Preview
What is Gourd Guard?
Gourd Guard is a 3D Halloween action game for the browser in which you defend a giant glowing pumpkin from zombies that climb out of 8 graves around it, using a sword, a shield and a dash. Across 20 nights in four graveyards you meet fast runners, guard-breaking brutes, hooded snatchers that head straight for the pumpkin, lobbers that throw rotten pumpkins and a Zombie King with 40 to 60 health. A night lasts about a minute, and keeping the pumpkin at 8 of its 10 health earns all 3 stars.
Key facts
- Genre
- Action
- Players
- 1 (single player)
- Nights
- 20 in 4 graveyards, 3–4 waves each
- Stars per night
- Win 1 · gourd 5+ 2 · gourd 8+ 3
- You lose when
- The gourd hits 0 or your 5 hearts run out
- Pumpkin bomb
- 3 damage within 2.4 m · carry up to 3
- Session length
- Under 5 min
- Platform
- Web browser
- Devices
- Desktop, tablet, mobile
- Price
- Free
- Sign-up
- Not required
How do you play Gourd Guard?
Move with WASD or the arrow keys and attack with J or a click; three presses make a combo whose third swing deals double damage. Hold K or the right mouse button to raise your shield, and raise it just as a red-glowing zombie swings to parry and stun it. Dash with Space to slip out of a crowd without being hit, and throw pumpkin bombs with E. Clear every wave before the pumpkin's 10 health runs out or you lose all 5 hearts; each cleared wave relights the pumpkin by 1.
Tips & strategy
- Throw a bomb only into a group of three or more, or at a brute: it deals 3 damage to everything within 2.4 m, and you carry at most 3.
- When a hooded snatcher rises, leave the others and stop it first: it has only 2 health but walks straight past you to the pumpkin.
- Don't block a brute or the Zombie King: the punch breaks your guard and stuns you for 0.75 s. Dash aside and hit after the swing.
- When a lobber throws, step out of the 1.3 m red ring on the ground, then run at the lobber: it tries to stay about 6 m away from you.
- Save the charged spin for when three or more zombies close in: it hits everything within 2.45 m three times in 1.15 s.
- Pick up the candy apple that drops after every 9 defeated zombies before it vanishes 10 s later: it gives back 1 heart.
What are the controls in Gourd Guard?
| ACTION | INPUT |
|---|---|
| Move | WASD / arrow keys |
| Attack (hold to charge a spin) | J |
| Raise the shield | K |
| Dash | Space / Shift |
| Throw a pumpkin bomb | E |
| Attack / raise the shield | Left / right click |
| Pause and resume | Esc / P |
| Restart the night | R |
| Move | Drag on the left side of the screen |
| Attack, block, dash, bomb | Buttons on the right (hold Attack) |
Plays with keyboard, mouse, and touch. Fullscreen works in desktop and mobile browsers.
Gourd Guard FAQ
How do you parry in Gourd Guard?
Raise the shield at the last moment before a zombie's swing lands: within 0.24 seconds counts as a parry. The zombie is stunned for 1.4 seconds and every hit on it deals 1 extra damage. Raising the shield earlier still blocks the swing, just without the stun.
Can you block a brute in Gourd Guard?
No. Brutes and the Zombie King punch through a raised shield, breaking the guard and leaving you stunned for 0.75 seconds. Watch for the red glow and the growing red ring under them, dash to the side, and strike while they recover from the miss.
How do you get more pumpkin bombs in Gourd Guard?
Walk over a ripe pumpkin on one of the vines around the yard. You can carry up to 3, and a vine grows a new pumpkin 14 seconds after you pick it. Vines bear pumpkins from night 7, the night bombs first appear, and each night after that starts you with 1 to 3 bombs.
What happens when the pumpkin runs out of health in Gourd Guard?
The night ends at once with 'The gourd went out', and you replay it from the first wave. The pumpkin starts every night with 10 health and gets 1 back after each cleared wave; finishing with 5 left earns 2 stars and with 8 left earns 3.
How does the spin attack work in Gourd Guard?
Keep the attack button held after your first swing. After about 0.75 seconds the guard glows gold; let go and you spin for 1.15 seconds, hitting every zombie within 2.45 metres three times. It is the best answer when runners and shamblers close in from all sides.
How do you beat the Zombie King in Gourd Guard?
Keep moving and hit him after each slow punch. The king has 40 health on night 10 and 60 on night 20, breaks a raised shield and calls 2 shamblers every 9 seconds. Each pumpkin bomb deals 3 damage, so throw them when he stands among his summons.
Do the zombies in Gourd Guard attack you or the pumpkin?
It depends on the kind. Shamblers walk to the pumpkin unless you come within about 3.6 metres, runners chase you from 8 metres, lobbers always throw at you, and hooded snatchers ignore you and head straight for the pumpkin, so stop them first.
