So I went into this, thinking it was going to be Civilization meets Crusader Kings, and feel like it's more ancient era Civilization with leaders that have to worry about their legacies and courts with random events and choices. I get this might come across as pedantic, but it should be stated that Crusader Kings gameplay is a lot more sandboxy in comparison.

Every move you make in Old World matters, thanks to the new orders system. It feels even more like a board game compared to Civilization. Which I love! When you are at war with other nations, you have to spend more turns on mobilizing your military units, rather than moving workers around. Also, as leaders get older, they get more orders, which thematically speaking makes your leaders are getting even a better grip on running the government. When a young heir takes over, the number of orders will drop to reflect the loss in efficiency. I get the impression that part of this order system was to help speed up the end game, but I have to admit the end game can still move slowly, but it's not at the same level as trying to manage over 100 units in the modern era of Civilization. (I'll admit that I have not played the latest version of Civ because I was never able to finish a game in Civ 5, so maybe that has improved).

Lastly, I love the choice of playing in the ancient world. An era that I love and find fascinating. While I have not managed it yet, I can't wait to crush Rome with Carthage.

So I went into this, thinking it was going to be Civilization meets Crusader Kings, and feel like it's more ancient era Civilization with leaders that have to worry about their legacies and courts with random events and choices. I get this might come across as pedantic, but it should be stated that Crusader Kings gameplay is a lot more sandboxy in comparison. Every move you make in Old World matters, thanks to the new orders system. It feels even more like a board game compared to Civilization. Which I love! When you are at war with other nations, you have to spend more turns on mobilizing your military units, rather than moving workers around. Also, as leaders get older, they get more orders, which thematically speaking makes your leaders are getting even a better grip on running the government. When a young heir takes over, the number of orders will drop to reflect the loss in efficiency. I get the impression that part of this order system was to help speed up the end game, but I have to admit the end game can still move slowly, but it's not at the same level as trying to manage over 100 units in the modern era of Civilization. (I'll admit that I have not played the latest version of Civ because I was never able to finish a game in Civ 5, so maybe that has improved). Lastly, I love the choice of playing in the ancient world. An era that I love and find fascinating. While I have not managed it yet, I can't wait to crush Rome with Carthage.