The Iron Age is age 3 of 9. The colony is set in iron age: pencil-cup country. Moving on to the next age needs the gate research, which costs 29.64B Materials.
Research
| Tech | Effect | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Iron working | +15% Materials; unlocks the Paperclip Forge | 30 min |
| Bridges | Opens the desk on the Exploration map | 45 min |
| Formations | +15% combat damage | 60 min |
| Rationing | Offline full-rate window +2 hours; upkeep -10% | 90 min |
| Army logistics | +10% soldiers per card; unlocks the Barracks and Gathering | 120 min |
| Steam Engine | Advance to the Steam Age (needs Nest level 55, 20 cards, Eraser Mountain node) | 0 min |
| Bellows | +15% Materials | 45 min |
| Ore carts | +5% all production | 75 min |
| Deep galleries | +10% population cap | 45 min |
| Shift rosters | Buildings hold 10% more staff | 90 min |
| Iron shields | +15% combat damage | 90 min |
| Paper ramps | +10% Materials: folded paper ramps up the pencil cup | 25 min |
| Sugar maps | +10% Food: every sugar spill on the desk is marked | 37 min |
| Iron lintels | +8% room for ants: staples hold up wider halls | 25 min |
| Quiet hours | +10% births: the nursery rests while the lamp is off | 37 min |
| Eraser shields | +8% soldiers: eraser crumbs make light shields | 25 min |
| Ruler marches | +10% exploring speed: marching in straight lines along the ruler | 37 min |
Buildings
- Paperclip Forge: Materials per builder
- Bread-crumb Bakery: Food per forager
- Barracks: +1% soldier damage and HP per level
Quests
| # | Quest | Objective |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quick study | Research Paper ramps |
| 2 | More mouths | Upgrade the Brood Chamber to level 14 |
| 3 | Grow the Nest | Upgrade the Nest to level 27 |
| 4 | Break ground | Build the Paperclip Forge to level 3 |
| 5 | Keep it coming | Build the Forager Trail to level 16 |
| 6 | New ground | Build the Paperclip Forge to level 10 |
| 7 | A second idea | Research Iron lintels |
| 8 | First skirmish | Clear wave 21 |
| 9 | First discoveries | Research Bridges |
| 10 | Gather the cast | Find 4 new cards from the Iron set |
| 11 | The wider world | Bring home 5 Gathering expeditions |
| 12 | Take the high ground | Capture the Pencil Cup combat node |
| 13 | Hold back the tide | Clear wave 35 |
| 14 | Build big | Build the Bread-crumb Bakery to level 25 |
| 15 | Ask and answer | Answer 5 Codex questions this age |
| 16 | The gate | Research Steam Engine |
Cards first found
Army ant, Trap-jaw ant, Carpenter ant, Fire ant, Joan of Ant, Alexanter the Great, Huntsman spider, Minotaur ant, Hell ant (amber), Water strider, Banded sugar ant, Blood-red ant, Inchman, Golden-tailed spiny ant, Black-headed sugar ant, Rock ant, Velvet ant, Ant-nest rove beetle
Enemies
Cricket (fast), Cockroach nymph (swarm), Rival fire-ant raid (venom), Huntsman spider (fast), Antlion (fast), Flea swarm (swarm)
Music
- Backyard Breeze
- Long Shadows