Lords of the Realm

Lords of the Realm is a turn-based strategy game developed and published by Impressions Games in 1994. Initially released for the Amiga and MS-DOS, it was ported to Windows three years later.

In this strategy meets resource management game, you play as a lord vying for the currently empty throne against other lords. The focus is on building up your empire and putting your serfs to work to make it glorious. This game allows you to design your personalized castles or use a blueprint. Lords of the Realm requires some amount of micromanagement, but over time your serfs will be able to be efficient without as much intervention from you. Take care of your serfs, and they will take care of you. You can also take part in land battles against your enemies to make them bow before you. During the battle, you can take control of a single unit or entire groups of your army. Each time the combat starts, you can pick the right ones, with access to several different unit types. The game also gives you the option to let the computer auto-battle for you if you would instead focus on other things. Just for fun, you may also send your messages to the opposing lords and call them nasty names. It would help if you took over counties before the other lords beat you to it. Grow your empire, take out the other lords, and claim that throne!

Lords of the Realm is seen as the ancestor to titles like the “Total War” series and is a piece of strategy history, snagging Best Strategical in 1995. It was followed by Lords of the Realm II in 1996.

Keep in mind that this game does not strive to be historically accurate. Lords of the Realm is a must-play for any strategy fan, but it’s also a good starter title for anyone interested in breaking into the genre.