Thwaite

Player notes

About this game

Thwaite is a 2011 NES homebrew defense game by Damian Yerrick. Missiles descend toward a small town, and two firework silos are the only defense. Each silo begins with a limited supply of anti-ballistic missiles. The goal is to protect ten houses and survive seven nights, from Sunday through Saturday, without losing both silos or every home.

Press Enter to pass the opening notices. Use Up or Down to choose a one-player or two-player cooperative game, then press Enter again. During play, move the aiming cursor with the arrow keys. Z fires from the left silo and X fires from the right. An interceptor takes a moment to reach its destination, so aim ahead of an incoming missile rather than directly on it. The resulting explosion can destroy several missiles if their paths converge.

Ammo management matters as much as accuracy. At the end of a round, surviving silos are refilled, while houses and destroyed defenses can be rebuilt under specific conditions. Balloons and MIRV missiles should be intercepted early because they can release several new threats. A wide explosion placed near crossing flight paths is usually more valuable than firing repeatedly at isolated targets.

The campaign becomes more demanding later in the week, but destroyed ground no longer needs protection. Use that to prioritize missiles that still threaten intact houses or active silos. The Practice menu allows any of the 35 waves to be rehearsed with buildings on the left, right, or both sides. Thwaite also supports two-player cooperative control, where each player protects one side of town and both controller buttons fire from that player's assigned silo.