About This Game

An army alone cannot win the realm.

Grain for the front. A trusted officer to hold the rear. The right moment to make peace with an enemy. A ruler's decisions shape the outcome long before battle begins.

Three Kingdoms Classic is a turn-based strategy game that puts you in command of a faction amid the turmoil of the late Han and Three Kingdoms eras. Govern cities, appoint officers, manage diplomacy and supply lines, and direct tactical battles. Lead a historical faction toward unification, or redraw the map with officers and factions of your own creation.

A different battlefield demands a different path to victory.

Surround the city, or break through its gates? Hold your formation, or lure the enemy out of theirs?

From sieges and mountain passes to large-scale pitched battles, formation-based field battles, mountain warfare over high ground and supply lines, and naval engagements—each battlefield brings its own rules and commands.

In sieges, weigh the strength of walls and gates against siege engines and the pressure of encirclement. On land, exploit formations, maneuver, and command matchups to find an opening. On water, plan fleet deployment, maneuver, and attack as a sequence of three command cards, then execute your plans simultaneously with your opponent. Even a carefully prepared fire attack can turn against you if you misread the wind.

Choose your next move with your officers' specialties, force composition, morale, and weather in mind. The same troops and orders can produce very different results depending on where—and against whom—you fight.

"You want to make camp on the mountain?"

Taking the high ground is not the same as taking the victory. On mountain battlefields such as Jieting, keeping your supply lines open matters just as much as holding an elevated position.

Could this be Ma Su's chance to redeem himself? You can still make camp on the mountain. Just make sure your next move is a better one.

A frontal assault is not your only option. Hazardous routes such as Ziwu Valley and the Yinping Trail offer a chance to strike from behind. But the road less traveled may cost you troops—or leave you exposed if the enemy discovers your plan.

Great officers need the right assignments.

Let a fierce warrior lead the breakthrough, a strategist devise your schemes, and a capable administrator govern a city. An officer's worth is not measured by combat prowess alone. Consider specialties, temperament, loyalty, and relationships before deciding who should do what.

The base game's historical officers are built around the deeds and roles recorded in official histories and related sources. Get to know them through their biographies, then reward their service with offices and noble titles to strengthen the foundations of your faction.

Refreshed portrait artwork and animated portraits for key figures bring officer profiles and conversations to life. Prefer the earlier look? Choose the official Classic Portrait Pack on Steam Workshop.

Wars are sustained by the cities behind them.

The grain you will need next month matters as much as the troops you can muster today.

Manage population, public order, the economy, and agriculture, and assign officers to help your cities grow. Advance civil and military capabilities through research, and keep extended fronts supplied with shipments and reinforcements. In regions where naval battles take place, naval proficiency and damage to your fleet also shape the next engagement.

Stabilize conquered cities and turn the strength of your rear areas into support for the front. A lasting foundation can win you more than an army stretched too thin.

Buy time with diplomacy. Change the balance with intrigue.

If you cannot defeat an enemy now, change the conditions of the fight.

Find opportunities beyond the battlefield through truces, alliances, joint invasions, aid, recruitment, prisoner negotiations, surrender, and submission. You can also stir up conflict between two factions and give your enemy another front to worry about.

Do not neglect the peoples of the frontier. Build relations with them, or send expeditions against the Wuhuan, Xianbei, Qiang, Nanman, and Shanyue to seek their submission and tribute. How long can you spare the troops and officers gathered from your cities? Can you withstand retaliation if the expedition fails? Those decisions are yours.

Turn history's crossroads into new endings.

From the coalition against Dong Zhuo and the rise of rival warlords to Guandu, Red Cliffs, Wuzhang Plains, and the fall of Shu Han, each era presents a different balance of power, officer roster, and set of historical events. Even place names reflect the passage of time: Yufu becomes Yong'an, and Moling becomes Jianye.

Unifying the realm is not the only challenge. Official additional scenarios available through Steam Workshop offer their own objectives and endings—from achieving the goals of a Northern Expedition to leading the rebels at Shouchun against the forces sent to crush them.

Choose campaign settings such as historical events, officer lifespans, and death in battle, then enter the age of turmoil on your own terms.

Your officers. Your scenarios. Your Three Kingdoms.

Create your own officers and define their abilities, specialties, portraits, and relationships. Found a new faction, or begin a different story alongside the figures of history.

Optional official hero packs bring in figures from other eras and cultures. For battles beyond history, add the separately identified packs featuring characters from Romance of the Three Kingdoms and other fictional traditions.

Scenario Studio lets you design the world you want to play in. Using the base game's 62 cities, change faction and officer placements, city resources, and diplomatic relations. Build events and dialogue, short-term objectives, and custom endings.

Share your officer packs and scenarios as ZIP files or through Steam Workshop. Download stories made by other players and take on a new realm.

Take command—or watch the realm unfold.

In spectator mode, watch AI factions wage war, conduct diplomacy, rise, and fall. Revisit the campaigns you led through replays and historical chronicles. Your orders, your officers' achievements, and the fortunes of rival factions become a history of their own.

New to the game? Start with the introductory scenario and battle practice. Once you have found your footing, return with your own rules and goals.

Only the starting point is set. Your orders will write the next chapter.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

Some visual and audio assets in this game were created with the assistance of generative AI tools
and then reviewed, edited, and curated by the developer. The game does not use live generative AI
during gameplay and does not generate content from player input.