Coming soon

About This Demo

Imperialist is a turn-based 4X strategy game of the colonial age, from 1500 to 1950. Choose one of seven European powers, cross the ocean, and turn the riches of the New World into industry, goods, and influence.

There is no prize for painting the map. Every province you take has to be explored, defended and governed, and what it produces means nothing till you transport it home. The best-run empire wins, not the biggest blob.

PLAY THE DEMO

• The first 150 turns of the campaign, from 1500 to 1775

• All seven playable great powers, plus scores of minor nations and tribes to interact with

• Single player & hotseat multiplayer

• The Advisor Tour to guide you through your first games

• Your Demo saves carry over to the full game

CLAIM THE NEW WORLD

Your nation starts the game knowing the Old World. The New World is fog, reached by sailing west, or east around the globe.

• Send ships to chart the coast, armies to claim the land, and prospectors to find what lies beneath it

• Meet the tribes and build an embassy, trade with them, and in time they may join your empire as a State

• Or take their land by force, and live with the consequences

FEED THE CAPITAL

Everything your empire produces needs to be transported home. Resources travel by wagon over your roads and railways, and by cargo ship across the oceans. At your Capital, workers process them into various manufactured commodities, and those become your armies, your fleets and your trade goods.

• Build roads, railways and ports to connect your provinces

• Your cargo holds carry goods, trade and armies, and you need to ensure you have enough

• Feed your growing workforce and promote your workers as you industrialise

• Through industrialisation the later eras open up: steel, oil and the combustion engine

• Exploit cash-commodities such as spices, silver, gold and diamonds to boost your treasury

TRADE ON YOUR TERMS

• Buy and sell on a world market where prices move with supply and demand

• Sign trade contracts with minor nations and tribes, who develop the more you trade with them

• A blockade or a boycott can disrupt an enemy nation's trade, or yours

CONQUEST IS EASY. GOVERNANCE IS HARD.

Every region outside your homeland builds Autonomy Pressure. Grant Statehood, then Federate the region to reduce and slow pressure, but each step loosens your grip on the region's wealth. Let it boil over and the region breaks away as a new nation on the map.

OUTMANOEUVRE THE GREAT POWERS

Multiple rival powers are running the same race, each with its own strengths, from Spain's conquistadors to Prussia's engineers.

• Open embassies, sign pacts and alliances, aid your friends or spread propaganda to destabilise your enemies

• During war, allies can be called on for support, and their allies after that

• Blockade an enemy's capital port to restrict transportation of goods and armies

• Lose your Capital and your government moves to another core province. Lose all your core provinces and your empire falls apart

WHEN DIPLOMACY FAILS, TACTICS DECIDE

Battles play out tactically on a chess-like board. Infantry, cavalry and artillery manoeuvre for position, and capturing the enemy flag wins the day. Auto-resolve is available for those who prefer their generals to take over.

OVER FOUR CENTURIES OF PROGRESS

Research more than 130 technologies from the Age of Discovery through to the Age of War, from the Printing Press to Tanks. Research up to four at a time, and unlock land units and ships across five tiers from peasants and carracks to tanks and battleships. Plus unlock new improvements, factories and diplomatic options.

CLASSIC DEPTH, MODERN GAME

Imperialist is made by Dale Kent, a 20-year games industry veteran with credits on the Civilization series, Colonization and Old World. It brings the interlocking systems of 90s strategy into a modern game:

• Modern interface with nested tooltips, in-depth Pedia, and information at hand

• Scalable UI and adjustable font sizes

• Colour-blind and high-contrast modes

• Controller support

• Windows, macOS and Linux

Can you exploit the New World to control the Old?