GemCraft Chapter 0: Gem of Eternity
- Genre Board games
- Players 1
- Session 5 min
- Price Free
- Updated
A tower in GemCraft does nothing on its own. It is a grey stone socket on the edge of a winding road, and it only starts firing when you drag a gem into it. Which gem you choose decides almost everything: its colour sets a special effect, such as the poison of a green gem, and its grade sets damage, range and firing speed. Two gems dropped onto each other fuse into a single stronger one, and that crafting loop is the heart of the game. Chapter 0 is the prequel in the series, released by Game in a Bottle in 2009, and it opens with a hand-drawn story told on scraps of parchment. A wizard has spent decades hunting the Gem of Eternity, a stone said to grant eternal life and open gates to other worlds. A farseeing ritual has finally revealed an arcane vault, and the journey there runs across a yellowed map of battle sites. At each stop monsters crawl out along the road in numbered waves, and your only resource is mana, shown in a long blue bar across the top of the screen. It pays for every new gem and spell, so spending it well matters more than spending it fast.
| Drag a gem | Pull a gem from the inventory grid on the right onto a tower or trap, or onto another gem to combine them |
|---|---|
| Create gem spell | Click the spell button, then an inventory slot; lower rows make cheaper, weaker gems |
| Shift + click | Create several gems in one go while the spell is selected |
| Mouse over | Hover a gem, tower or button to read its exact stats in a tooltip |
| Fast forward | Arrow button in the top left corner speeds up the battle |
How to play GemCraft Chapter 0: Gem of Eternity
- Click Play!, then New Game. Click through the story pages until the world map appears, and choose the battle site at the bottom of the map.
- Pick the Normal battle mode. The other modes on the ring stay locked until you win the field and gain wizard levels.
- Read the short guides, then drag each of your starting gems onto a tower beside the road.
- Monster waves arrive from the bar on the left. Kills add mana and score; use the extra mana to create new gems and fill empty sockets.
- Merge same-grade gems to climb grades. After the battle, spend points in Skills and use Save Game on the map so the wizard keeps his progress.
Tips
- Place the first gem in the tower that covers the most road. A socket with a long straight in its range circle fires for far longer than one on a short bend.
- Pure gems of one colour get small bonuses to damage, firing speed and range, so do not mix colours early without a reason.
- A gem in a trap loses damage and range but strengthens its special effect, which makes traps the natural home for poison.
- Gem bombs have their own uses: destroying beacons that help monsters, wrecking infested buildings or, dropped on a wave brick, summoning extra monsters.
Questions about GemCraft Chapter 0: Gem of Eternity
Is GemCraft Chapter 0 the first GemCraft game?
It is a prequel. It came out in 2009 after the original GemCraft and tells the story of an earlier quest for the Gem of Eternity.
Can I play it on a phone?
It needs dragging gems precisely and reading small tooltips, and Shift helps with crafting. It is built for a mouse on a computer.
How does combining work?
Drag one gem onto another, in the inventory or inside a tower. The result is a single gem of a higher grade with stronger stats.
Is there a save?
The world map has a Save Game button, and the title screen offers Continue Game. Saves live in the browser you played in, so use the same one next time.
