Genghis Khan
1987 computer games Amiga gamesPC games
strategy games4X gamesgrand strategyrole-playing games
One of the early examples of grand strategy - as Genghis Khan we take part in building the reputation of Mongols as the flail of God, sent to punish the world for its sins.
Genghis Khan is one of the games that simply cannot be described in just a few words. It looks perhaps not very impressive, it does not have great sound effects, but just like most of the great games the best bits were not on the screen, but behind it. No, don’t go and check behind your monitor, I meant in your head!
The basics of the game were simple - as leader of one of the Mongol tribes called Temujin (better known under his stage name Genghis Khan) we begin the campaign to unite all the tribes or campaign to conquer the known world. But at that point the game begins to show its true colours - we start with deploying our people to their specific jobs, like agricultural so you have enough food, castle building so you have a stronghold to retreat to or city building, so there would be a population growth. Also, you need as many soldiers as possible, because just like you, the other leaders are waiting for a chance to take over your tribe. You set up the distribution of your soldiers to infantry, archers and famous Mongol cavalry and provide them with the weapons they require from merchants that visit your kingdom. But also you have the biological weapon in your arsenal - your kids. No, not as the shields, they can be part of the diplomacy, where through the arranged marriage you make another tribe part of your family.
You will need the spies to learn about your potential enemies (or allies) so you can prepare for the military solution, for which the game switches to the hexes map, on which you control your units movements and attacks, but also you have to take care of the most important thing - the provisions. And that is another thing that was so clever in Genghis Khan - you take food rations and soldiers on military campaign, so they are no longer in your own city. This makes your country vulnerable for attacks of other tribes or, if you take too much food with you, the people back home could be in the risk of hunger, so you have to consider that when you decide to attack someone.
Genghis Khan is grand strategy, in which you lead a kingdom that is constantly under threat - will there be enough food, will you be able to defend yourself, can you trust your allies? There are so many factors to take under consideration that it is hard to describe them all in just a few words. It is turn-based strategy with elements of role-playing game and the toughest game to master since the invention of chess.
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