Computer Gamer


Kaiser
By Ariolasoft
Commodore 64/128

 
Published in Computer Gamer #13

Kaiser

The year is 1700 and you are the ruler of one of nine German provinces. You control the land and crops as well as levying taxes and deciding the severity of the law.

Through this you hope to build towns, mills and even a palace and cathedral until one day you are crowned aiser of all Germany.

Each turn, which represents a year you must ensure there is enough food for your people as well as speculating with land and crops prices to get some extra cash. You can also get your people to help your coffers by levying duty charges, income tax and, of course, the dreaded VAT.

Kaiser

Then if you have sufficient funds remaining you can build a mill or a market to produce more cash or buld part of your palace. You may even decide to build up or train your army.

The military is important in a multi-player game since invading other provinces can gain you land to build on and money to build with, as well as killing some of the opposition.

Unfortunately, the other players are trying to do exactly the same thing and so you will have to fight well to win the crown.

You have to make your quit complex decisions as quickly as possible since slow play in Kaiser takes years off your expected life expectancy of 68 years. This can be infuriating if you pop your clogs as you're planning your coronation.

Overall, it's quite an interesting game but not up to the excellent standard of Electronic Arts games such as M.U.L.E. which are also sold by Ariolasoft.