Siege 1K

A Pico-8 game in 1024 compressed characters, created for Pico-1K Jam 2025.

Unminified source code with comments here.

Siege 1K is a remake of a simple but fun game by Mike Singleton "Siege" (1983 - Postern for Commodore VIC20 / C64, ZX Spectrum...), if the enemy reaches the top you lose points (score halved, difficulty reduced) instead of a game-over.

The original gameplay was so simple that 1K is enough to expand it with a main menu showing a total score across 10 castles (each with increased difficulty) and an all-time best score. Unlike a typical 1k jam game, Siege 1K saves the progress and scores.

Note: do not try to cheat by restarting a game which isn't going well... as the temporary score will be saved and confirmed for that castle. BTW if you want to quickly rage quit and start over a new land you can select a finished castle (showing the score) and hit  ❎ to restart a new adventure in a "New Shire".

Game Controls:

⬅️➡️ Move player left/right (or select castles in the main menu)
⭕️ [Z or C] Throw barrel
❎ [X or V] Taunt enemy (they climb faster when pressed)
[P or Enter] Pause Menu and options...

Main Menu Controls:

⬅️➡️ Select previous/next castle
⭕️ [Z or C] Start defending the selected castle
❎ [X or V] "New Shire" command available when you select a completed castle: abandon current land, delete scores/total and start over moving to a new Shire

How to Play:

Defend each castle of the Shire, you stand at the top of the castle wall and have to throw barrels at the attackers who are climbing up the wall. Often you will be able to take down multiple enemies as one falling man catches another.
If a baddie manages to reach the top your score is halved and the difficulty level is reduced.

HUD:
The current score is shown on top-left corner in white while the other "n / m" progress counter in red displays useful information on the round. In detail it means: 

• n=max number of baddies spawning and climbing on screen;
• each barrel hitting a baddie increases this n by 1 (regardless of how many others will be dragged down in chain);
• when n reaches the target amount m, enemy stops spawning.

The Siege ends when the last attacker on screen falls down, either because you've reached the n/m target explained above or because you've quick eliminated the threat thus scaring the other attackers away (but it's not a good strategy for points).

Strategy:
So yes, the first castles are easier but don't rush it, if attackers are slow you can even Taunt them, they will climb up faster while you're pressing the ❎ button. When the difficulty level allows it or you feel like taking the risk, ensure you taunt enemy enough to start climbing on screen as many as possible before the "n/m" progress shows n higher that the target m, as new attackers will stop spawning at that point.
Is taking down multiple enemies a good strategy? Yes.. but at one point (guess when) taking down one by one will gain a few more points, take a look at the scoring below to find the best strategy to optimize your scores.

Scoring:

• 2 points for the first enemy directly hit by the barrel (increases max spawns);
• 1 point for each other man dragged down by other falling ones;

What's your all time best score? Share it in the comments. Have fun and thanks for playing!