Challenge of the Five Realms is a product of a different era. There are no rails here. You're given the hints for finding the game's critical path, but It's extremely easy to lock yourself out of the critical path due to two early game events: leaving your home city before putting all of its affairs in order (for reasons I won't spoil), and the encroaching "plague of darkness" that slowly consumes the map starting from the southernmost tip. This is unthinkable by modern game design standards, and would normally lead to a poor experience if it weren't for a powerful storytelling trick: your realm is vast, and your father was not the man he led you to believe. You are the prince of Alonia. You grew up sheltered and pampered within the seat of your kingdom, fed lies about your father's greatness and the respect his subjects hold for him. Once your father is murdered and the kingdom is in turmoil, the truth emerges: the people who have been oppressed at every turn would sooner spit in your face than help you, and those who your father called ally are eager to take advantage of the power vacuum. Your entire kingdom bears the wounds of tyranny, and you will be spending quite a bit of time learning the truth of your provinces, righting past wrongs, and convincing others that you're a mean worthy of being a leader. On top of this, you must discover the lost portals to other worlds and strike bargains with princes whose kingdoms are presenting their own problems. Learning all of these secrets and how to deal with them takes time. Few people who played this game when it first came out succeeded on their first playthrough, but the secrets learned during the prior session allow you to make better use of your time and discover more of them. Decide early on if you want to play with a FAQ, or enjoy the original experience. Most of you will decide that your time is understandably precious, but remember one thing: you can't find games like this today.
