King of Dragon Pass

Yes, it's kind of text-based so if you don't want to read a lot, maybe it's not for you. If you like fantasy and you like reading and you like cool art and strategy, this game is the best ever made probably. I discoevered it a few years ago by mistake and it changed the way I hink about gaming.

King of Dragon Pass was unique among the "one more turn" games of the late 90s. It didn't have any tactical combat, it didn't have any micromanagement, it didn't try to be a world building game. It was essentially a high-level economic and political simulator set in the low-magic fantasy world of Glorantha (based on a little-known pen and paper fantasy RPG). What set it apart is the personalities that made up your ruling council. You got to know them, they aged and they died, maybe from age, maybe from combat or some other random event. The game was fascinating then, it remains fascinating today.

Argue with some ducks. Steal your best friends' cows. Make your clan upset because you agreed to an eating contest with a troll. If you send a clan member on a vision quest without knowing the appropriate myth frontwards and backwards they'll be smote by divine forces and it'll be your fault. Achieve success based on your accrued knowledge of your clan and its customs and you will feel like the wisest person in the world and learn more about politics and culture and society than you ever did in any social studies/civics class.

Although probably one of the most obscure titles I've ever encountered, I would count King of Dragon Pass as one of the games that I've always loved. It's set in the world of Glorantha, which is a world that was created for the pencil and paper roleplaying game, RuneQuest. It was later incorporated into a Dungeons and Dragons supplement. In Glorantha, magic is more focused around prayers and quests into a mystical realm inhabited by gods and monsters. If you are a fantasy buff, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by King of Dragon Pass. It stays true to form in the types of races you can meet, and some of them will likely be a surprise to people unfamiliar with the world. For strategy and simulation buffs, this game is an incredible simulation on managing and leading a tribe. There is a ton of replay value here. You encounter new and strange events throughout the game. You can go on quests with your heroes to try to find new magic items or bless your crops. It's a game of balance, where you must decide whether or not you should raid and risk losing some of your farmers in the battle, or if you should buckle down and wait until the crops are harvested. This game is truly a treasure; when I noticed that GOG had it up for sale, I bought it immediately. It's brought many a sleepless night on account of the fun and interesting ways that you can lead your tribe. It's a roleplaying game in some aspects as well - only your character is actually the tribe itself. During the beginning of the game, you select various traits and events that had happened in your tribe's history before starting. These events can color your whole tribe's starting point, creating new more feuds or restricting your access to certain quests and temples, as well as magic. Even some of the choices might allow you to ally yourself with other races. By the way, if (or when!) you do get the game and play it on the "Easy" setting, keep in mind that there's nothing really easy about it. The only real way to make the game easy is to do like the manual says: don't think of your tribe with the same ethics and logic that we have today; think of how to lead your tribe as an Orlanthi chieftan, trying to make it through a fairly dark (although wondrous) world and you should be able to get to the end. Speaking of which - while you can just jump right in and pick up the game, it's way more effective to read the manual. Either way will help you learn it, but to really master the game (I'm not entirely sure that this is possible, but regardless), you should read the manual. Good luck! May Elmal bless you with horses!

Good: - Simple & concise interface. - Rich lore & roleplay opportunities. - Varied gameplay styles make it extremely replayable. - Large number of random events, solutions and consequences. Bad: - Tutorial only covers the basics. - Controls like it was made for a touchpad, but a mouse works fine. - One single save slot; you cannot play two different tribes at once. Review: Random events and choice are at the heart of the gameplay loop: as time passes you will be presented with normally unique random events with a number of choices for you to pick from. Rarely will events repeat. The ones that do provide slight differences (involving different clans, people, etc.) which allow you to pursue and explore a different path or choice. The game is rich in lore; it is not just unique, but interesting as well. I'm not much of a reader and yet I still found myself interested in learning more of the history, myths and customs of the world. The game contains a "Saga" tab which is records your clan's history and events as you play: you create your clan's backstory through the choices presented and are able to return to any previous point in its history to do things differently if you find yourself on a path you no longer wish to pursue. Your council will advise you on the common events based on their skills and beliefs: some will be biased, hateful, unhelpful, indifferent, etc. Ultimately, you must make the choice that best fits the narrative you want to build for your tribe. They will age and replacements can be chosen from the newer generation. Your tribe itself can have warriors explore the land in search of artifacts, raid other tribes, focus on farming and/or diplomacy, conduct rituals to gain the favour of the gods (or just to heed a mysterious omen) and more. You can combine whichever playstyle fits your own roleplay or personal goals. This is what makes the game highly replayable and immersive along with the large number of random events.