Ministry of War (game)

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Ministry of War is a browser-based massively multiplayer strategy game by Snail Games (Suzhou Snail Electronic Co.). In China it’s called 帝国文明 (Civilizations of Empires), and in Europe it was released as Terra Militaris. Snail Games USA publishes it in the United States and Europe. The game launched on November 27, 2010 in Europe, and in 2014 the European service moved from Webzen to Snail Games USA.

Players choose one of four ancient civilizations at the start: Rome, Egypt, Persia, or China. Each civilization offers early advantages (for example, Rome has tougher units and China builds faster). Special civilization units appear later, like the Egyptian Anubis Chariot and the Persian War Elephant. After creating a character, you can take a short tutorial.

You begin with a small city, a hero, and a starting army. You can grow your settlement, build new structures, and upgrade your city. The initial buildings are Town Hall, Barracks, and Civilian House, and you can unlock more up to level 25. Five resources—Food, Lumber, Stone, Metal, and Gold—are collected automatically and can be boosted with research and upgrades.

Heroes are the main leaders. They explore the world, raid, tax, scout, and fight in arena battles and neutral territories. Heroes level up with experience and wear gear from their inventory. The game has a persistent world but includes instanced events like lairs, arenas, and neutral city battles.

Combat is central and can be played manually or automatically by the game’s AI. Battles are quick, with a short preparation period, and last a few minutes. If units are defeated, they can be retrained in your city, but heroes don’t die permanently.

There are different play goals: expanding to control more territory and temples, forming guild alliances to conquer rivals, or fighting in the arena for high rankings. Guilds are important for lasting conquests on the world map, and they can attack neutral lands, build new cities, and campaign against other civilizations. In the future, guilds may contend for famous cities like Berlin, Alexandria, and Milan.