Armageddon Empires is a turn based 4X Strategy game with a mix of unique game play involving 4 factions to choose from, a collectable card battle system of sorts, and board game elements such as dice rolls and game piece placement that even out the game making every new game a different experience and new adventure from the previous one.  For those that don't know, the "4X" in 4X Strategy games means - explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate.  Players will find themselves doing all of these things and more with each play thru of Armageddon Empires.  There's enough strategy, conquest, and resource management to make any and all strategy game fans content for weeks if not months.  It is also one of the few 4X Strategy games that you can play for 30 minutes and feel like you’ve accomplished something.

Strategy games of this sort do require some patience.  To try and explain all of the strategies and nuances involved in creating an effective campaign against your enemy in such a game would be pointless.  There is a lot of depth to these games and Armageddon Empires has all the depth and greatness of the best strategy games and board games available, without all the pitfalls and frustrating multi-tasking that goes on in other large games of the sort that sometimes seem to get lost in an abyss of mediocre gameplay.  AE somehow stays engaging and doesn't get too tied up in resource management or economics, those aspects are still important but they don't become the sole focus point of the game nor do they deter from the campaign or ultimate goal which is to annihilate your enemy before they destroy you.  The playing field is also chock-full of random events and sometimes neutral non-playable characters.  As I stated earlier, AE is unique and there is more than one reason why it can be a lot of fun.  AE is one of the few turn based strategy games that can be enjoyed by both newcomers and long time veterans including hardcore strategy game enthusiasts.  Players will still find a slight learning curve involved with figuring out the gameplay mechanics including the strengths and weaknesses of your units and heroes but the PDF manual included with the game reveals everything you need to know in order to start enjoying and appreciating AE to the fullest.  The game is less complicated and far more engaging than many other turn based strategy games and the reason for this is AE doesn't try to be like those other games.  Their are plenty of similarities but Armageddon Empires contains a great sense of style and the gameplay is balanced by a unique interface and strategic development and progression that do not demand you devote your life to it.  When directly compared to other games in the genre, AE might appear simple but underneath the simple gameplay lies a game that's as engrossing and rich in atmosphere as the best games in the genre.  Unlike those other games, playing a default sized map (or board) in AE can be completed in a few hours when playing against one A.I. opponent, while larger games can take much more time and effort especially if there are numerous enemy A.I. involved.  The great thing is there's no pressure while playing.  You can take your time between turns, save your game, and come back later.  I found myself coming back often and not realizing exactly how much time had passed.  I think that's a testament to the rich strategy and great atmosphere.  It certainly did eat up a lot of my time whenever I would play and I couldn't help but find myself wanting to expand my empire more and more.

AE's graphics and sound are very subtle but impressive, simple yet effective.  The entire game is in 2D and the sounds are sparse, although I think this was intentional.  It suits the game perfectly.  There are no distractions due to graphics or annoying sounds and the gameplay remains at the center of the gamers attention.  The playing field in AE is unsophisticated but this makes room to show off the amazing artwork and illustrations of the units, heroes, and structures and all of the cards that are used on the playing field.  This game is brimming with artistic style and creativity that adds greatly to the atmosphere in Armageddon Empires.  The sound is limited to subtle sound FX and some suitably morose music that works appropriately to fit the theme and ominous setting in which this sci-fi game universe takes place.  In regards to the sound I just wish there was a little more of it and that the sound FX were more varied especially when engaged in battle.  The simple fx don't really add to the atmosphere of the game as much as I would've liked, but they get the job done.  A little more variety in the SFX department could have complimented and enhanced the overall feeling one gets from a game, yet considering this, the theme music and in-game music do set the appropriate mood and tone for a sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, and futuristic strategy game.

Gameplay in AE consists mainly of pointing and clicking with the occasional keyboard interaction. I found the game so addictive that I was able to overlook some of the over-simplified controls.  Not having to memorize a bunch of hotkeys is a great achievement for a strategy game, though it would have been nice had there been a way to make the mouse cursor move to the newest open window by default.  It's a minor gripe but I found that without mixing up the controls a little, an hour long game session could leave the player with a sore wrist. 

The game revolves heavily around rolling dice, placing cards (which also act as your units and structures) within a grid or game board, and then exploring that board while trying to avoid or eventually conquer your enemy.  Throughout this process the player must make choices and strategic decisions each turn based on the amount of action points that are available (something that is determined by rolling dice) and suffer consequences by any choices made on previous turns while planning ahead with the cards that are currently available.  Every turn these decisions can have a positive or negative outcome on your game which may not be apparent at first.  Players are given a limited amount of action points to work with each turn so thinking before acting is important.  Rolling the dice does mean that there is a certain amount of luck involved but the odds can be tipped by spending resources to purchase more dice per roll.  This ensures that the game is never unfair and remains balanced from beginning to end.  The different cards available offer a wide array of units, heroes, structures, and tactical cards to scheme and strategize with.  This ultimately makes these cards your board game pieces that you'll use to explore and dominate the board or playing field.  Every faction has its own unique layout of these units with their own set of statistics and tactics, though the core game mechanics remain and play the same no matter which faction you choose.  All of the elements involved fit together nicely creating the look of a board-game while capturing the feeling and play style of an addictive strategy game.  It would have been nice to have a multiplayer mode available, either online, network, or even hot-seat play would have been welcome.  Fortunately, with such a large offering and endless possibilities for a unique game plan every time you play Armageddon Empires, there are more than enough options to keep gamers attracted to this amazing strategy / board game for a very long time.