Strategy Games

Mesopotamia

The First Cities Premium

Mesopotamia and its neighbours · around 4000–3100 BCE

The first cities in the world are growing between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Lead Uruk, Eridu, Ur, Kish, Susa or Tell Brak, pay your workers in barley, and send settlers and traders up the rivers and into the mountains, in the age that invented writing.

• Slingers, mace bearers and archers; no horses, no chariots, and armies that walk
• Uruk colonists found Habuba Kabira (around 3500 BCE); Susa invents its own writing (around 3150 BCE); leads into “The Sumerian Cities”
• “In history”: the mass graves of Tell Brak, the sling bullets of Hamoukar, cylinder seals, ration bowls and the first writing. No names survive: only archaeology

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Egypt

The Two Lands Premium

The Nile, the Delta and the deserts · around 3300–2900 BCE · a short game

Before there was an Egypt, there were rival towns along the Nile. Lead Thinis, Naqada, Nekhen, the Delta peoples, Ta-Seti in Nubia or the Tjehenu of the western desert, and race to wear both the white crown and the red. A short game of 19 lands, made to be played in a single lesson.

• A river that is the only road, with desert routes, oases and the sea to get round your enemies
• Narmer gives Thinis new strength around 3100 BCE; desert nomads raid the mines and caravan roads
• “In history”: tomb U-j and the earliest writing, the Scorpion macehead, the Narmer Palette, and the puzzle of Menes

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Mesopotamia

The Sumerian Cities Free

Sumer, Akkad and Elam · around 2600–2340 BCE

The first cities in the world stand between the Tigris and the Euphrates, and they are always at war. Lead Kish, Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Mari or Awan in Elam, in a small, crowded land where every enemy is a day’s march away, and a border stone can start a hundred years of war.

• Spearmen, the shield wall of the Stele of the Vultures, and battle wagons pulled by donkeys, long before the first horses
• Ebla rises in Syria, and Lugalzagesi of Umma sets out to rule the whole land; leads straight into “Sargon of Akkad”
• “In history”: the royal tombs of Ur, the Lagash–Umma border war, the first peace treaty and Urukagina’s reforms

Mesopotamia

Sargon of Akkad: The First Empire Premium

Mesopotamia, Syria and Elam · around 2334–2104 BCE

A cupbearer of the king of Kish founds his own city, Agade, and sets out to rule the whole land between the rivers. Lead Akkad, Uruk, Kish, Mari, Ebla or Elam, in a world of city walls, battle wagons and clay tablets, before the first horses and long before the first coins.

• Archers, spearmen, donkey-drawn battle wagons and siege ladders
• Sargon, Naram-Sin, Enheduanna, the archives of Ebla and the Gutian invasions
• Gudea of Lagash and Ur-Nammu of Ur rise at the end of the age

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Egypt

The Time of the Nomarchs Premium

The Nile, the Delta and the deserts · around 2160–2040 BCE · a short game

The pyramid builders are gone, the floods are low, and Egypt’s provincial governors have their own armies. Lead Herakleopolis, Thebes, Ankhtifi’s province, the governors of Asyut, the Delta chiefs or Wawat in Nubia. Who will put the Two Lands together again? A short game, made for a single lesson.

• Famine and floods, governors who change sides, and the fight for the holy city of Abydos
• Mentuhotep II gives Thebes new strength around 2055 BCE; raiders from Sinai enter the Delta
• “In history”: Ankhtifi’s boasts, the damaged tombs of Thinis, the wooden soldiers of Asyut and the tomb of the sixty soldiers

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Mesopotamia

Ur and the Amorites Premium

Sumer, Akkad and their neighbours · 2110–1800 BCE

Ur-Nammu has made himself king of Sumer and Akkad, and his son will build the most organised state the world has yet seen. Lead Ur, Lagash, Elam, Mari or Simurrum, and watch Ur’s empire fall to famine, rebels, the Elamites and the Amorites, as new kingdoms rise in its old cities.

The same plan as “The Sumerian Cities”, four centuries later. It leads straight into “The Age of Hammurabi”.

• Eshnunna, Isin, Shimashki’s Elam, Larsa, Babylon and Shamshi-Adad’s Assyria rise during the game; the Amorites raid the north
• “In history”: the oldest law code, Shulgi’s reforms, the wall against the Amorites, the fall of Ur, and the merchants of Assur

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Mesopotamia

The Age of Hammurabi Premium

Mesopotamia and Syria · around 1792–1595 BCE

“There is no king who is strong by himself.” Babylon, Larsa, Eshnunna, Mari, the Upper Land of Shamshi-Adad, Yamhad and Elam make alliances and break them, in the age of the Mari letters and Hammurabi’s laws, until the Hittites march down the Euphrates.

• Light and heavy infantry, the first chariots and siege towers
• Rim-Sin, Zimri-Lim, Yarim-Lim, the Kassites and the Sealand
• “In history”: the laws, the Venus tablet, the sack of Babylon

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Egypt

The Hyksos and Thebes Premium

Egypt, Nubia and Canaan · around 1650–1530 BCE

Egypt is divided. Kings from Canaan rule the Delta from Avaris, with their horses and chariots; the kings of Thebes hold the south; and Kush, rich in gold, presses from Nubia. Lead the Hyksos, Thebes, Kush, Abydos, Xois or Minoan Crete. Can Thebes survive between the north and the far south?

• The arrival of the chariot; desert roads and oases that let enemies strike from behind
• Kamose and Ahmose give Thebes new strength around 1555 BCE; Libyans raid the western Delta
• “In history”: Senebkay’s tomb, the eruption of Thera, the Rhind Papyrus, Seqenenre’s wounds and the captured letter to Kush

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Egypt

The Great Kings Premium

The Near East and the Aegean · 1550–1250 BCE

The age of chariots and of Great Kings, who call each other “brother”, exchange gold and princesses, and fight for the cities of Syria and Canaan. Lead Egypt, Hatti, Mitanni, Kassite Babylon, Kush or Minoan Crete, from the expulsion of the Hyksos to the peace after Kadesh.

• The same map as Kings of Bronze, three centuries earlier, with Nubia added; it leads straight into Kings of Bronze
• Thutmose III, the Mycenaeans at Knossos, Assyria and Suppiluliuma’s Hatti rise during the game; the Habiru raid Canaan
• “In history”: Hatshepsut and Punt, Megiddo, the Amarna letters, the murdered prince, Kadesh and the first peace treaty

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The Near East

Kings of Bronze Free

The Near East and the Aegean · 1250–1180 BCE

Egypt, Hatti, Assyria, Babylon, Elam and the Mycenaeans trade, marry, threaten and fight, while far beyond the horizon the storm that will end their world is gathering: drought, earthquakes, revolts, and the Sea Peoples.

• Light infantry, heavy infantry and chariots; letters, treaties and royal marriages
• Grammar challenges at A2, B1, B2 or C1
• Play against the computer, with friends on one screen, or on several computers
• Secret missions, longer games and saved games

The Near East

Empires of Iron Premium

From Assyria to Persia and the Greeks · 745–485 BCE

Tiglath-Pileser III has seized the throne of Assyria, and the age of the great iron empires begins. Over two and a half centuries, Lydia, a reborn Egypt, Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar, the Medes, Cyrus’s Persia and the allied Greeks will rise. No throne is safe for long: if your kingdom falls, you take up the crown of another.

• Cavalry, siege engines and fleets; a special gift for every kingdom
• Kings who change with the decades, from Tiglath-Pileser to Xerxes
• “In history”: what really happened in each decade, from Samaria and Lachish to Babylon, Elephantine and Salamis
• Steppe raiders, secret missions, online play and saved games

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China and Central Asia

The Warring States Premium

China · 453–221 BCE

The Zhou king still reigns, but nobody obeys him. Lead Qin, Chu, Qi, Yan, Han, Zhao or Wei through two centuries of war, reform and shifting alliances, in the age of Confucius’ heirs and Sun Tzu’s Art of War. One of you will conquer all the others.

• Small states, the Zhou king’s city and the northern nomads to conquer or protect; Han, Zhao and Wei begin as allies
• Shang Yang reforms Qin, King Wuling gives Zhao cavalry, Yue Yi invades Qi, and Ying Zheng becomes king; nomads raid the north
• “In history”: the partition of Jin, Sun Bin’s ambush at Maling, Qu Yuan, Changping, Jing Ke’s dagger and the First Emperor. Leads into “The Silk Road”

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Greece and Rome

The Peloponnesian War Premium

From Sicily to Asia Minor · 431–404 BCE · one round a year, as in Thucydides

Athens rules the sea; Sparta rules the land. Lead Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, Syracuse or Persia through twenty-seven years of war: an empire of islands against the finest hoplites in Greece, with the Great King watching and waiting.

• A map stretched to give Greece room, with harbours that let fleets land armies safely
• Persia’s gold (412 BCE), Carthage in Sicily (409 BCE) and Lysander’s new fleet (407 BCE) change the war
• “In history”: the plague, Mytilene, Pylos, Delium, Melos, the Sicilian disaster and Aegospotami

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Greece and Rome

Alexander and the Successors Premium

From Greece to India · 336–282 BCE

Philip of Macedon has been murdered, and his son Alexander, aged twenty, has inherited his army and his plan: to invade the Persian Empire. Lead Macedon, Persia, Athens, Sparta, the Scythians or Porus of India. When Alexander dies, his generals tear his empire apart.

• The phalanx and the Companions against the gold of the Great King, on a map from Epirus to the Indus
• Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Antigonus, Cassander, Seleucus and Chandragupta Maurya rise as the empire breaks up
• “In history”: the Gordian knot, Tyre, Gaugamela, the Hydaspes, the siege of Rhodes and the founding of the Library

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Greece and Rome

Rome and Carthage Premium

The Mediterranean · 280–146 BCE

Pyrrhus has landed in Italy, Carthage rules the sea, and Ptolemy II rules in Alexandria. Lead Rome, Carthage, Syracuse, Epirus, Macedon or Ptolemaic Egypt from the Pyrrhic wars to the year when Carthage and Corinth were destroyed.

• Legions, phalanxes, cavalry, elephants and siege engines; great harbours for your fleets
• Hannibal and Scipio, Archimedes at Syracuse, Eratosthenes in Alexandria
• The Achaean League, Pergamon and Numidia rise during the game

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China and Central Asia

The Silk Road Premium

From Egypt to China · 129 BCE – 220 CE

Emperor Wu’s envoy Zhang Qian has reached Bactria, and for the first time the two ends of Asia are learning about each other. Lead Han China, the Xiongnu, Parthia, the Yuezhi, the Indo-Greeks or Ptolemaic Egypt, and fight for the oasis cities, mountain passes and monsoon sea routes that carry silk, horses, pepper and gold.

• A new map from Alexandria and Antioch across Iran, Central Asia and India to Chang’an and Luoyang
• The Sakas, Rome, the Xianbei and Aksum rise during the game; the Yuezhi become the Kushan Empire
• “In history”: the heavenly horses of Ferghana, Ban Chao and Gan Ying, the invention of paper, and envoys from “Andun”

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Greece and Rome

Mithridates and Rome Premium

From Greece to Media · 120–63 BCE

A boy has just become king of Pontus, on the Black Sea. He will grow up to be the most dangerous enemy Rome has faced since Hannibal. Lead Rome, Pontus, Bithynia, Armenia, Parthia or the last Seleucids, and fight for the Greek cities of Asia, the Black Sea and the mountains of Armenia.

• The pirates rise as a power; Tigranes builds an Armenian empire; leads straight into “Rome and Parthia”
• Mithridates goes to war (89 BCE) and Pompey takes command (67 BCE); Celts and Thracians raid Macedonia
• “In history”: the poison, the massacre of 88 BCE, Sulla, Caesar and the pirates, Lucullus at Tigranocerta, and Pompey in Jerusalem

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Greece and Rome

Rome and Parthia Premium

From the Aegean to Iran · 54 BCE – 115 CE

Crassus has crossed the Euphrates to win glory against the Parthians; beyond the river, the King of Kings rules from Mesopotamia to the borders of India. Lead Rome, Parthia, Armenia, Cleopatra’s Egypt, the Nabataeans of Petra or Media Atropatene, in the century and a half between Carrhae and Trajan.

• Legions against horse archers and armoured cataphracts, in deserts where cavalry rule
• Herod’s Judea, Commagene and the Judean revolt rise during the game; the Alans ride through the Caucasus
• “In history”: Carrhae, Actium, the return of the eagles, Philo’s embassy to Caligula and Trajan at the Gulf

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Europe

The Rhine Frontier Premium

From Britain to Dacia · 12 BCE – 70 CE

Augustus has sent his armies across the Rhine to make Germany a province. Lead Rome, the Cherusci, the Marcomanni, the Chatti, the Sugambri or the Catuvellauni of Britain, in forests and marshes where the legions are no longer sure of winning.

• Forests and marshes that favour the defender, and Cherusci ambushes
• The Pannonian revolt, Boudica and the Batavian revolt rise during the game; Dacian and Sarmatian raiders on the Danube
• “In history”: Drusus, Arminius and the Teutoburg Forest, the conquest of Britain, the year of the four emperors

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China and Central Asia

The Three Kingdoms Premium

China · 184–280 CE

The Han dynasty is collapsing and the Yellow Turbans have risen. Lead the Han court, the Yellow Turbans, the Liang rebels, the Xianbei, the Nanman or the Shanyue, and watch the great warlords appear: Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Sun Ce and Liu Bei. Who will unite China again?

• A new map of China, from the Great Wall to the Red River, with the Yellow River, the Yangzi and the passes into Shu
• Wei, Wu and Shu rise during the game, and Wei becomes the Jin dynasty; Wuhuan horsemen raid the north-east
• “In history”: Guandu, the Red Cliffs, Zhuge Liang, and which famous stories are history and which come from the later novel

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Greece and Rome

The Crisis of the Third Century Premium

From Britain to Persia · 260–284 CE

The Emperor Valerian is a prisoner of the Persians, Gaul has its own emperor, and Palmyra rules the east. Lead Rome, the Gallic Empire, Palmyra, Sasanian Persia, the Goths or the Alamanni, in a broken world of plague, worthless coins and usurpers. Can anyone put it back together?

• One year per round, with revolts and usurpers that can break any empire
• Zenobia, Shapur I, Aurelian and Postumus; the Blemmyes and the Isaurians rise, and Frankish raiders strike Gaul and Spain
• “In history”: the sack of Athens, the walls of Rome, the fall of Palmyra and the destruction of Alexandria’s palace quarter

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China and Central Asia

The Northern and Southern Dynasties Premium

China · 304–589 CE

The Jin empire is falling apart. Lead Jin, the Xiongnu of Han-Zhao, Cheng-Han in Shu, the Murong or Tuoba Xianbei, or Liang on the Silk Road, as kingdoms rise and fall in the north and emperors rule behind the Yangzi in the south. It will be almost three hundred years before China is united again.

• Jin begins huge but thinly held; Eastern Jin and Song in the south, Later Zhao, Former Qin, Northern Wei, Northern Qi and Sui in the north rise during the game; the Rouran raid the frontier
• “In history”: the fall of Luoyang, the Orchid Pavilion, the Fei River, Faxian’s journey to India, the Buddhas of Yungang and the Sui crossing of the Yangzi. Follows “The Three Kingdoms”

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The Americas

The Maya Kingdoms Premium

The Maya lowlands · 360–900 CE

In the rainforests of Mesoamerica, holy lords build temples above the trees, carve their deeds in stone and fight to capture each other. Lead Tikal, the Snake kingdom of Kaanul, Caracol, Yaxchilan, Naranjo or Piedras Negras, through five centuries of rivalry, and watch the southern cities fall silent.

• Real kings and queens from the inscriptions: Pakal the Great, Yuknoom Ch’een, Lady Six Sky, 18 Rabbit and many more; you pay in cacao beans
• Siyaj K’ahk’ arrives from Teotihuacan, Copan and Palenque found their dynasties, Kaanul strikes, Dos Pilas breaks away, Tikal recovers and Chichen Itza rises
• “In history”: the star wars of 562 and 695, Pakal’s tomb, the beheading of 18 Rabbit, the Bonampak murals and the great collapse

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Greece and Rome

The Fall of the West Premium

From Britain to Persia · 376–476 CE

The Huns have burst out of the steppe, and the Goths are begging to cross the Danube. Lead the Western or Eastern Empire, Sasanian Persia, the Goths, the Huns or the Alamanni through the century in which the West broke apart. Save Rome, or be one of the peoples who take its place.

• Two Roman empires, allies but rarely friends; Goths and Saxons who gain warriors as they go, and Hun horse archers
• The Vandals, Burgundians, Saxons and Franks rise during the game; raiders strike Britain and Gaul
• “In history”: Adrianople, Alaric and the sack of Rome, Hypatia, Attila and Aetius, and the last emperor of the West

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Africa

Aksum and Himyar Premium

The Red Sea, Nubia and Arabia · 500–630 CE

The Red Sea is the highway between the Mediterranean and India. Lead Aksum, the Christian kingdom of the Ethiopian highlands, Himyar in Yemen, Roman Egypt, Persia and its Arab allies, the tribes of Kinda or the Nubian kingdom of Nobadia, and fight for the two shores of the sea.

• Kaleb crosses the sea, Abraha makes himself king in Yemen, a Persian army conquers it, and the community of Medina rises; the Blemmyes raid the Nile
• “In history”: the gold coins of Aksum, Najran, the last temple of Isis, the Christian kingdoms of Nubia, the dam of Marib and the Year of the Elephant
• Built from inscriptions, coins, archaeology and later traditions, with the disagreements between them explained

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Greece and Rome

Justinian and the Persian Wars Premium

From Spain to Persia · 527–627 CE

Rome still has an emperor, in Constantinople, and he dreams of winning back the West. Lead the Roman Empire, Sasanian Persia, the Ostrogoths, the Vandals, the Visigoths or the Franks, through a century of reconquest, plague and the last great war between Rome and Persia.

• Belisarius sails west, the Avars and the Lombards arrive, Khosrow II attacks and Heraclius strikes back; Slavs raid the Balkans
• “In history”: the Nika riots and Theodora, Hagia Sophia, the plague, the smuggled silkworms, the fall of Jerusalem and the siege of 626

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China and Central Asia

Tang China and Tibet Premium

From the Tarim Basin to Korea · 618–763 CE

A new dynasty is born in a China torn by rebellion. Lead the Tang, the Eastern or Western Turks, Tibet, Goguryeo or the rebel kingdom of Xia, and fight for the Silk Road oases, the high plateau, the steppe and Korea, in the age of the largest city in the world.

• Taizong, Silla, the Tibetan armies of the Gar family, the second Turkish khaganate, Bohai, Nanzhao, the Uyghurs and An Lushan rise during the game; the Khitan raid Hebei
• “In history”: the Xuanwu Gate, Princess Wencheng, Xuanzang’s journey, the fall of Goguryeo, Wu Zetian, the Orkhon inscriptions, Talas and the fall of Chang’an
• Follows “The Northern and Southern Dynasties”

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The Near East

The Arab Conquests Premium

From Spain to Central Asia · 630–750 CE

Rome and Persia are exhausted after a generation of war, and in Arabia a new power is uniting the tribes. Lead Medina and the Caliphate, the Roman Empire, Sasanian Persia, the Visigoths, the Franks or the Western Turks, in the century that remade the map from the Atlantic to the borders of China and India.

• The Khazars, the Umayyads, the Berbers of Kusaila and the Kahina, Leo III, Asturias, Charles Martel and the Abbasids rise during the game; the Türgesh raid Transoxiana
• “In history”: the Yarmuk and al-Qadisiyya, Jerusalem, Greek fire, Karbala, the Dome of the Rock, Tariq’s crossing, Poitiers and the black banners
• Follows “Justinian and the Persian Wars” and “Aksum and Himyar”

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Europe

Charlemagne and the Vikings Premium

Western Europe and Scandinavia · 768–900 CE

A Frankish king is about to build the largest empire the West has seen since Rome, but his grandsons will divide it, and longships are coming from the north. Lead the Franks, Umayyad al-Andalus, Asturias, the Lombards, the Saxons, the Avars or Offa’s Mercia.

• The Norse, the Danes, Wessex, the Aghlabids in Sicily, Great Moravia, East Francia, the Great Army and Alfred rise during the game; the Magyars ride in at the end
• Sea routes across the North Sea, the Channel, the Irish Sea and the Baltic, where harbours matter
• “In history”: Roncesvalles, Verden, Lindisfarne, the Avar Ring, Christmas Day 800, Verdun, the siege of Paris and Edington

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China and Central Asia

The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Premium

China · 907–979 CE

The Tang dynasty is dead. Lead Later Liang, the Shatuo Turks of Jin, the Khitan Liao, Wu, Wuyue, Shu or Chu, while generals make and unmake emperors in the north and the southern kingdoms grow rich on tea, silk and porcelain. Who will put China back together?

• Later Tang, the Khitan’s Sixteen Prefectures, Southern Tang, Dali, Later Zhou, Northern Han and the Song rise during the game; Tangut horsemen raid the north-west
• “In history”: the first printed classics, Vietnam’s independence, Chai Rong’s coins from melted statues, the yellow robe at Chen Bridge and Li Yu, the poet emperor
• Follows “Tang China and Tibet”

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China and Central Asia

Song, Liao and Xi Xia Premium

China, Manchuria and Korea · 1004–1142 CE

The richest empire in the world has a problem: its northern neighbours have better horses. Lead Song China, the Khitan Liao, the Tangut Xi Xia, Goryeo or Dali, through a century of peace bought with silk and silver, until the Jurchen come out of the forests of Manchuria.

• Li Yuanhao’s Xi Xia empire, Wang Anshi’s reforms, the Jurchen Jin and the Southern Song rise during the game; Mongol and Tatar tribes raid at the end
• “In history”: the Treaty of Chanyuan, the first gunpowder recipes, the compass, the painter emperor, the fall of Kaifeng and Yue Fei
• Follows “The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms”

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Africa

Gold and Salt: The Empires of the Sahel Premium

West Africa, the Sahara and the Maghreb · 1050–1340 CE

Caravans of thousands of camels carry salt south and gold north. Lead Ghana, lord of the gold fields, the Almoravids of the desert, Gao on the Niger bend, Kanem by Lake Chad, Takrur on the Senegal or the Zirids of Ifriqiya. Whoever holds the gold and the caravan towns will be the richest ruler in the world.

• Marrakesh, the Almohads, Sumanguru’s Sosso, Sundiata’s Mali, the Marinids and Mansa Musa rise during the game; the Banu Hilal raid the Maghreb
• “In history”: al-Bakri’s Ghana, the salt houses of Taghaza, Kirina and the Epic of Sundiata, the lost Atlantic fleet, Mansa Musa’s gold in Cairo and the mosque of Timbuktu
• Built from Arabic writers, griots’ traditions and archaeology, with the disagreements between them explained

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The Near East

The Crusades Premium

The eastern Mediterranean and the Near East · 1097–1291 CE

Thousands of knights and pilgrims have marched across the world to take Jerusalem. Lead the crusaders, Byzantium, the Seljuks of Rum, the Danishmends, the Great Seljuks or the Fatimids of Egypt, through two centuries of sieges, castles, truces and holy war.

• Zengi, the Second and Third Crusades, Saladin, the Latin Empire, Nicaea, the Mongols and the Mamluks rise during the game; Khwarazmian horsemen raid the Holy Land
• “In history”: Antioch and Jerusalem, the Templars, Hattin, Richard and Saladin, the sack of Constantinople, Ain Jalut, Krak des Chevaliers and the fall of Acre
• Told from the sources of every side: Latin, Arabic, Greek and Armenian

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Southeast Asia

Angkor and Southeast Asia Premium

Southeast Asia · 1113–1295 CE

In the rice lands and river valleys of Southeast Asia, god-kings build temples of stone and send fleets and elephants against each other. Lead the Khmer of Angkor, Pagan, Đại Việt, Champa, Srivijaya or Kediri in Java, until a greater power comes from the north.

• The Cham sack of Angkor, Jayavarman VII, Singhasari, the Trần, Sukhothai, the Mongols and Lan Na rise during the game; a fleet from Sri Lanka raids Burma
• War elephants, river fleets and the tolls of the Strait of Malacca
• “In history”: Angkor Wat, the Bayon and its hospitals, the fall of Pagan, the stakes of Bạch Đằng and the Mongols on Java

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China and Central Asia

The Mongols Premium

Eurasia, from Hungary to Korea · 1206–1294 CE

A herdsman’s son who was once a slave has united the peoples of the felt tents. Ride with Genghis Khan and his heirs, or try to stop them as the Jin, the Song, Xi Xia, Qara Khitai, the Khwarazmian empire or the Delhi Sultanate, on the biggest map of the series.

• Genghis Khan’s campaigns, the Golden Horde, the Chagatai Khanate, the Mamluks, the Ilkhanate and Kublai Khan rise during the game; Jalal al-Din’s Khwarazmians raid the west
• Horse archers at their best on the open steppe; walls, rivers and mountains slow them down
• “In history”: Otrar, Kiev, Legnica and Mohi, Razia Sultana, the friars at Karakorum, Baghdad, Ain Jalut, Xiangyang, Marco Polo and the divine winds of Japan

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India

Sultans and Rajas: Medieval India Premium

India, from the Punjab to Sri Lanka · 1336–1528 CE

The great empire of the Delhi sultans is breaking apart. Lead Delhi, Vijayanagara, Bengal, Mewar or Odisha, as new sultanates rise in the Deccan, Gujarat and Malwa, Rajput fortresses defy all comers, and a southern capital amazes every traveller who sees it.

• The Bahmanis, Jaunpur, Malwa, Gujarat, Rana Kumbha and Rana Sanga, the Lodis, Bijapur, Krishnadevaraya, the Portuguese and Babur rise during the game; Timur’s army invades the north
• War elephants, Arab horses, Rajput forts, and the first guns
• “In history”: Ibn Battuta, Kumara Kampana and Gangadevi, the sack of Delhi, Abdur Razzaq at Vijayanagara, the Tower of Victory, Afanasy Nikitin, Vasco da Gama, Raichur and Panipat

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Europe

The Hundred Years’ War Premium

France, Britain and the Low Countries · 1337–1453 CE

Two kings claim the crown of France. Lead England, France, Scotland, Castile, Flanders or Brittany through a war of more than a hundred years, through plague, peasant revolts, civil war and madness.

• The Black Prince, Charles V and du Guesclin, Burgundy, Henry V, Joan of Arc and Charles VII’s cannon rise during the game; the Free Companies plunder France
• Longbowmen, men-at-arms and bombards; crossings of the Channel and the Bay of Biscay
• “In history”: Sluys, Crécy, Calais, the Black Death, Poitiers, the Jacquerie, Agincourt, Troyes, Orléans and Castillon

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China and Central Asia

The Red Turbans and the Rise of the Ming Premium

China, Mongolia and Korea · 1351–1389 CE

Under red banners, peasants who believe a saviour Buddha is coming rise against the Mongol emperors. Lead the Yuan, the Red Turbans, Xu Shouhui’s Tianwan, the pirate Fang Guozhen or Goryeo, as salt smugglers, monks and generals fight for the Mandate of Heaven.

• Zhang Shicheng, Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Youliang, Ming Yuzhen’s Xia and the Northern Yuan rise during the game; Japanese pirates raid the coasts
• River fleets, fire ships and early cannon on the Yangtze
• “In history”: the Yellow River labourers, the burning of Xanadu, the battle of Lake Poyang, the fall of Suzhou, the flight of the last Yuan emperor and Buir Lake

Premium: you will need the members’ password.

China and Central Asia

Timur Premium

From the Balkans to India · 1370–1405 CE

A lame Turkic noble from near Samarkand has become master of Central Asia. Ride with Timur, or try to stop him as the Golden Horde, the Ottomans, the Mamluks, the Jalayirids, the Delhi Sultanate or the khans of Moghulistan.

• Tokhtamysh, the Black Sheep Turkmen, Bayezid the Thunderbolt and Timur’s great campaigns rise during the game; river pirates from Novgorod raid the Volga
• Horse archers, Janissaries, war elephants and sappers, on a map from Bursa to Delhi and from Moscow to the Gulf
• “In history”: Kulikovo, the burning of Moscow, Kosovo, Nicopolis, Delhi, Ibn Khaldun’s meeting with Timur, Ankara, Clavijo’s embassy to Samarkand

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The Americas

The Aztecs Premium

Central Mexico · 1428–1524 CE

On an island in a great lake stands Tenochtitlan, a city of canals, temples and floating gardens. Lead the Mexica, the Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco, Texcoco, Tlaxcala, the Tarascans or the Zapotecs, from the founding of the Triple Alliance to the coming of strangers from the sea.

• Moctezuma I, Axayacatl, Ahuitzotl and Moctezuma II bring new strength to the Mexica; Cortés lands in 1519; Chichimec raiders come down in the famine years
• No horses and no wheels: warriors, eagle and jaguar knights, spear-throwers and war canoes, paid for in cacao
• “In history”: Nezahualcoyotl, the famine of One Rabbit, the flower wars, the Tarascan victory, the Great Temple, the last New Fire, the fall of Tenochtitlan

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The Americas

The Incas Premium

The Andes, from Quito to Chile · 1438–1534 CE

In a high valley of the Andes, a young prince defends his city against invaders. Lead the Incas, the Chanka, Chimor, the Colla or the merchants of Chincha, on a map turned on its side so that the whole of the Andes fits, from the Chanka war to Cajamarca.

• Pachacuti, the conquest of Lake Titicaca, Topa Inca’s campaigns, Huayna Capac, Atahualpa’s army and Pizarro rise during the game; Chiriguano raiders attack the eastern frontier
• No money, no horses, no wheels: slingers, mace warriors and llama caravans, with wealth counted in cloth
• “In history”: the defence of Cusco, Machu Picchu, the fall of Chimor, Yahuarcocha, the epidemic, the civil war, the ransom room at Cajamarca

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The Near East

The Rise of the Ottomans Premium

From Vienna to Egypt and Iran · 1451–1529 CE

A young sultan has sworn to take the greatest city in the world. Lead the Ottomans, Byzantium, Venice, Hungary, the Mamluks or the Turkmen of the Black and White Sheep, as great guns break the oldest walls and a new empire reaches from the Danube to the Nile.

• Mehmed at Constantinople, Matthias Corvinus, Stephen the Great, Uzun Hasan, Shah Ismail, Selim the Grim, Suleiman and the Habsburgs rise during the game; the Crimean Tatars raid the north
• Guns for the Ottomans, Venice, Hungary and the Habsburgs, but not for the Mamluks or the Safavids
• “In history”: the fall of Constantinople, Belgrade, Vlad the Impaler, Skanderbeg, Otlukbeli, Otranto, Chaldiran, Cairo, Rhodes, Mohács and the siege of Vienna

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Africa

Timbuktu and the Askias Premium

West Africa, the Sahara and the Maghreb · 1464–1594 CE

Mali is fading, and on the Niger bend a warrior king is about to build the greatest empire West Africa has ever known. Lead Songhay, Mali, the Tuareg, the Mossi, Borno or the Portuguese forts, while Timbuktu becomes a city of scholars and books, and new powers with guns watch the gold from beyond the Sahara.

• The Wattasids, Askia Muhammad, the Saadians, the Ottomans in Algiers and al-Mansur’s army rise during the game; Koli Tengella’s Fulani raid the west
• Only the northerners have guns: Portuguese, Moroccan and Ottoman arquebusiers against the horsemen and canoes of the Sahel
• “In history”: Sunni Ali, the siege of Jenne, Elmina, Askia Muhammad’s pilgrimage, Leo Africanus in Timbuktu, the Battle of the Three Kings and Tondibi

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Japan and Korea

Sengoku: The Age of the Country at War Premium

Japan and Korea · 1467–1605 CE

A quarrel between two great lords sets Kyoto on fire and plunges Japan into more than a century of war. Lead the Hosokawa, the Yamana, the Ōuchi, the Uesugi, the Shimazu or the Ōtomo, as clans rise and fall and peasants become generals. Who will unite the country?

• The Ikkō-ikki, the Hōjō, the Takeda, the Mōri, Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Chōsokabe, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Date Masamune rise during the game; wakō pirates raid the coasts
• The first game with gunpowder: from 1543, every army with arquebusiers fights better
• “In history”: the Ōnin War, Tanegashima, Francis Xavier, Okehazama, Kawanakajima, Nagashino, the Honnō-ji, the invasion of Korea and Sekigahara

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Greece and Rome

The Italian Wars Premium

Renaissance Italy · 1494–1560 CE

The princes of the Renaissance invite foreign kings into Italy to fight their quarrels. Lead France, Milan, Venice, Florence, the Pope, Naples, Spain or the Emperor, while Leonardo and Michelangelo paint and Machiavelli writes. Who will be master of Italy?

• Cesare Borgia, Louis XII, the Great Captain, Julius II, the Swiss, Francis I, Charles V, Barbarossa, Cosimo de’ Medici and Savoy rise during the game; Barbary corsairs raid the south
• Guns from 1503, the year of Cerignola: arquebusiers, pikemen, men-at-arms and artillery
• “In history”: Fornovo, Savonarola, Agnadello, Ravenna, The Prince, Marignano, Pavia, the Sack of Rome, Tunis and Cateau-Cambrésis

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The Near East

The Safavids Premium

From the Balkans to India · 1501–1589 CE

A boy of fourteen, worshipped by his followers, has founded a new empire in Iran. Lead the Safavids, the Ottomans, the Mamluks, the Uzbeks, the last White Sheep princes or the Timurids of Herat, through a century of war between the great empires of the gunpowder age.

• Ismail’s conquests, the Uzbeks at Herat, Babur, the Portuguese at Hormuz, Selim, Tahmasp, Suleiman, Muscovy, Abdullah Khan and Shah Abbas rise during the game; the Kazakhs raid the Uzbek lands
• Guns for the Ottomans, the Mughals, the Portuguese and Muscovy; the Qizilbash fight on horseback
• “In history”: Merv, Chaldiran, Hormuz, Jam, Baghdad, Humayun at the shah’s court, Kazan, the Peace of Amasya and the coming of Shah Abbas

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India

Akbar and the Mughals Premium

India · 1526–1604 CE

A prince from Kabul has won Delhi with guns and horse archers. His son will lose it, and his grandson, crowned at thirteen, will build one of the greatest empires in the world. Lead the Mughals, Mewar, Gujarat, Bengal, Vijayanagara, Bijapur, Golconda or the Portuguese.

• Sher Shah, Akbar, the Deccan alliance at Talikota, the last kings of Vijayanagara and Chand Bibi rise during the game; pirates from Arakan raid Bengal
• Guns for the Mughals, the Portuguese and the sultanates, but not for the Rajputs or Vijayanagara
• “In history”: Panipat and Khanwa, the Baburnama, Sher Shah’s rupiya, Talikota, Chittor, Fatehpur Sikri, Haldighati and Akbar’s House of Worship

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The Americas

The Spanish Main Premium

The Caribbean and the Atlantic · 1560–1730 CE

The silver of Mexico and Peru makes Spain the richest power on earth, and every rival wants a share. Lead Spain, England, France or the Kalinago, as privateers, buccaneers and pirates, warships and colonists fight for the islands and ports of the Caribbean, from Drake and the Armada to the golden age of piracy.

• The Dutch revolt, Drake’s great raid, the Armada, Piet Heyn and the treasure fleet, the Dutch in Curaçao, the French in Martinique, the Miskito, Cromwell’s Western Design, Saint-Domingue, the Bourbon succession and the end of the pirates’ republic at Nassau during the game; buccaneers and pirates raid the Spanish towns
• Militia and musketeers, regulars, lancers, and warships and privateers, England’s secret weapon
• “In history”: Hawkins’ slaving voyages, St Augustine and Fort Caroline, San Juan de Ulúa, Drake and the Cimarrons, Bloody Point, Henry Morgan at Panama, the Port Royal earthquake, the fall of the last Maya kingdom, Utrecht and Blackbeard

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Europe

The Conquest of Siberia Premium

From the Volga to the Pacific · 1581–1689 CE

A few hundred Cossacks are about to cross the Urals. In less than sixty years Russian forts will reach the Pacific, following the rivers and the trade in sable furs, until they meet the armies of the Qing on the Amur. Lead Muscovy, the Khanate of Sibir, the Kazakhs, the Khalkha Mongols or the Manchus.

• Yermak, Tobolsk, Mangazeya, the Time of Troubles, the Manchus, the Yenisei and the Lena forts, the Kalmyks, the Dzungars, Okhotsk and the Amur, and the sieges of Albazin during the game; Stenka Razin’s revolt on the Volga
• A game paid in furs: sable, fox and ermine
• “In history”: the Stroganovs, Yermak’s death, the first Russians on the Pacific, Dezhnev’s voyage, the fur tribute and the Treaty of Nerchinsk

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The Near East

Shah Abbas and the Ottomans Premium

From the Balkans to India · 1588–1639 CE

Iran is surrounded and divided, and its new shah is barely more than a boy. Lead Shah Abbas as he rebuilds his army and his country, or the Ottomans, the Uzbeks, the Mughals, the Portuguese of Hormuz or Muscovy in its Time of Troubles.

• Akbar at Kandahar, Abbas’s reconquests of Khorasan, Tabriz, Hormuz and Baghdad, the Poles in Moscow, Michael Romanov and Murad IV rise during the game; the Celali rebels ravage Anatolia
• Guns for Iran, the Ottomans, the Mughals, the Portuguese, Muscovy and Poland, but not for the Uzbek horse archers
• “In history”: the peace of 1590, Isfahan and its great square, the Armenians of New Julfa, Hormuz and the English ships, Baghdad and the Treaty of Zuhab

Premium: you will need the members’ password.

Japan and Korea

The Tokugawa Premium

Japan and Korea · 1598–1640 CE

The man who united Japan is dead, and his heir is a child. Lead the Tokugawa, the Toyotomi, the Mōri, the Uesugi, the Date, the Maeda, the Shimazu or Joseon, as the greatest battle in Japanese history decides who rules the country, and Japan closes its doors to the world.

• Sekigahara, Ieyasu as shogun, the masterless samurai at Osaka, the fall of Osaka and the Shimabara rebellion during the game; rōnin roam the land
• Ashigaru musketeers, samurai, mounted warriors and European cannon
• “In history”: the end of the Korean war, William Adams and the Liefde, the ban on Christianity, one castle per province, the hostage system and the closed country

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Southeast Asia

The Spice Wars Premium

Southeast Asia and the spice islands · 1600–1663 CE

Pepper, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon are worth more than gold in Europe, and they grow only here. Lead the Portuguese, the Spanish, Aceh, Johor, Mataram, Ternate, Siam, Burma or the Vietnamese lords, as the Dutch East India Company arrives to take the spice trade.

• The Dutch East India Company, the Spanish at Ternate, Iskandar Muda, Anaukpetlun, Batavia, Banda, Taiwan, Sultan Agung’s siege, Malacca, Sri Lanka and Koxinga during the game; raiders from Mindanao and Sulu
• Warships, forts, musketeers and war elephants
• “In history”: the founding of the East India Companies, the Banda massacre, the Amboyna affair, the sieges of Batavia, Queen Taj ul-Alam and King Narai

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China and Central Asia

The Fall of the Ming Premium

China, Mongolia, Korea and Taiwan · 1616–1685 CE

The greatest empire in the world is about to fall. Cold, famine and rebellion will sweep the Ming away, and a small people from beyond the Great Wall will rule China for almost three hundred years. Save the Ming, lead the Manchus, or seize the empire as a rebel.

• Nurhaci and Hong Taiji, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, the Southern Ming, Koxinga, Wu Sangui and the Kangxi Emperor rise during the game; Dutch ships raid the coast
• Musketeers, Manchu bannermen and “red barbarian” cannon on every side
• “In history”: Sarhu, Ningyuan, the fall of Beijing, Shanhaiguan, Yangzhou and the queue, Koxinga at Zeelandia, the Three Feudatories and Taiwan

Premium: you will need the members’ password.

Europe

The Thirty Years’ War Premium

Central Europe · 1618–1648 CE

A quarrel over religion and power in Prague sets all of Europe on fire. Lead the Emperor, Spain, the Bohemian rebels, the Palatinate, Bavaria, Saxony, Denmark, Sweden, the Dutch or France, as armies march back and forth across Germany for thirty years.

• Bethlen of Transylvania, Wallenstein, Christian IV, Gustavus Adolphus, Richelieu’s France, Torstensson and Enghien rise during the game; Mansfeld’s mercenaries plunder the west
• Musketeers, pikemen, cuirassiers and artillery: every army has guns
• “In history”: the Defenestration of Prague, the White Mountain, the Edict of Restitution, Magdeburg, Breitenfeld, Lützen, Wallenstein’s murder, Rocroi and the Peace of Westphalia

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Europe

The Wars of the Three Kingdoms Premium

England, Scotland and Ireland · 1639–1660 CE

A king who believes he is chosen by God rules three kingdoms that do not trust him. Lead Charles I and the Cavaliers, the Scottish Covenanters, or the Dutch, French and Spanish across the sea, as Parliament, the Irish Confederates, Montrose and Cromwell rise to fight for power.

• The Irish rising, Parliament, the Scots in England, Montrose, the New Model Army, Cromwell in Ireland, Dunbar and Worcester, the Dutch War, Dunkirk and the Restoration during the game; Barbary corsairs raid the coasts
• Musketeers, pikemen, Ironsides and Prince Rupert’s cavalry
• “In history”: the National Covenant, the Long Parliament, Edgehill, Marston Moor, Naseby, the Putney Debates, the execution of Charles I, the oak tree and Charles II’s return

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India

Aurangzeb and the Marathas Premium

India · 1658–1706 CE

The Mughal empire is the richest in the world, and its new emperor is determined to make it larger still. But in the mountains of the Deccan, a young Maratha leader has begun a war that will outlast them both. Lead the Mughals, the Marathas, the Rajputs, Bijapur, Golconda or the Portuguese.

• The conquest of Bengal, the Dutch at Cochin, Shivaji’s coronation, the Rajput revolt, the fall of Bijapur and Golconda, Rajaram at Gingee, Tarabai and the Sikh Khalsa during the game; the Jats rebel near Agra
• Hill forts, light horsemen, siege guns and war elephants
• “In history”: Samugarh, Pratapgad, the sack of Surat, the escape from Agra, Saraighat, Raigad, the jizya, the founding of Calcutta and the Khalsa

Premium: you will need the members’ password.

China and Central Asia

Qianlong and the Dzungars Premium

Inner Asia, from the Kazakh steppe to Tibet and Manchuria · 1688–1760 CE

The last great nomad empire of the steppe faces the greatest empire in Asia. Lead the Qing, the Dzungars, the Khalkha Mongols, Tibet, Russia or the Kazakhs, as they fight for seventy years over Mongolia, Tibet and the oases of Central Asia.

• Dolon Nor, Jao Modo, Tsewang Rabtan, Kokand, the Dzungars in Lhasa, the Qing in Tibet, the Barefooted Flight, Khoton Nor, Amursana, the Khojas and the conquest of Xinjiang during the game; Ablai Khan’s Kazakhs raid the Dzungars
• Horse archers, bannermen, Jesuit-cast cannon and Dzungar camel guns
• “In history”: the treaties of Nerchinsk and Kyakhta, the Sixth Dalai Lama, Erdene Zuu, and the destruction of the Dzungars

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Europe

The Great Northern War Premium

The Baltic, Poland and Russia · 1700–1722 CE

Three kings have joined forces to carve up the empire of an eighteen-year-old, and they have made a terrible mistake. Lead Charles XII’s Sweden, Peter the Great’s Russia, Denmark-Norway, Saxony-Poland, Prussia or the Ottomans, in the war that decided who would be master of the north.

• St Petersburg, King Stanisław, the invasion of Saxony, Mazepa, Poltava, Riga and Vyborg, the Pruth, Finland, Prussia and Hanover, Charles’s death in Norway and the Russian galley raids during the game; Bulavin’s rising on the Don
• A new map from Norway and Hanover to Moscow, Archangel and the Black Sea
• “In history”: Narva in the snowstorm, the Great Frost, the plague, Charles at Bender, his fifteen-day ride and the Treaty of Nystad

Premium: you will need the members’ password.

India

The Marathas and Panipat Premium

India · 1707–1761 CE

The greatest emperor of his age is dead, and his empire is starting to break apart. Lead the Mughals, the Marathas, the Rajputs or the Portuguese, as governors become kings, Maratha horsemen ride from the Deccan to the Indus, and foreign armies sack Delhi, until the great battle at Panipat.

• Banda Bahadur’s Sikhs, the Nawabs of Bengal and Awadh, the Nizam, Baji Rao, Nader Shah, the Bhonsles of Nagpur, Dupleix, Clive and Ahmad Shah Durrani during the game
• Maratha horsemen, Rajput warriors, drilled sepoys and artillery
• “In history”: the release of Shahu, four emperors in one year, the founding of Hyderabad and Jaipur, the sack of Delhi, Arcot, the Black Hole, Plassey and Panipat

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The Near East

Nader Shah Premium

From the Balkans to India · 1722–1748 CE

The Safavid empire has fallen to a small Afghan army. In the chaos, a shepherd’s son will rise to drive out the invaders, defeat the Ottomans, sack Delhi and carry home the Peacock Throne. Lead the Afghans, the last Safavids, the Ottomans, Russia, the Mughals or the Uzbeks, or Nader himself when he rises.

• Peter the Great on the Caspian, the Ottoman invasion, Nader’s rise, his coronation, Kandahar, the Maratha raid on Delhi, Karnal, Bukhara and Khiva, and Ahmad Shah Durrani during the game; Lezgin raiders in the Caucasus
• Musketeers, Janissaries, camel-mounted swivel guns and horsemen
• “In history”: the siege of Isfahan, the partition treaty of 1724, the sack of Delhi, the Koh-i-Noor and Nader’s murder

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Southeast Asia

Burma, Siam and the Tây Sơn Premium

Mainland Southeast Asia · 1752–1786 CE

A village headman is about to found a dynasty that will burn Siam’s capital and defeat the Qing. From the ashes, a Siamese general will build a new kingdom, and three peasant brothers will overturn Vietnam. Lead the Konbaung, the Mon, Ayutthaya, the Nguyễn or Trịnh lords, the Qing or the Dutch.

• Alaungpaya, the fall of Pegu, Plassey, the Qing invasions of Burma, the fall of Ayutthaya, Taksin, the Tây Sơn, the Emerald Buddha, Rama I and Bangkok, Arakan and Rạch Gầm–Xoài Mút during the game; Bugis adventurers in the Malay states
• Musketeers, war elephants and river war boats
• “In history”: the founding of Yangon, the burning of Ayutthaya, the Chakri dynasty and Quang Trung

Premium: you will need the members’ password.

Europe

The Seven Years’ War Premium

Central Europe · 1756–1763 CE

Prussia is surrounded: Austria, France, Russia and Sweden are all against it, and only British money is on its side. Lead Frederick the Great, Maria Theresa, France, Russia, Hanover-Britain, Saxony or Sweden, in the war that was also fought in America and India.

• The invasion of Saxony, Hastenbeck, Rossbach and Leuthen, the Russians in East Prussia, Minden, Kunersdorf and Berlin, Kolberg, the “miracle of the House of Brandenburg” and Freiberg during the game; Cossacks raid the Prussian east
• Fusiliers, grenadiers, cuirassiers, hussars and artillery
• “In history”: the Diplomatic Revolution, Zorndorf, the year of victories, Catherine the Great and the peace treaties of 1763

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Europe

The Partitions of Poland Premium

The Baltic, Poland and Russia · 1768–1796 CE

Between three powerful empires lies a great old republic that cannot defend itself. Save Poland, or share in its partition, as Catherine the Great’s Russia, Frederick’s Prussia, Austria, the Ottomans, Sweden or Denmark-Norway.

• The Bar Confederation, Kagul and Chesma, the three partitions, Pugachev’s rising, the Crimea, Gustav III’s war, the Constitution of 3 May and Kościuszko’s rising during the game; the haidamaky rise in Ukraine
• On the Great Northern War map, from Norway to the Don
• “In history”: Uman, Küçük Kaynarca, Potemkin’s “villages”, Racławice and Praga

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The Americas

The American Revolution Premium

Eastern North America · 1775–1783 CE

Thirteen colonies have taken up arms against the greatest empire in the world. Lead the Patriots, Great Britain, the Iroquois, the Cherokee or Spain, and later France, in the war that made the United States.

• The siege of Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Burgoyne, Saratoga, the French alliance, the southern campaign, Clark and Sullivan in the west, Gálvez in West Florida, Rochambeau at Newport, Kings Mountain and Cowpens, Yorktown and the peace during the game; Loyalist rangers and Mohawk warriors raid the frontier
• A new map from Quebec and Nova Scotia to New Orleans and the West Indies
• “In history”: Lexington, Bunker Hill, the Declaration and its contradictions, Valley Forge, Benedict Arnold, and the Loyalists and freedom-seekers who left with the British

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Europe

The French Revolution and Napoleon Premium

Europe, from Lisbon to Moscow · 1792–1815 CE

A revolution has shaken France, and the kings of Europe are marching to crush it. Lead Revolutionary France and Napoleon, Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the Ottomans, Sweden, Denmark-Norway or Poland, through twenty-three years of war, from Valmy to Waterloo.

• The Vendée, the levée en masse, Bonaparte in Italy, Malta, Marengo, the Serbian rising, Austerlitz, Jena, Tilsit, the Spanish rising, Wellington, Wagram, the invasion of Russia, Leipzig, Elba, the Hundred Days and Waterloo during the game; Cossacks harass the armies in 1812–1813
• The largest map in the series, with 76 lands
• “In history”: the Terror, the Rosetta Stone, the Civil Code, Trafalgar, the end of the Holy Roman Empire, Goya’s Third of May and the Congress of Vienna

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The Near East

Muhammad Ali and the Greek Revolution Premium

From Vienna to Egypt and Iran · 1805–1841 CE

The Ottoman empire is crumbling at the edges. In Egypt, a new governor is building a modern army; in the Balkans, Serbs and Greeks dream of freedom; Russia presses south. Lead the Ottomans, Muhammad Ali, Russia, Austria, Persia, Serbia, Ali Pasha of Ioannina, the first Saudi state or the Mamluks of Baghdad.

• The massacre of the Mamluks, the war in Arabia, the Serbian risings, the fall of Ali Pasha, the Greek War of Independence, Ibrahim in the Morea, Missolonghi, Navarino, Russia’s wars, Konya, Nezib and the crisis of 1840 during the game; pirates raid the Aegean
• On the Rise of the Ottomans map, from Vienna to Cairo and Tabriz
• “In history”: the Filiki Eteria, Chios, Byron, the end of the janissaries, the Tanzimat and the “Eastern Question”

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The Americas

The Liberators Premium

South America · 1808–1826 CE

Napoleon has toppled the king of Spain, and across South America people are asking who should rule them. Defend the Spanish empire or Portuguese Brazil, or lead the patriots as they rise: Bolívar in the north, Buenos Aires, Chile and San Martín, Paraguay and Artigas.

• The juntas of 1810, the fall of the First and Second Republics, Boves, Morillo, the Congress of Tucumán, the crossing of the Andes, Angostura, Maipú, Boyacá, Lima, Carabobo, Pichincha, Brazil’s independence, Junín, Ayacucho and Bolivia during the game
• A new map of South America, from Panama and the Caribbean to Buenos Aires and Chile
• “In history”: the Portuguese court in Rio, the Jamaica Letter, Pétion’s help, the meeting at Guayaquil and the Congress of Panama

Premium: you will need the members’ password.

China and Central Asia

The Opium Wars and the Taiping Premium

China and Korea · 1839–1865 CE

The Qing empire is the largest in the world, but foreign warships are coming, and in the villages a new faith is about to set half the country on fire. Hold the empire together as the Qing, or lead Joseon Korea, then Britain, the Taiping, the Nian, Zeng Guofan’s Hunan Army, the Panthay, Russia or the Hui as they rise.

• The First Opium War, the Taiping rising and the Heavenly Capital, the Hunan Army, the Nian, the Second Opium War, the Panthay Sultanate, Russia on the Amur, the burning of the Summer Palace, Cixi, the Hui rising and the fall of Nanjing during the game; the Red Turbans rise in Guangdong
• On the China map, from Mongolia and Manchuria to Yunnan and Taiwan
• “In history”: Lin Zexu’s letter to Queen Victoria, the “unequal treaties”, the Tianjing Incident, the Self-Strengthening Movement and the “century of humiliation”

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Europe

1848 and the Unifications Premium

Europe · 1848–1871 CE

Revolution is sweeping Europe. In the next twenty-three years, Italy and Germany will be united, not by revolutionaries but by kings, statesmen and armies moved by railway. Lead Prussia, Austria, France, Piedmont, the Two Sicilies, Denmark, Russia, Britain, Spain, the Ottomans or Sweden-Norway, and later Kossuth’s Hungary, the republics of Rome and Venice, or Garibaldi.

• The revolutions of 1848, Kossuth, Venice and the Roman Republic, Magenta and Solferino, Garibaldi and the Thousand, the Kingdom of Italy, Bismarck’s three wars, Königgrätz, Sedan, the German Empire at Versailles and Rome as Italy’s capital during the game; brigands fight the new Italy in the south
• Rifles and railways: Prussia’s needle gun and France’s chassepot, and two moves a turn for the railway powers
• “In history”: the Communist Manifesto, the Frankfurt Parliament, the Red Cross and the Geneva Convention, “iron and blood”, and the Paris Commune

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The Near East

The Eastern Question Premium

From Vienna to Egypt and Iran · 1853–1879 CE

Who will inherit the lands of “the sick man of Europe”? Lead Russia, the Ottomans, Austria, Egypt, Greece, Serbia, Persia or Imam Shamil’s Caucasus, and later Britain and France, Romania, Italy or Bulgaria, in the age of railways, telegraphs and rifles.

• The Crimean War and Sevastopol, Kars, the Treaty of Paris, the union of Romania, Shamil’s surrender, the unification of Italy, the Balkan risings, Plevna, San Stefano and the Congress of Berlin during the game; bashi-bazouks are let loose on the Balkans
• New rules for the industrial age: modern rifles give an extra +1, and railways allow two moves a turn
• “In history”: Sinop, the Light Brigade, Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole, the freeing of the serfs, the Suez Canal and the “Bulgarian horrors”

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Japan and Korea

The Meiji Restoration Premium

Japan and Korea · 1853–1877 CE

Black ships have come. In twenty-five years the shogunate will fall, the emperor will rule again, the samurai will disappear, and Japan will build railways, factories and a modern army. Defend the old order as the Tokugawa or Aizu, or build the new one as Satsuma, Chōshū, Tosa or Hizen.

• The Kyoto fighting and the expeditions against Chōshū, the Satsuma–Chōshū alliance, the fall of the shogunate, Toba–Fushimi, the surrender of Edo, the Northern Alliance, Aizu, the Republic of Ezo, the abolition of the domains and Saigō’s rebellion during the game; Western fleets bombard Kagoshima and Shimonoseki
• Rifles for the modernising domains from 1863, and railways for the Meiji government from 1873
• “In history”: Perry’s black ships, Ii Naosuke, Sakamoto Ryōma, the Charter Oath, the Iwakura mission, conscription and the end of the samurai

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The Americas

The American Civil War Premium

The United States · 1861–1865 CE, in seasons

The United States has split in two. The North has more people, factories and railways, and a seemingly endless supply of recruits; the South has able generals and fights on its own ground. Each round is a season of campaigning. Lead the Union or the Confederacy, the Five Nations of Indian Territory, or British Canada.

• Kentucky, Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh, New Orleans, the Seven Days, Antietam, the Dakota war, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Mobile Bay, Atlanta, the march to the sea and Appomattox during the game; guerrillas and raiders in Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky
• Rounds in seasons, supply lines, industrial cities, Union railways and the trenches of 1864
• “In history”: the causes of secession and the North’s aims, the suspension of habeas corpus, the Trent affair, the ironclads, the Emancipation Proclamation, the draft riots, the 54th Massachusetts, Fort Pillow, Sheridan’s “Burning”, Andersonville and Elmira, Sand Creek, the Thirteenth Amendment, Lincoln’s assassination and Stand Watie’s surrender

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Africa

The Scramble for Africa Premium

Africa · 1879–1913 CE

In 1879 most of Africa was ruled by Africans; by 1914 almost all of it had been divided among the powers of Europe. Defend an African state, as Ethiopia, the Zulu, Asante, Samori’s empire, Sokoto, Merina Madagascar or Morocco, or lead one of the colonial powers. The history panels tell what this cost the peoples of Africa.

• Isandlwana, Majuba, Tunisia, the occupation of Egypt, the Mahdists and Khartoum, the Berlin Conference, Leopold’s Congo, Eritrea, Matabeleland, Dahomey, Adwa, Madagascar, Asante and Benin, Samori’s capture, Omdurman, the South African War, Sokoto, Libya and Morocco during the game; slave and ivory raiders in central Africa
• A new map of the whole continent, from the Mediterranean to the Cape and Madagascar
• “In history”: rinderpest, Yaa Asantewaa, the Herero and Nama genocide, Maji Maji, the Congo atrocities and the Union of South Africa

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Europe

The Powder Keg Premium

The Balkans and the Near East · 1880–1914 CE

The Balkans are “the powder keg of Europe”. In thirty-four years, new nations will grow, alliances will form and break, two Balkan wars will be fought, and a shot in Sarajevo will set Europe on fire. Lead Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, the Ottomans, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Italy, Britain, Egypt or Persia, and later Albania.

• Thessaly, Britain in Egypt, Bulgarian unification and Slivnitsa, Crete, the Young Turks and the Bosnian annexation, Italy in the Dodecanese, the two Balkan Wars and Albanian independence during the game; rival bands fight for Macedonia
• Railways for Austria-Hungary, Russia and Italy
• “In history”: the Orient Express, the Hamidian massacres, the murder of King Alexander, Ilinden, Adana and Sarajevo

Premium: you will need the members’ password.

Japan and Korea

The Rise of Imperial Japan Premium

East Asia · 1894–1910 CE

A new power is rising in Asia. In sixteen years Japan will defeat both China and Russia and take Taiwan and Korea, while China is carved into spheres of influence. Build the Japanese empire, save the Qing, defend Korea, or push Russia to the Pacific.

• The Sino-Japanese War, Shimonoseki and the Triple Intervention, the murder of Queen Min, Port Arthur and Qingdao, the Boxers and the siege of the legations, Russia in Manchuria, the Russo-Japanese War, Mukden and Tsushima, and the annexation of Korea during the game; Korea’s Righteous Armies resist
• A new map of East Asia, from Sichuan to Sakhalin and from Mongolia to Taiwan
• “In history”: the Donghak rising, the Hundred Days’ Reform, the Anglo-Japanese alliance, the deaths of Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor, and An Jung-geun

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Europe

The Great War Premium

Europe and the Middle East · 1914–1923 CE, in seasons

The lights are going out all over Europe. In four years, ten million soldiers will die, four empires will fall, and the map of Europe and the Middle East will be redrawn; then come revolution, civil war and new nations. Lead one of twelve powers through the First World War and its aftermath.

• New rules for modern war: rounds in seasons, trenches that dig in defenders unless you bring tanks or stormtroopers, supply lines to your capital, industrial regions that pay for the war, and a right of passage through allied lands
• The Marne, Tannenberg, Gallipoli, the Great Retreat, the fall of Serbia, Brusilov, the Arab Revolt, the Russian revolutions, Baghdad and Jerusalem, Brest-Litovsk, the Americans, the Hundred Days, the new nations, the Russian Civil War, the Polish–Soviet war, Ireland and the Turkish war of independence during the game
• “In history”: gas at Ypres, the Armenian genocide, Verdun and the Somme, Jutland, the Easter Rising, Sykes–Picot, the Balfour Declaration, the influenza pandemic, Versailles and the population exchange of 1923

Premium: you will need the members’ password.

China and Central Asia

The War of Resistance Premium

China and East Asia · 1931–1945 CE

Japan is about to invade China, and the war will last fourteen years. Lead the Empire of Japan, or the Nationalists or the Communists, who must fight Japan, and each other, and survive.

• Manchuria and Manchukuo, Jehol, the Long March, the war of 1937, Shanghai and Nanjing, Chongqing, Wuhan and Canton, the Communist base areas, the Hundred Regiments, Pearl Harbor and the Burma Road, Ichi-Go, Okinawa and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria
• Supply lines, industrial cities, Japanese railways and the right of passage
• “In history”: the Mukden incident, the Xi’an incident, Nanjing, Unit 731, the Yellow River flood, the “three alls”, the Henan famine, the “comfort women”, Cairo and the atomic bombs

Premium: you will need the members’ password.

Europe

The Spanish Civil War Premium

Spain · 1936–1939 CE, in seasons

A divided country is about to go to war with itself, and the world will take sides. Lead the Republic, with its Basque and anarchist allies, or the Nationalists, through three years that Spain has never forgotten. Each round is a season.

• The rising of July 1936, the Army of Africa, the defence of Madrid, Guadalajara, Málaga, Guernica and Bilbao, the fall of the north, Teruel, the march to the sea, the Ebro and the end of the war
• Seasons, trenches, supply lines and the industry of Bilbao, Barcelona and Asturias
• “In history”: the killings behind the lines in both zones, Paracuellos and Badajoz, Lorca, the road from Málaga to Almería, Picasso’s Guernica, the May Days and Orwell, the International Brigades, the Retirada and Machado

Premium: you will need the members’ password.

Europe

The Second World War in Europe Free

Europe and the Middle East · 1939–1945 CE, in seasons

The deadliest war in history is beginning. Lead Germany or Italy, or Britain, France, Poland, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia or Greece, and later the United States and Free France.

• Poland, the fall of France, the Blitz, the Balkans, Barbarossa, Moscow, El Alamein, Torch, Stalingrad, Kursk, Italy, Leningrad, D-Day, the liberation of Paris, Bagration, Belgrade and the fall of Berlin; alliances made and broken as in history
• Seasons, supply lines, industry, railways and the right of passage
• “In history”: the Holocaust, told plainly, and the other crimes of the war on every side, from Katyn to the bombing of Dresden; the Warsaw ghetto rising, the White Rose, the siege of Leningrad and Nuremberg

Southeast Asia

The Pacific War Premium

Asia and the Pacific · 1941–1945 CE, in seasons

War is about to spread across the largest ocean on earth. Lead the Empire of Japan, or the United States, Britain and India, the Netherlands East Indies, Australia and New Zealand, or China.

• Pearl Harbor and Japan’s great conquests, Singapore and the Philippines, Midway, Guadalcanal and New Guinea, Tarawa, Imphal, Saipan, Leyte Gulf, Manila, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Burma and the Soviet attack on Manchuria
• A new map from India to Hawaii and from the Aleutians to Australia; seasons, supply lines, industry and the right of passage
• “In history”: Bataan, the internment of Japanese Americans, the Burma Railway, the “comfort women”, the Bengal famine, the firebombing of Tokyo, the massacre in Manila, Okinawa, Hiroshima and Nagasaki

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Southeast Asia

The Wars of Indochina Premium

Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia · 1945–1975 CE, two years a round

The Second World War is over, but in Indochina thirty years of war are about to begin. Lead the Viet Minh and North Vietnam, France, South Vietnam, the United States, the National Liberation Front, Laos, the Pathet Lao, Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge, Thailand or China.

• The August Revolution, the French war, Dien Bien Phu and Geneva, the division at the 17th parallel, the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the American war, Tet, Cambodia and Laos, the Paris Accords and 1975; alliances form, and France and the United States withdraw, when they did in history
• A new map of Indochina with Thailand and southern China; supply lines, industry and the right of passage
• “In history”: the famine of 1945, Haiphong, land reform in the North, the Buddhist crisis, Agent Orange, Hue and My Lai, the bombing of Laos, Kent State, re-education camps, the boat people and the Khmer Rouge

Premium: you will need the members’ password.

Europe

The Cold War Free

The world · 1945–1991 · twelve rounds of four years

Lead the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France, the Chinese Communists or the Nationalists, or India from independence. Fight wars, stage coups, build alliances and break them, while empires end and the superpowers compete for the world.

• Covert action: once a turn, your agents can try to put a friendly government in power next door
• A nuclear tension dial: attacks on nuclear powers, and crises like Cuba in 1962, raise world tension; if it reaches nuclear war, everyone loses
• History as it happened: China’s revolution, Indian independence, Suez, decolonisation, Cuba, Vietnam, détente, Afghanistan and 1989, told plainly for every side, with a “Historians disagree” panel

The Near East

The Arab–Israeli Wars Premium

The eastern Mediterranean · 1947–1973 CE, two years a round

Two peoples claim the same land, and their neighbours will be drawn in. Lead Israel, the Palestinian Arabs, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia or Britain.

• The UN partition plan, the war of 1948–1949 and the armistices, Suez, the United Arab Republic, the PLO, the Six-Day War, Karameh, Black September and the October War; treaties are made and broken as in history
• A new map from the Nile to the Euphrates road, with the Suez Canal, Sinai, the Jordan valley and the Golan; supply lines, industry and the right of passage
• “In history”: told even-handedly, with the violence of every side and the disputes between historians: Deir Yassin and the Hadassah convoy, the Palestinian exodus and the departure of Jews from Arab lands, Qibya and Kafr Qasim, 1967, Munich, Camp David

Premium: you will need the members’ password.

Japan and Korea

The Korean War Premium

Korea · 1950–1953 CE, in seasons

A divided country is about to go to war, and the great powers will be drawn in. Lead North Korea, South Korea, the United States and the UN, China or the Soviet Union.

• The invasion of 1950 and the Pusan perimeter, Inchon, the march to the Yalu, China’s entry, Chosin and Hungnam, Ridgway’s counter-offensives, and the war of trenches on the hills until the armistice
• A new map of Korea with the 38th parallel, Manchuria and the bases in Japan; seasons, trenches, supply lines, industry and the right of passage
• “In history”: the division of 1945, Jeju, the Bodo League killings, No Gun Ri, Geochang, the prisoners of war, the bombing of the North, Panmunjom and the divided families

Premium: you will need the members’ password.

Europe

The New Rivalries Premium

The world · 2001 to today, and possible futures to 2036 · twelve rounds of three years

The final game of the series. Lead the United States, Europe, Russia, China, India, Turkey, Iran, the Gulf states, Brazil or Ukraine, from 11 September through the war on terror and the new rivalry between the great powers to the present day, and on into an imagined future.

• A world map of 64 lands; history arrives as it happened: Afghanistan and Iraq, NATO’s growth, Georgia, the Arab Spring, Crimea and Syria, the fall of Kabul, the invasion of Ukraine, the Sahel, the fall of Assad, BRICS and the war on Iran
• A nuclear tension dial: great powers can fight each other, but every attack on a nuclear power raises world tension, and if it reaches nuclear war, everyone loses
• Jihadist networks that strike weak lands; each power’s actions told plainly; and a “Historians disagree” panel on why the new Cold War with Russia began

Premium: you will need the members’ password.