Fall of Rome

September Newsletter

What is Online Multiplayer Turn Based Strategy?

When most gamers think of strategy games they think of a single-player PC game like Civilization, or perhaps a two player game like Chess. Strategy gaming gets much more interesting however, when we have multiplayer strategy games like the board games Axis & Allies, Diplomacy, or even Risk. These are games best for five to seven players, and all are turn-based strategy games, meaning one player completes his turn and then the next player executes his. Adding players adds to the excitement, and requires - like another great multiplayer strategy game that is also a turn based game is Poker – a way to size up opponents and their personalities as a key part to developing their own approach in a strategy game.

Board games, while adding to the excitement, have drawbacks, however. All players in a multiplayer strategy board game must show up at the same place at the same time, and much of their evening is spent waiting for their opponents to complete their turns. Fall of Rome game however eliminates this and many other weaknesses of other environments. By virtue of its being an online multiplayer strategy game yet also retaining the virtues and necessity of any real strategy game of being a turn based game, where real thought and key decision making is the focus, Fall of Rome game succeeds where other systems and formats of multiplayer strategy games have failed.

The unique turn based strategy game approach in Fall of Rome combines the advantages of other multiplayer strategy games, but enhances it by allowing players to submit their commands in this turn based strategy game anytime they wish within a 72 hour period. Then the game system sorts the commands of all twelve players in Fall of Rome by the kind of command given. For example, all battles for all players are executed before any army of any player moves. It is a beautiful system that allows the depth of thought needed in a turn based strategy game, but does it as an online strategy game with all the freedom and flexibility to the players that this breakthrough strategy game system provides.

The turn based game of Poker has taken the world by storm in recent years. Why has Poker become the most popular multiplayer turn based strategy game anywhere? Certainly, just the exposure the game has gotten on television has been key. But even casual observers are attracted to the chemistry generated in a multiplayer strategy game where there is much risked, and each hand or turn brings new challenges and opportunities. They enjoy seeing how the personalities of the players in a multiplayer game so directly and convincingly affect the outcome, in many cases more so than the cards dealt. The same is true in Fall of Rome game: the personalities of the players in this best of online strategy games are often key to victory and defeat. Knowing a player is overly aggressive or overly cautious is a great advantage in a multiplayer game.

The kingdoms in Fall of Rome game of course, are also unique, and influence strategy in this multiplayer game for twelve human opponents. Playing the Huns requires quite a different strategy than that of the Norse, to their north. The differences among the kingdoms in this online strategy game adds to the replay value, as does the fact that Fall of Rome game combines the best elements of role playing games (RPG) and war games.

Online RPG's in the past have meant single player affairs on the PC or as massively multiplayer online RPG's like EverQuest and World of Warcraft. However, these games offer virtually nothing to a player interested in matching wits with human opponents in an online strategy game – they fail in this regard. But Fall of Rome game offers better RPG elements, while preserving strategy gaming, because the successful player needs to develop his style and persona within the game, and in fact enjoys doing so. Become a chivalrous defender of the just where your word is your unbroken bond, or be a scoundrel and deceive your neighbors shamelessly, or something in between, where you divine the true intentions of your opponents through nuance or by communicating with other players through Fall of Rome's in-game messaging system. Messages appear instantly, and of course are free to send and receive. All your characters and legions are named, and take on a "life" of their own, increasing their abilities and powers through success and training, in the best tradition of RPG's, and now, online multiplayer turn based strategy games that feature great RPG virtues. Your persona, the personality you establish in Fall of Rome as your virtual self, lives on in immortality through Valhalla, another RPG invention that spreads your legend to all Fall of Rome game players.

Many war game players are attracted to Fall of Rome as well, for very good reasons. Our tactical system for resolving battles is more involved than many of the best war games, online war games or otherwise. Players are afforded a multitude of tactics to execute, and their armies are constituted of many different troop types such as heavy infantry or light cavalry, as you might expect in the best war games. Leadership is a critical quality, and leaders as well as brigades of warriors gain experience through success on the battlefield, again adding to the depth of Fall of Rome game as an online war game, an online RPG, and of course, as an online multiplayer strategy game. How many good multiplayer war games do you know of? Well, Fall of Rome might become the first!

If you are looking for an online game experience unlike anything you have tried before, a multiplayer strategy game that is best in class and combines the best of online wargames, online strategy games, and online RPG in one complete, over-the-top package, I'll see you in Fall of Rome!

Rick McDowell

President Enlightened Age Entertainment Inc.