Questions

How fast does time pass?

One real hour is one day in the realm. One real day is a month of 24 days, and one real week is a year of 7 months. An age lasts about thirteen of those years.

Can I be attacked straight away?

No. The Elder Thrones protect every new province for its first 72 days. No one can attack you, cast spells on you or rob you, and you cannot do so to others. Use the time to build and to speed-build, which costs twice as much and takes half the time.

What should I do on my first day?

Build on your barren land, set your draft on the Military page, vote for a monarch on the Politics page, and say hello on the Moot. The first chapter of the Chronicle walks you through it.

I don't understand what something does. Where do I look?

Tap any word with a dotted underline for a short explanation, or press the ? beside a page's title to learn what the page is for and what to do there. The Glossary lists every term, and the Chronicle tells the whole game. If you know it all already, hide the help in your Preferences.

What should I build first?

Fill your barren land. Every building but Homes gives work, and only working peasants pay taxes. Banks, Farms and Homes are a sound start; Guilds and Towers come next if you mean to use magic.

Why are my people starving?

Your Farms grow less food than your people eat. Build more Farms, cast Fertile Lands, or ask your kingdom for food. A starving province loses people and soldiers every day.

Why are my peasants leaving?

You have more people than your land can house. Build on barren land (a built acre houses more), build Homes, explore, or let your army grow, since soldiers count against the same room.

Why can't I explore?

Your people will not settle new land until at least 50% of what you hold is built on or under construction. You also need the gold and soldiers, and your kingdom must have uncharted land left.

What are the uncharted acres on the Explore page?

Your kingdom shares one store of uncharted land: 5,000 acres at the start of the age and 25 more each day. Everyone in the kingdom explores from it, and an enemy at war can take from it. When it is empty, land must be won in battle.

Why is my income so low?

Only employed peasants pay taxes. Make sure your buildings have workers (building efficiency on the Throne shows how well staffed they are), build Banks, and study Alchemy.

How do I get more soldiers?

Set a draft rate on the Military page: the share of your people you want under arms. Peasants join each day at the speed you choose; faster speeds cost more per soldier.

How much defence do I need?

Enough that attackers your size cannot break it. Look at the networth per acre of provinces near your size on the Kingdom and World pages: a province much stronger than yours per acre can probably break you.

Who should I attack?

A province of another kingdom close to your own networth. Gather intelligence first (a Crystal Ball or Spy on Military), then let the War Table in the War Room show whether you can break its defence.

I was attacked. What now?

Read the battle report on your Throne, train more defence, and tell your kingdom on the Moot. Your kingdom-mates may answer in kind, and an attack makes the attacker's kingdom angrier with yours, which can end in war.

Why did my spell fail?

Self spells succeed more often with more Guilds and good building efficiency; hostile spells with more wizards per acre than the target has. Harder spells fail more often, and you need enough mana and runes.

How is the monarch chosen?

By vote, on the Politics page. A candidate needs more than half of all votes and 2 more than the runner-up. Nobler provinces cast more votes. You can change your vote at any time.

How does a war start?

When one kingdom has grown Hostile toward another through repeated attacks, the kingdom on the receiving end may declare war if it is at least Unfriendly in return. War begins 12 days after the declaration and lasts at least 48 days.

Can I help a kingdom-mate?

Yes: send gold, food, runes or soldiers from the Send Aid page. It arrives at once, but those who receive far more than they give pay a tax on what arrives.

What happens while I'm away?

The realm carries on: your buildings rise, your army trains, your people are paid and fed, and others may attack you. Keep enough defence and food for the hours you are away. The Throne shows everything that happened since your last visit.

When will my army come home, or my buildings finish?

Ring the Courier Bell (Timers, in the bar at the top of every page). It lists everything about to happen to your province with the realm's date, your own time and a countdown, and every enemy army your kingdom's thieves have seen in the field. Set your time zone in Preferences.

Can the realm tell me when I'm attacked?

Yes, if you ask. Under Alerts in Preferences you can have a letter by email (at most one an hour, to a confirmed address) when you are attacked or your armies come home, and notices in your browser while a page of the realm is open. Both stay off until you turn them on.

Is there music?

Six tunes from the realm's own minstrels. Pick one from the Music strip in the bar at the top; it carries on from page to page and stays off until you choose. Some browsers wait for a click before they let it play.

Can I put the realm on my phone's home screen?

Yes. Open the realm in your phone's browser and choose Add to Home Screen (or Install app). It opens like an app with the crown icon, straight to your Throne.

Who are the provinces marked with a small circle?

Stewards of the Elder Thrones: computer rulers who keep the realm lively. They follow the same rules, see only what you could see, and vote for active players.

How do my friends join my kingdom?

Open The Kingdom and make a code under Bring your friends. A friend who gives that code when founding their province joins your kingdom instead of being placed at random, while there is room. Anyone may make the first code; after that only the monarch can make a new one, and the old one stops working.

Can I talk to rulers outside my kingdom?

Send them a courier, or meet them in the Tavern, which every ruler of the realm can read and write in. Keep your war plans for your own Moot.

My province was crushed. Can I start again?

Yes. In your Preferences you may abandon your province and found a new one in the same kingdom, with a new name, people and personality. Everything the old province had is lost. You may do this a few times an age: while still under protection, or once your land has fallen below what a new province starts with.

What are deeds?

Moments worth remembering: your first conquest, a thousand acres, a crown, a slain dragon, a won war and more. They show on your Throne and in the Council's Our History, and the Hall of Legends keeps them when the age ends. The Story of the Age tells the whole realm's tale: its greatest battles, its longest wars and the kingdoms that rose and fell.

Can my province be destroyed?

Yes. A province with no land or no peasants left falls: it leaves its kingdom, its fall is told in the Paper, and you may found a new province to carry on the age. Keep your people fed and your defences up.

Can the realm tell me when I am attacked, even with the realm closed?

Yes. In your Preferences turn on Alerts on this device. Your phone or computer will show a notice when you are attacked or harmed by spells and thievery, when an army comes home and when a courier arrives. It works wherever the realm is reached over https; on an iPhone, add the realm to your home screen first.

Is there a chat for my kingdom?

The Hearth, in the menu beside the Moot: your kingdom's live talk, where lines appear for everyone the moment they are said. Plans that should last belong on the Moot.

How does my kingdom plan its attacks?

On the Campaign, beside the War Room. Put targets on the board and take the one you will hit, ask your kingdom for reports, spells or ops on any province, and see every army in the field. A requested report is ticked off the moment someone brings one home.

What happens when the age ends?

The realm stands still and the greatest provinces and kingdoms are carved into the Hall of Legends. A few hours later a new age gathers, and everyone founds a new province.

Can my kingdom stay together next age?

Yes. In your Preferences choose to stay with your kingdom (the default). When the next age opens, your kingdom is carried over under new coordinates and keeps a place for everyone who chose to stay.