King of Dragon Pass

Unusual fun game that is a sort of hybrid strategy and interactive fiction game - set in fictional world but daily life and challenges are modeled on early iron age Scandinavian tribal life. The art is all hand drawn paintings in its own style. This is a game where your strategic decisions for the tribe change the outcome of the game. You need to not mind reading (like in Planescape) and to enjoy a thoughtful, strategic decision kind of story. Involves people, neighbors and alliances, trade, raids, war, resources, luck, etc. This is not a D&D tale; it's unique. People find it very immersive. There is a choice of easy or harder mode. I recommend reading the gog support page http://www.gog.com/forum/king_of_dragon_pass/some_general_questions_about_what_kind_of_game_this_is where the game is described (besides these gog reviews), and also there is a very descriptively apt review in RockPaperShotgun - "Remembering King of Dragon Pass", Oct 2014, at http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/10/17/king-of-dragon-pass-retro/ When you play it on a windows pc, check the installed shortcut's properties to make sure your <username> has admin rights under the security tab, and that "play in 640x480" is checked, and the other boxes below it... this should allow it to play fullscreen without problems. To save, iuse Alt+S, and to quit, use Alt+Q.

Set in the unique world of Glorantha (a very different world to your usual fantasy fare), this game has you at the helm of a clan of Orlanthi a proud and hardy folk (if backwards and feuding). You guide them through a vast range of events both mundane and fantastical with your decisions deciding the ultimate success of your clan (from unifying all of Dragon Pass and being crowned King to starvation and enslavement). Graphics are a beautiful hand drawn affair in a very nice. On the music front, if you enjoy bagpipes and Celtic tunes then you'll be in heaven! Overall a very novel and quite brilliant game that everyone should give a try. The game could take a while to get the hang off so I'd recommend reading the manual and online guides if your wondering what the heck the difference is if rye or wheat is sown or why you never seem to succeed that hero quest.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't entirely sure what I'd be in for when I purchased the game. Mostly, I liked it's art and concept. After having played for a bit, I can say it lives up to this concept excellently. Do you try and make peace with the feuding Brown Boar clan? Can you really trust the emissary of the Kardavi? Will you make peace with the Elves or drive them away from your boarders? Do you take Thralls even though your ancestors would be angry? All that said, don't expect any action, or tactical game-play. The options are also very much lacking, to the point that volume control will actually effect ALL audio, including any background programs (though you can turn the game audio off entirely instead if you need to). Also, like Oregon Trail, which this game reminded me of in some ways, the random nature of some events and results of choices can be very disheartening. Ultimately it is a great game, mixing strategy, resource management, impactful choices, and well woven story telling. If you like fantasy simulations, if you ever wished you could be a King. If you want to learn about the rich history of Orlanth, and relive the trials of the Gods through heroquests. This game for you.

I bought this on a whim after reading the praises here, never heard about this game before yesterday. I was blown away, maybe because I was always interested in Mythology and a few months ago started to read Joseph Campbell. The writing is fantastic and the game is much more complex than it first seems. For example, if you are negotiating with a different tribe your acts and current status/strength will play a big role, but the various blessings and treasures are also a big factor. I did not feel like a player playing a game but really living and breathing with my clan, which is all a video game should do, immerse you in the story, gameplay and its world. If you like to read and are even remotely interested in Mythology or fantasy settings you need to get this. If you grew up playing the “choose your own adventure” type books and liked it, then you do not have any choice but to buy and play it any way! Enjoy, now I need to go to work and wait until tonight to found a new clan as my old one disbanded after I failed to guide them correctly.

I sat through the steep learning curve because I believed that beneath its unpredictability there was reason. But after playing for several hours I realized that belief was wrong. Cows die, you're screwed. It's that simple. The most basic things that happen can somehow result in dead or missing cows. And there is no going back; once an event happens, it likely won't repeat until you least suspect causing you to get it wrong again and lose more cows. Then you're screwed. Cows, randomness, and fairly well done music and art (for it's time). If you want to see what people mean by retro strategy games, this would be a good example.