Arathen
A continent gets built the moment you press begin — coastlines, rivers, rain shadows, five kingdoms with borders they argued over, a dozen named regions, thirty-odd settlements joined by the roads that made sense. Then it starts running. Camps in the hills grow into forts and forts send out raiders; a harvest fails two provinces over and the price of grain finds you a week later; a town's trade shuts down and there is nothing to buy or sell there any more; a throne changes hands and a name you have never heard is on it. You are a person in it with twelve silver, a knife and a road out of town — and the work you read on the board and walked past is gone when you come back, because somebody with a name took it.
Controls
Four screens
Here is the place you are standing in — tap the market, the board, the inn, the land or the road. Map, Self and Log are the other three.
The road
Every leg costs hours and rolls for what is on it. The pips are how dangerous it is; winter costs more hours than summer.
Buying and selling
Tap a good to open the trade sheet, then BUY or SELL. Use all I can afford, fill pack or half rather than counting — a town only parts with what it can spare, and it only has so much coin to pay you.
Fighting
Everything acts on one clock, and the strip along the top is the next eight turns on both sides. A heavy blow shoves them back down it; a shove does nothing but buy you the tempo.
Withdrawing
Breaking off is a real move and often the right one. Losing costs you three days and half the coin you were carrying — the world keeps going while you are down.
Keyboard
1234 switch screens · Esc backs out of a sheet · everything else is a tap or a click.
Lists scroll with a drag and commit on release, so dragging off a row cancels it. Turn sideways or tap Fullscreen for a bigger screen. Your world, your character and everything that has happened in it save in this browser on this device.