Ikariam
| Ikariam | |
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| Developer(s) | Gameforge |
| Platform(s) | Webgame |
| Release | February 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Strategy |
Ikariam is a browser-based massively multiplayer online game of the strategy genre produced and maintained by Gameforge AG. The game is set in the era of classical Greece in an archipelago, with players being made ruler of a small town, which they must expand and lead.Ikariam has received generally positive reviews.
Ikariam has been compared to the Civilization series created by Sid Meier. It has also been compared to the critically acclaimed Travian series created by Travian Games GmbH. The aim of the game is to expand the town which is controlled by the player, to gather resources and conquer or placate other players. The game can be played for short periods of time; building and researching takes place in real time so the player can return at a later point and assign the town's inhabitants new tasks.
Upon registering, players are given control of a small town. The town's inhabitants pay taxes to the player or can be sent to gather resources instead. The game world is split into islands, each of which can support up to 16 (or up to 17 if the player purchases ambrosia) players and their towns. Each island has its own saw mill for producing wood and one of the other buildings which produces a luxury resource. There are five main types of resources: Wood, Wine, Marble, Crystal Glass and Sulphur. They are available from the Sawmill, Vineyard, Quarry, Crystal Mine and Sulphur Pit respectively. All these resources are required to progress in the game, making resource acquisition through conquest or trading mandatory. If a certain resource is lacking locally the player may trade with other players to acquire it. Each island's inhabitants may cooperate and donate building materials to improve the efficiency of their island's resource gathering facilities, which enables all local players to obtain resources more quickly. Failure to do so may result in hostilities between island inhabitants. Players can communicate with island mates by using the agora, a message board found on every island that can only be viewed by people with towns on that island.
With resources the player may construct buildings such as barracks, shipyards and academies. Citizens of the town can then be trained as soldiers, sent to research new technologies, or perform other tasks, which they are paid tax money for undertaking. Citizens must be kept happy to prevent them from leaving the town.
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Wikipedia