Build your own Mediterranean civilisation
Most people go to the Mediterranean for two things, sun, sea and er, in Ikariam, empire building.
The aim of Ikariam is to build your own Mediterranean paradise in on of the most beautiful region of Europe. But we're not talking golf courses and high rise hotels along the Costa Brava - it's ancient civilization building like the Romans did. In Ikariam, you start off with nothing but the fertile land beneath your feet in a small island on the Mediterranean and your aim is to make it the most powerful land in the region.
Your first task in this beautifully illustrated game is to gather resources - Building Material, Wine, Marble, Crystal Glass and Sulphur. You then assign workers to start building your empire but you'll be battling against other players on the island. Eventually, you can start to defend your town with a small army while building a trading port where you ships will allow you to trade resources with other players. Throughout this, you're given advice by four loyal advisers who illuminate every time they have an important message for you. As your town expands, you can change the viewing angles from the world view over the island to the town view.
Ikariam is an excellent introduction to Sim city style games which doesn't tie you up in too much strategy and tactics.
User reviews about Ikariam
by Anonymous
A little advice.
Just a warning to those who are curious on this game: Do NEVER ever spend real money on ambrosia! At least not until you are pretty sure you know every little intricate detail of the game rules. I was playing together with some friends, and unfortunately we decided to help out one in the team by sending material to him. The mistake was to do that while we where on the same network (behind the same firewall), which according to the game rules is illegal. If we had done it while sitting on different networks, it would have been legal according to their rules.We all got permanently banned, without any warning, and lost quite a lot of ambrosia (and money). Them keeping the money makes me question the ethical values of the company behind the game (Gameforge AG).And the dumbest thing, according to the "support" people: We can create new accounts and then spend more money on those... yeah right. :-/
Pros:
The game itself is actually very fun.
Cons:
...the rules for what you are allowed to do and not, is kind of awkward. More