Medieval Game

Medieval Game: The Grand Fair is a medieval tournament with four events: ring tilting at a gallop, the stone put, a trebuchet shot at a wooden tower on a castle wall, and the joust. Enter a championship against five rivals or practice any event for a better score. You can play this medieval game free online in your browser with no download, using a keyboard, a mouse or a touch screen.

How to play

To aim, drag on the game or use the arrow keys or WASD. To act, tap or click the game, or press Space or the Action button.

• Ring Tilting: your horse gallops past eight hanging rings. Raise and lower the lance tip so it passes through each one. A catch scores 10 points, plus up to 5 more the closer you are to the center. The tip bobs with the gallop, and the rings get smaller as you go.
• Stone Put: tap to start, again to lock the swinging angle, and again to lock the power. Around 40 degrees flies furthest. Stop the power bar in the red and you step over the stop board, which is a foul. The best of your three puts counts.
• Siege Shot: drag up and down (or use Up and Down) for the trebuchet’s angle and left and right for the power, then tap to loose. Only the start of the arc is shown. Every tower piece you knock down, topple or shove out of place scores 10 points, and the pennant adds a 30-point bonus. You get three shots, and your earlier shots’ paths stay on screen.
• The Joust: ride three courses down the tilt barrier. Keep your lance tip on your rival’s shield as it wobbles with the gallop. Near the end, a white ring closes in on the shield. Brace when it meets the green circle.

Scoring the joust

Each course scores 0 for a miss, 1 for a glancing blow, 2 for breaking your lance on the shield and 3 for a hit in the center. A center hit with a perfect brace unhorses your rival into the hay. That scores 5, ends the bout, and every course you didn’t need to ride counts as 3 more. Brace too early or not at all, and any hit is only a glancing blow. Your rival rides at you too, and if you aren’t braced when they land a strong hit, you are the one who is unhorsed.

The championship

A championship runs Ring Tilting, the Stone Put, the Siege Shot and the Joust in that order. Your five rivals are each stronger in some events than others. Places in each event earn 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 points, and the top three take gold, silver and bronze. In the final joust you ride against the leading rival. The most points after four events wins the title, and ties go to whoever has more golds.

Your best score in each event, your titles, your medals and any championship in progress are saved in your browser.

The history behind the events

Jousting grew out of the heavy cavalry lance and became a sport in the late Middle Ages. Riders aimed at the opponent’s shield with wooden lances that were made to break on impact. A cloth barrier between the riders appeared in the 14th century. In the 15th century it became a wooden fence called the tilt, which prevented collisions. In running at the ring, a rider at full speed tries to carry off a hanging ring on the lance point. It began at Europe’s royal courts and is still practiced, and Maryland made ring jousting its state sport in 1962.

A trebuchet throws its load from a sling on a swinging arm. The counterweight trebuchet appeared around the Mediterranean in the 12th century, and by the 1230s it was common in siege warfare. Putting a heavy stone was a popular medieval pastime, and the stone put survives at Scottish Highland games.

Tips

• Aim early in the joust. Center the lance while your rival is far away, and then you only need small corrections.
• Hit the tower low. A firm, flat shot into the lower posts can bring the whole frame down.

FAQ

Is Medieval Game free?

Yes. It’s free in any modern browser, with no account and nothing to install.

Is anyone hurt in the joust?

No. It’s a cartoon, and an unhorsed rider lands in the hay.

Does it work on phones and Chromebooks?

Yes. Drag to aim and tap to act. Touching the game won’t scroll the page. The game pauses when you switch tabs, and P or Esc pauses it at any time.

Want more knights? Try Knight Game, a sword-and-shield platformer, or test your aim in Archery.