The free demo for Kingdom Chronicle is now available. It's a turn-based strategy game about conquest, set on a fictional continent.
■ What's in the demo
Scenario 1, playable on every difficulty. A run takes about one to two hours. The rules, controls, combat system, and difficulty balance are the same as the full game. The full version simply adds more scenarios.
■ How the game works
You send out one commander at a time. You can only attack territory adjacent to your own. If you have an alliance, reinforcements arrive regardless of distance. That is close to the whole rulebook.
There isn't much to memorize, but there's plenty to think about. The paths to victory are deliberately narrow, so the order you act in and the timing you choose are what decide the outcome. Playing by feel tends to work less well than building up a line of play.
It may not be quite the game that the large map and the character art suggest. No prior experience with strategy games is assumed — though bringing habits from other titles in the genre may not carry you very far.
If you get stuck, there's a manual built into the game. You can read it from the demo as well.
■ About difficulty
Casual is the one setting that behaves differently. It is meant to help the player a great deal, and a post-launch update made it more generous still. The relief events and the economic adjustments are weighted toward this difficulty. If you are unsure where to start, Casual is the place.
■ Going forward
I'll keep making adjustments for playability — the interface, the displays, and small refinements. The core rules will stay as they are.
Please give the demo a try and see whether it suits you.