first: Glowcaps generate moonlight on a timer — plant a couple early so you can afford the heavy hitters.
Remove: select the 🧹 broom, then tap a defender to clear its cell.
Keyboard: keys 1–6 select defenders, 0 the broom, P pauses, Space starts/retries.
The pit-snare: each lane has a single hidden snare that wipes the lane the first time a human breaks through. The second breach in that lane ends the game — so don't lean on it.

Your Cryptids

🍄 Glowcap (50): harvests moonlight on a timer. Your economy engine — plant these first.
👺 Spitter (100): lobs spore-globs straight down its lane at the nearest human. Bread-and-butter damage.
🪨 Boulderback (75): a living stone with huge health and no attack. Stalls a lane while your shooters do the work.
👹 Twin-Spit (200): fires two globs per volley — double the damage for a packed lane.
🐺 Howler (175): its dread-howl slows every human in front of it to a crawl. Buys priceless time.
🐸 Bog Lobber (300): arcs splash spores that splatter a whole cluster of humans at once. Crowd control deluxe.

The Invaders

🚶 Hiker: the rank-and-file. Slow, plentiful, harmless alone — overwhelming in numbers.
🏃 Trail Runner: fragile but fast. Rushes the gaps in your line before you're ready.
💂 Hunter: tough and hard-hitting; chews through defenders that stand alone.
🚁 Recon Drone: flies over your blockers — only firepower brings it down.
🕴️ Man in Black: carries a riot shield that soaks damage before his health even drops.
🚐 Containment Van: a rolling tank that crushes any cryptid in its path. Concentrate fire.
🚛 The Director: the wave-10 boss. Enormous health, crushes everything — out-damage him or lose the lair.

Tips & Strategy

Moonlight is everything. Two or three Glowcaps in the back rows snowball into an unstoppable economy.
Wall, then shoot. A Boulderback up front lets your Spitters whittle a tough lane in safety.
Save the Howler for rushes. Drop it the moment Runners or a Van threaten to break through.
Lob the clusters. Bog Lobbers shine against tight packs and shielded Men in Black.
Respect the snare. It's a one-time lifeline per lane — reinforce a breached lane immediately afterward.

About This Game