Strategy guide
The rules fit on one page, but games are won on timing: when to expand, when to build, when to declare war. This guide is based on the game's real values.
1. The first two minutes: expand fast
At the start nobody can attack you: every House is at peace and the AI waits for its calm period to end (3 minutes on Easy, 90 seconds on Normal, 45 seconds on Hard) before even thinking about war. This is the moment to grab as many free lands as you can. They are guarded by only 2 to 4 pikemen: a group of 5 or 6 soldiers is usually enough, and the invasion window confirms it before you send.
Each territory yields 0.5 gold per second. Ten territories already equal one and a quarter mines. Above all, the final ranking is based on the number of territories: every land taken early counts twice, for your economy and for your score.
2. Never empty your capital
Losing your castle means losing the game. Your capital has a castle that multiplies its defense by 1.6, but an empty garrison is still an empty garrison. Send at most half of the capital's troops, and keep archers there: with a defense of 1.8 they are the best defenders in the game. Upgrading the castle (level 2: ×1.9, level 3: ×2.2) is a good investment as soon as you have spare gold and aggressive neighbors.
3. Balancing mines and barracks
A mine costs 220 gold and yields 4 gold per second: it pays for itself in 55 seconds. Barracks cost 120 gold and train one pikeman every 3 seconds. In a 10-minute game, a mine built in the first minute brings in more than 2,000 gold. The simple rule: a second mine early, then barracks in a border territory. Note that each extra copy of a building costs 20% more than the previous one (your starting mine does not count).
Upgrades are often better value than new buildings: taking barracks to level 2 costs their base price (120 gold) and multiplies production by 1.5; level 3 costs twice that and doubles it. Since each territory has only 3 slots (4 for the capital), upgrading is also the only way to grow a full territory.
4. Build in the right place
Soldiers appear where the building stands. Barracks deep inside your realm produce troops that must then walk to the front. Two solutions: build military buildings in border territories, or set a rally point on your front. Every 10 seconds, inner territories send their surplus there, keeping 3 pikemen each. The capital is never emptied by the rally.
5. Read the garrison before attacking
Counters change everything. An army of knights (attack 2.2) is deadly against archers, but loses half its efficiency against a garrison of pikemen. Conversely, archers defend very well against pikemen. Before a major assault, check the target's composition in the invasion window and adjust your army: removing a few unfavorable units can raise the success percentage. Remember too that the estimated defense includes soldiers produced during the march: a distant target grows stronger while you walk.
6. Choose your wars
Declaring war on a House opens its lands to your armies, but also opens yours to its armies. The AI mainly declares war when it is stronger than you and has no free land left to take. As long as free lands remain near you, take them rather than opening a second front.
When a war goes badly, send an envoy: an AI weaker than you accepts peace most of the time, and even a strong AI may accept after two and a half minutes of war. You can only send one every 20 seconds. Peace gives you time to rebuild.
7. Aim for regions and castles
A complete region yields a bonus equal to three quarters of its number of territories (rounded up) in gold per second: 3 gold per second for Brittany, 10 for Occitania. It also gives +25% defense to all its territories. Small regions are the easiest to complete, but losing a single land is enough to lose the bonus.
The most powerful move remains taking a castle: the enemy House collapses at once, its lands become free with half their garrison and its armies vanish. Its territories then become easy prey for you… and for everyone else. Have your armies ready to sweep them up right after.
8. Beating the Hard AI
On Hard, the AI thinks every 1.5 seconds, launches up to 3 attacks per decision, attacks as soon as it has a 10% edge and earns 30% more gold. Its weak points: it keeps only part of its troops on defense, and its capital never sends more than half its garrison. Barbarian camps (+120 gold each) are a good early economic boost, provided you attack them in force: up to 15 pikemen and 6 archers guard them. Finally, in solo, time slows down while a window is open: use it to prepare each order carefully.
For the exact numbers of every unit and building, see the units and buildings guide.