# Defend the Castle: Card TD — Deck-builder Tower Defense!

> Deck-building tower defense game with card collection and fusion mechanics. (iPhone/iPad app by Small Giant Games.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/defend-the-castle-card-td/id6743485492 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Small Giant Games](https://appshunter.io/developer/791124596)
- Category: Games, Entertainment, Action, Strategy
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 3.20/5 from 70 App Store ratings · 85 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 220 MB
- Languages: American English, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French (France), German (Germany), Indonesian, Italian, Japanese and 10 more
- Released: 2025-09-29
- Data updated: 2026-08-27
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/defend-the-castle-card-td/id6743485492/reviews.md

## What is Defend the Castle?

DECK BUILDING TOWER DEFENSE 
Defend your castle against hordes of enemies! Build your tower card deck and rank up your towers to defeat increasingly powerful monsters!
 
COLLECT AND LEVEL UP
Collect elemental cards and build versatile decks to crush any foes that attack your castle. Craft your strategy and advance through increasingly difficult levels and enemies!

TOWER CARD FUSION
Combine tower cards to create unique and more powerful towers. Level up your cards! Fortify your tower defenses to beat powerful elite and boss enemies for great rewards as you progress your way up!
 
PLAY WITH FRIENDS
Play against other players (PvP). Attack opponents by releasing minions and defend against your opponents minions with your towers. Join or create an alliance to repel hordes of zombie enemies with your team!
 
QUESTS
Challenge yourself with timed quests and test your deck in themed challenges to earn limited-time rewards!
 

Defend the Castle is free to download and play, however, some game items can also be purchased for real money. Information about drop rates for random item purchases can be found in-game. If you don't want to use this feature, please disable in-app purchases in your device's settings. The game also includes random rewards.
 
You must be at least 13 years of age, or such higher age as required in your country, to play or download Defend the Castle. A network connection is required for this game (network fees may apply).
 
Use of this application is governed by our Terms of Service, found at https://www.take2games.com/legal. For questions about the game, please review our game support page here https://smallgiant.aihelp.net/hc/account/4-Defend_The_Castle/en?p=ios.

For information about how Zynga uses personal data, please read our privacy policy at www.take2games.com/privacy. 

© 2026 Zynga, Inc. All rights reserved.
Small Giant Games Oy. Aleksanterinkatu 13, 00100 Helsinki

## Key features

- Deck building
- Tower card collection
- Card fusion and leveling
- PvP battles
- Alliances
- Timed quests and challenges

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Endless Deals C - Tier 11 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Triple Deals B - Tier 1 | $29.99 | one-time |
| Endless Deals A - Tier 07 | $2.99 | one-time |
| Triple Deals A - Tier 1 | $29.99 | one-time |
| Emblem Deals B - Tier 3 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Endless Deals A - Tier 03 | $2.99 | one-time |
| Triple Deals A - Tier 2 | $9.99 | one-time |
| VIP Pass | $11.99 | one-time |
| Emblem Deals C - Tier 3 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Endless Deals C - Tier 07 | $2.99 | one-time |
| Endless Deals C - Tier 03 | $2.99 | one-time |
| Triple Deals C - Tier 1 | $29.99 | one-time |
| Triple Deals C - Tier 2 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Endless Deals B - Tier 03 | $2.99 | one-time |
| Endless Deals B - Tier 07 | $2.99 | one-time |
| Pile of Gems | $1.99 | one-time |
| Bag of Gems | $4.99 | one-time |
| Bucket of Gems | $9.99 | one-time |
| Chest of Gems | $19.99 | one-time |
| Barrel of Gems | $49.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of Defend the Castle?

Overall sentiment: neutral

**Pros**

- 👍 Excellent new TD game
- 👍 Lots of weapons and fun game
- 👍 A surprisingly good game
- 👍 Wonderful little TD game
- 👍 Playable
- 👍 lov it!
- 👍 Fantastic game!
- 👍 There just trying there best
- 👍 No ads

**Cons**

- 🐛 Fix the bs
- 🐛 Bug report
- 🔋 Horrible
- 🔋 Fun Game but Badly Balanced
- 🔋 Pay 2 Win Luck Base Game
- 🔋 Needs Balancing
- 🔋 Hitting a Progression Wall

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Glitch in emblem quest
- Missing number display on fire slimes
- Crashes
- Incompatible with older devices

**Most requested features**

- Longer waves per round
- Ability to merge cards
- Daily login rewards
- Deck organization
- Multiplayer
- View resources
- 2x speed option
- PVE ranking and PVP rewards
- Ability to recycle or upgrade duplicate cards

## Recent user reviews (10 of 85)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/defend-the-castle-card-td/id6743485492/reviews.md

### 3/5 — New update, some things fixed

*2026-07-28*

Raising to 3 star now. Most of my issues with the game have been resolved. The balance seems good, though levels are still impossible, I hope to advance once I get more of the card and fuse coins. It seems to drop cards and fuse coins more. I have a small amount now that I am banking till I get more cards. It seems pretty balanced now. The ratio of getting a higher star card and just a higher level same card is still an issue. 

Now what I want to see. 

Events- a must. Maybe some special monsters or an endless wave event. Maybe a special tower event where you get to use a tower that is themed. 

PvP- needed, either you play as a team or play till someone loses. 

New towers and monster- obvious and something that is happening.

**Developer response:** We're sorry to hear about your unbalanced gameplay experience. We recently released version 4.0.0 with gameplay balance updates for gameplay, rewards and progression as well as daily Quests and Horde Battles to allow for faster accumulation of resources to collect and upgrade towers. Come see if the game feels better and if not, send a support request through to https://smallgiant.aihelp.net/hc/account/4-Defend_The_Castle/en/contact-us

### 1/5 — New update, same issues

*2026-07-15*

It is super hard to get cards and Fuse Coins. Why would you make it 50/50 to get nothing? Especially at 4+ star? You take so much time to get the cards and coins, you combine, and you just get 1 card of the same level (meaning you lose a card and get nothing), or worse, a wild card. If I take 2 4 star cards, that may be in my decks but I want a 5star, and get a wild 4 star card, I just lost 2 cards from my deck and have nothing. You have to fix this. Give something other than just a slightly upgraded same level card or a wild card. 

These are still an issue in the July update-Taunt golems are so over powered. Pair that with a fairy, auto win on level 2 and 3. A wave 2 golem is over 100k. Who thought that was fair? With the trident debuff, nothing can put out that much damage in the 2nd wave. Their hit level is so high, it then forces you to attack that monster, letting all the other monsters just walk through. You have to adjust the wave buff percents or the golem. This is the 3rd update you broke a monster. Delete the game if you want to keep your sanity. I wish I could report bad devs, this is one of them. They delete  and pay for reviews. Use to be at 2 star, now at 3.3. Looks like they slowed down deleting bad reviews. I know one of mine was deleted and I had to write another.

**Developer response:** We're sorry to hear about your unbalanced gameplay experience. We recently released version 4.0.0 with gameplay balance updates for gameplay, rewards and progression as well as daily Quests and Horde Battles to allow for faster accumulation of resources to collect and upgrade towers. Come see if the game feels better and if not, send a support request through to https://smallgiant.aihelp.net/hc/account/4-Defend_The_Castle/en/contact-us

### 1/5 — No more stacking!?!

*2026-07-08*

What happened to the tower stacking? Now it’s almost impossible to win a round unless you spend real money to level up your towers and even if you use ones to slow the hoard down, it doesn’t slow them down like it used to. This used to be my favorite game but with it being impossible to have a real chance at winning a round anymore, I don’t even want to play it and I just got past level 200…if it’s not fixed to how it was, I’m going to be deleting the app. I’m not spending money because you want to change the game and try to force money being used over actually strategy. You’re forcing me to end my usage.

### 3/5 — Some suggestions

*2026-07-07*

- Your new horde mode suffers from being too short. Enemies walk  straight line and by the time you get any fun defense up, it’s over. Either bake a time increase into manually speeding up waves alongside the score multiplier or just increase it overall 

- Fusing two max level cards of any rank should never produce a wildcard of that same rank. It punishes players who commit resources to level up cards and should be a guaranteed rank up.

- All gargoyles should have an effect for how hard they are to obtain. Storm Gargoyle in particular should have pushback.

### 5/5 — Encyclopedia

*2026-07-06, version 7.0.1*

Please add an encyclopedia listing all towers, enemies and troops. When will you answer?

### 1/5 — New Update Ruined Game

*2026-07-05, version 7.0.1*

The new update has made the game pay to win and is unplayable. I was having a ton of fun and now it is one of the worst games I have ever played. The greed of the creators sickens me.

### 2/5 — Update wasn’t great

*2026-07-02, version 7.0.0*

The towers don’t stack like they used to anymore. Darts and aces no longer multiply when you upgrade them during a run. It’s like they downgraded towers with this upgrade. Hoard time isn’t long enough either, the new hoard layout wouldn’t be bad if you had even a little more time during the run…Not a great update.

### 1/5 — Was great till updates

*2026-07-01*

I have spent money monthly on VIP and extras. And was doing well, but since they have changed the mechanics twice in the last couple of months I can’t get past level 497. I will either have to spend tons of money buying packs or grind the quests for a very long time. If you are going to keep lowering the weapon stats, then lower the health or speed of monsters. If the game doesn’t even out. I will no longer be playing or spending money with this game.

### 1/5 — New update, same issues

*2026-06-21, version 6.1.2*

**Dead Game, devs abandoned. Don’t download

It is super hard to get cards and Fuse Coins. Why would you make it 50/50 to get nothing? Especially at 4+ star? You take so much time to get the cards and coins, you combine, and you just get 1 card, or worst, a wild card. If I take 2 4 star cards, that may be in my decks but I want a 5star, and get a wild 4 star, I just lost 2 cards from my deck and have nothing. You have to fix this. Give someone other than just a slightly upgraded same level card or a wild card. 

Taunt golems are so over powered. Pair that with a fairy, auto win on level 2 and 3. A wave 2 golem is over 100k. Who thought that was fair? With the trident debuff, nothing can put out that much damage in the 2nd wave. Their hit level is so high, it then forces you to attack that monster, letting all the other monsters just walk through. You have to adjust the wave buff percents or the golem. This is the 2nd update you broke a monster. Delete the game if you want to keep your sanity. I wish I could report bad devs, this is one of them. They delete  and pay for reviews. Use to be at 2 star, now at 3.5.

### 1/5 — Delete account

*2026-05-24, version 6.1.1*

The developers make you write out a reason why they should delete your account, REALLY? Why ? If I want to restart the game why do I have to wait for you to respond and type out a whole response just to delete my account. Such BS….

## Frequently asked questions about Defend the Castle

### What is Defend the Castle: Card TD?

Defend the Castle: Card TD is a tower defense game where players build a deck of tower cards to defend their castle from enemy hordes. It features deck building, card collection, and fusion mechanics to create stronger defenses.

### How do I get stronger towers in the game?

You can collect elemental cards to build versatile decks and combine tower cards to create unique and more powerful towers. Leveling up your cards also increases their strength, helping you to beat elite and boss enemies.

### Is Defend the Castle: Card TD free to play?

Yes, the game is free to download and play. However, it does offer in-app purchases for game items that can be bought with real money. You can disable in-app purchases in your device's settings if you prefer not to use this feature.

### Can I play with friends in Defend the Castle: Card TD?

Yes, you can play with friends in several ways. The game includes PvP battles where you can attack opponents and defend against their minions. You can also join or create an alliance to team up with other players to repel enemies.

### What kind of challenges are available in the game?

The game offers timed quests and themed challenges that allow you to test your deck-building strategies. Successfully completing these challenges can earn you limited-time rewards.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 7.1.1 — 2026-07-23

Massive PvP Rework:
∙ Adjustments to a variety of existing Towers and Monsters
∙ New PvP energy system
∙ New PvP battle layouts
∙ Improved deck power calculation
∙ Updated PvP matchmaking logic
∙ Revamped UI/UX
∙ New Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Epic Monsters
∙ And more!

Complete Horde Overhaul:
∙ New special Zombies
∙ Three new five-path Horde battle layouts with 12 Tower slots
∙ New Danger Level mechanic
∙ Improved Horde scoring system
∙ Nicer visuals
∙ And more!

Various other improvements and bug fixes.

### 7.1.0 — 2026-07-13

Massive PvP Rework:
∙ Adjustments to a variety of existing Towers and Monsters
∙ New PvP energy system
∙ New PvP battle layouts
∙ Improved deck power calculation
∙ Updated PvP matchmaking logic
∙ Revamped UI/UX
∙ New Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Epic Monsters
∙ And more!

Complete Horde Overhaul:
∙ New special Zombies
∙ Three new five-path Horde battle layouts with 12 Tower slots
∙ New Danger Level mechanic
∙ Improved Horde scoring system
∙ Nicer visuals
∙ And more!

Various other improvements and bug fixes.

### 7.0.1 — 2026-07-03

Massive PvP Rework:
∙ Adjustments to a variety of existing Towers and Monsters
∙ New PvP energy system
∙ New PvP battle layouts
∙ Improved deck power calculation
∙ Updated PvP matchmaking logic
∙ Revamped UI/UX
∙ New Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Epic Monsters
∙ And more!

Complete Horde Overhaul:
∙ New special Zombies
∙ Three new five-path Horde battle layouts with 12 Tower slots
∙ New Danger Level mechanic
∙ Improved Horde scoring system
∙ Nicer visuals
∙ And more!

Various other improvements and bug fixes.

### 7.0.0 — 2026-06-29

Massive PvP Rework:
∙ Adjustments to a variety of existing Towers and Monsters
∙ New PvP energy system
∙ New PvP battle layouts
∙ Improved deck power calculation
∙ Updated PvP matchmaking logic
∙ Revamped UI/UX
∙ New Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Epic Monsters
∙ And more!

Complete Horde Overhaul:
∙ New special Zombies
∙ Three new five-path Horde battle layouts with 12 Tower slots
∙ New Danger Level mechanic
∙ Improved Horde scoring system
∙ Nicer visuals
∙ And more!

Various other improvements and bug fixes.

### 6.1.2 — 2026-05-29

New Towers:
∙ Megaphones (Epic Anti-Taunt)
∙ Balloons (Rare Anti-Air)
∙ Elemental Needles (8 more Uncommon Towers to accompany the existing Metal Needle)

Signature Tower Sets (three related cards from Common to Rare):
∙ Cold: Snowball, Handful of Snowballs (formerly Ice Cube), Pile of Snowballs (new!)
∙ Earth: Small Rock (formerly Bone), Rock (formerly Small Rock), Big Rock (formerly Boulder)
∙ Electric: Small Lightning (formerly Small Spark), Lightning (new!), Big Lightning (formerly Lightning)
∙ Fire: Small Fireball (formerly Fire Bolt), Fireball (new!), Big Fireball (new!)
∙ Metal: Shuriken (demoted to Common), Kunai (demoted to Uncommon), Sai (new!)
∙ Nature: Kiwi (formerly Pea Shooter), Pear (formerly Tomato), Melon (new!)
∙ Poison: Small Poison Mushroom (formerly Rotten Egg), Poison Mushroom (new!), Big Poison Mushroom (new!)
∙ Water: Droplet, Bubble, Big Bubble (new!)
∙ Wind: Small Handfan (formerly Handfan), Handfan (new!), Big Handfan (formerly Cloud)

Level Progression update:
∙ Four new themes added
∙ New rotation: Nature > Desert > Snow > Water > Lava > Poison > Electric > Metal > Wind

New Tower Properties:
∙ Taunt Block (Megaphones): Blocks taunt for monsters within tower range
∙ Spectral (Rays and Gargoyles): Can target and damage Ghost monsters
∙ Seedlings (Kiwi, Pear, Melon): Spawned on impact, they chase after monsters and deal damage upon hit

Taunt buff:
∙ Permanent taunt: Activates on spawn and persists until death (can be temporarily suppressed by Taunt Block)
∙ Golems are sturdier to allow them to taunt longer

Trident nerf:
∙ Fire rate significantly slowed down to shift the tower's role toward being a tank counter rather than an all-rounder

Explosion Radius category update:
∙ Size labels tweaked to better reflect the radius
∙ For example, Bottles' labels are now Small to Big instead of Big to Very Big (actual pool sizes remain unchanged)

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## More apps by Small Giant Games

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All apps by Small Giant Games: https://appshunter.io/developer/791124596

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-27.*