Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (and its modern Definitive Edition) is widely considered one of the greatest real-time strategy games ever made. For decades, players have used its memorable cheat codes to skip campaigns, speed up building, or spawn sports cars in the middle of medieval battlefields. As developers, the simplicity and humor of these legacy debugging keys remain legendary.
To use cheat codes in Age of Empires II, press the Enter key during a single-player game to open the chat window, type the code exactly as listed below, and press Enter again. The codes are not case-sensitive.
Key Takeaways
- Resource cheats cheese steak jimmy's, robin hood, lumberjack, and rock on grant 10,000 of each resource.
- how do you turn this on spawns the legendary Cobra Car equipped with a rapid-fire machine gun.
- Aegis enables instant construction, gathering, and research, but applies to the AI opponents as well.
What Are the Best Age of Empires 2 Cheat Codes?
The best Age of Empires 2 cheat codes are cheese steak jimmy’s for food, robin hood for gold, lumberjack for wood, and rock on for stone. These codes instantly add 10,000 of the respective resource to your stockpile. For combat and map manipulation, the most powerful cheats are how do you turn this on (spawns a Cobra Car), aegis (enables instant building and gathering), and marco (reveals the entire map).
Here is the complete, fact-checked list of resource, unit, and gameplay cheats:
Resource Cheat Codes
| Code | Effect | Description |
|---|---|---|
| cheese steak jimmy’s | Adds 10,000 Food | Used for training villagers, military units, and advancing ages. |
| robin hood | Adds 10,000 Gold | Necessary for advanced research, military upgrades, and Monks. |
| lumberjack | Adds 10,000 Wood | Essential for building farms, military structures, and archery units. |
| rock on | Adds 10,000 Stone | Required for building Castles, Town Centers, walls, and towers. |
| ninjaconnor / rowshep / ninjalui | Adds 100,000 of all resources | Grants a massive stockpile of food, gold, wood, and stone all at once. |
Map & Gameplay Cheats
| Code | Effect | Description |
|---|---|---|
| marco | Reveals the entire map | Clears all terrain fog, revealing resource locations and land layouts. |
| polo | Removes fog of war | Reveals all unit movements in real-time. |
| aegis | Instant building & gathering | Accelerates construction, resource gathering, and research for all players. |
| i r winner | Instant victory | Skips straight to the victory screen. |
| black death | Destroys all enemies | Instantly defeats all opponents on the map. |
| wimpywimpywimpy | Immediate defeat / suicide | Destroys all your own units and buildings. |
| torpedo# | Kills opponent # | Destroys the player in slot # (e.g. torpedo2 for player 2). |
How Do You Spawn the Cobra Car and Furious Monkey Boy?
To spawn the Cobra Car and Furious Monkey Boy, press Enter to open chat, type how do you turn this on or furious the monkey boy, and press Enter to spawn the unit at your Town Center. The Cobra Car fires rapid-machine-gun rounds that shred medieval armor, while the Furious Monkey Boy can tear down massive stone castles in a few hits.
Here is a breakdown of the custom joke units you can spawn:
- how do you turn this on (Cobra Car): Spawns an AC Cobra sports car in your team’s color. It has high armor values, incredible speed, and a rapid-fire machine gun that deals massive damage to enemy armies.
- furious the monkey boy: Spawns a tiny monkey with extreme attack power. While it has very low health, its physical attack value is so high that it can demolish a Castle or Wall in seconds.
- to smithereens: Spawns a Saboteur carrying explosives. It is a highly destructive suicide-bomb unit.
- i love the monkey head: Spawns a fast-moving, naked villager (VMDL) that cannot gather or build, but has incredibly high speed, making it a great scout.
- alpaca simulator: Added in the Definitive Edition, this code spawns Alfred the Alpaca, a llama-like warrior that spits spitballs dealing high damage.
- catzor: Spawns Sharkatzor, a shark flying in a cape that shoots laser beams.
- i don’t exist: Spawns a penguin unit with high armor and melee attack.
Why Do Cheat Codes Fail in Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition?
Cheat codes fail in Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition because they are either typed incorrectly, conflict with multiplayer settings that disable cheats, or are not supported by the specific version of the game. Ensure that you have checked the “Allow Cheats” box in your game lobby settings before starting a custom match.
Other common issues include:
- STEROIDS vs. AEGIS: Players familiar with the original game often type
steroidsinstead of the correctaegiscode. In Age of Empires II, the correct code for instant building isaegis. - Aegis Enemy Buff: Remember that
aegisapplies to your AI opponents. If you leave it active, the computer will build armies and research technologies at the same instantaneous rate, often overwhelming you. - Achievements Disabled: Activating any cheat code instantly disables achievements and leaderboard progression for that single-player session.
If you are looking to optimize your download speeds for the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition installation files, make sure to read our guide on How to Fix Slow Torrent Speeds or check out our review of The Best PC and Console Games of Summer 2026 to see how modern remakes are reshaping the RTS genre.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you use cheat codes on the Xbox version of Age of Empires II?
Yes, on Xbox consoles, you can open the chat menu using the controller shortcut (Hold View button) and type the codes using the virtual keyboard, or plug in a USB keyboard for faster entry.
How do I disable the Aegis cheat?
To disable the aegis cheat, simply type aegis into the chat box again and press Enter. This toggles the cheat off, returning building and research rates to normal.
What are the new cheat codes in the Definitive Edition?
The Definitive Edition added several new cheats, including tech tech one two free (makes all technologies free to research) and going above and beyond (allows you to research the same technology up to 256 times).
Why does torpedo# not work?
The # must be replaced with the player number (1 through 8). For example, to defeat the player in slot 3, type torpedo3 into the chat box.
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