Realm of Empires

My husband has been playing a game he recently discovered on Facebook called Realm of Empires. He is a fan of RPGs, but usually doesn't go for MMORPGs, like World of Warcraft and the like. He really likes the Elder Scrolls series and games like that. However, RoE seems to be different. In RoE, you create your own village, recruit a military, and build up your buildings and defenses. There are different realms (he is currently playing on Realm 4), and each village is run by another person. The game is played in real time, so your silver mine is always producing, and you are always vulnerable to attack. There are also rebel villages that can be attacked and plundered of their silver. If a player remains inactive for 14 days, their village is considered abandoned, and it is easily looted.

Realm of Empires promotes a social approach to gaming. In one of the beginner's quests, it is encouraged that you join a clan. Joining a clan is an advantage, as they can provide support, both in money and troops. Most of the larger clans require that you remain active in their forums, and each has their own set of rules of conduct. The clans have alliances and non-aggression pacts (NAPs), so it is important to read the overview of each clan before deciding who to join.

Another unique part of RoE is that it allows you to decide how much (or how little, for those who work a lot or have other obligations) you want to play. A person can play on a single realm and only check their village once or twice a day to build their empire. A person who wants to play more can have a village on multiple realms and join an active clan, allowing them to play to their heart's content.

I know that hubby enjoys the graphics, but I have to show how nice they are. Instead of being campy little flash cartoons (think Farmville), the graphics in Realm of Empires are more refined. For example, here is an example of a village that has been built up quite a bit.:



In the above photo, you can see that each building has a number attached to it. This allows you to easily see what level each item is, so you can recognize at a glance which need to be worked on. It's quite different from a starter village, isn't it?



Another thing that I love is the fact that it is real time, so the village changes with the time of day. Remember the first village I showed you? Well, here it is at night:



My hubby really enjoys playing this game, and whatever makes him happy makes me happy. Don't forget to thank a vet!