Explorers : Overview and How to Win

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Basic mechanics and goal of the game

You control a single expedition that consists of men, possibly bearers, food, goods (possibly of multiple types), gold and other precious metals/gems, maps/info to interesting locations. You move your expedition in an arcade-like manner, freely able to move in any direction over the land or over the sea. There are obstacles on the map, such as impassable mountains, but in general you can travel pretty much anywhere. As you travel, the speed at which you move is dependent on the terrain type. The game is real time, so as you move about time progresses automatically. As time progresses, your expedition consumes the food it carries and is disbanded if you reach a point where you have no food.

You goal is to collect as much wealth and titles as possible, and how you do that is up to you.. You can either work peacefully with the natives as much as possible, or you can subjugate them and pit the different tribes against one another. You will be given an annual progress report from the monarchy, which will state how well you are doing in the game and include any new titles you have earned. At any time you will be able to pull up a map of the known new world to see how much you have explored. You will also be able to pull up and update your journal as you play.

The natives are not only sometimes unfriendly to the player, but also to each other. Native rivalries present good opportunities to a player in that, for instance, building a fort near a powerful native which you have good relations with could help them subjugate their neighbors. This in turn might make it possible for you to more easily explore the subjugated tribes lands without worry about ambushes. This is just one example of how the native interactions might affect the player.

Native civilizations DO communicate, and if the player has been particularly naughty they might find themselves traveling very dangerous paths indeed. For example, if you attack an Incan city there is a chance that neighboring Incan cities will become aware of your ruthlessness. This will make it much tougher to trade with the cities. In addition, there is also a chance that the Incans will pass on knowledge of your exploits to other tribes (Aztecs or Mayans for instance), and they too will deal with you warily.

As time progresses, native loyalties and rivalries will ebb and flow, so you cannot get complacent when exploring. You must be always wary of your surroundings and test the waters of native cooperation as you move.