Introduction

Imperialism is a game originally published in 1997 for Windows & Mac. It was developed by Frog City Software and published by SSI. It is currently available at GoG.com, which is the version I'll be using.

As in other turn-based grand strategy games, you guide a single nation as it grows in power until you can conquer the world. It's largely distinguished (especially from its contemporaries) by having power accrue primarily via economic means, without ignoring the usefulness of military force. It's an excellently focused system that is trying to simulate one period of human history — Europe of the 19th Century up to World War I, in particular the exploitation of smaller countries and colonies by the more powerful ones.

Although the context is essentially a European one, the game allows the creation of a random world, and that is really what makes each game interesting. Every new country provides a slightly different challenge, and even if the game doesn't let you do everything you'd like with your nation, there's still a lot of variation in what to do. I'd even say that some of the things that might even be considered flaws often work out within the whole system to make a more entertaining game.

This will be a screenshot LP of the game. It's all at the original resolution (640x480) and I have no plans to scale any of the images. Updates will typically cover three to five years of game time, although there may more detailed updates to cover battles if any occur. I will probably play at Normal difficulty, as that gives the most flexibility in play. That said, we won't necessarily be trying to win as quickly as possible.

Let's get to choosing our country. The following post will show our world and present us with the most important decision in how we will shape it.

The Let's Play Archive

Imperialism

by Kangra

Introduction

Table of Contents