They liked their wars, did the 12th Century Mongol tribes. Turn your back for five minutes and some up-and-coming tribesman will have declared war on another province.
The most famous of these was Genghis Khan, wo united Mongolia, and controlled a large part of China to boot. Reckon you could do the same, do you? This game puts you in Genghis' shoes, so you can find out.
Bloody Battles
There are actually two games in one. The first, Mongol Conquest, has you as leader of one of many warring factions in a divided country, you have to repeat history and take control of the Mongolia. Game two is the World Conquest. Up to four players can take part as opposed to one. The aim is to control the entire Eurasian continent.
Both sections play similarly. Although it's a war-game, careful planning is needed before committing your troops to a bloody battle. There are many variables to take into consideration, and you'll need to build up the strength of your troops and be pretty certain that you'll win. Otherwise you may find it's game-over pretty quickly.
In order to get your army's strength up to the required levels, there are many sub-sections to the game. Your personal characteristics determine a great deal, so it may be an idea to train yourself in areas where you're lacking.
Trading gives you valuable revenue to finance your conquest, as does buying in useful weaponry to add to your army's arsenal. And it's wise to send a spy to learn another countries strengths and weaknesses before boldly going in.
Some beautiful stylised graphics have gone into the production of the game. These are complemented by the sound effects. There's no brash sounds to deafen you here, it's more like the incidental music in a film score.
Some like it not
At the best part of £40 Genghis Khan isn't exactly a snip. You're going to have to be pretty serious about your war-gaming before splashing out all of that hard earned dosh.
If your idea of a good time is inflicting megadeath on the aliens of the planet Zog, then Genghis Khan is not for you. Plenty of manual reading and trial and error is necessary before you'll be able to play. Even then each game will take many, many hours to play. It won't be a quick five minute blast.
But if you are a war-gaming fan then you'll certainly love this. It's a very deep game with so many levels of strategy, so many variables that effect your decisions, and so much going on that you'll truly be in your element.