Conflict of Nations is a typical world war browser game. In Conflict of Nations, players can choose between a Europe map mode, a global (WW3) map mode, and many other specialized modes such as Apocalypse or Rising Tides. Once in these games, players choose which nation they’d like to play as.
Upon choosing their nation, players will be brought into the actual gameplay map. Players then choose what to build in their cities, whether or not to mobilize troops, what alliances to join, etc. – regional politics are always particularly interesting in the European games, as sometimes alliances will consist of groups like Sweden, Poland, and Ireland, spread out, while others will be France, Germany, and Italy, close together. Both have their advantages – having close allies will restrict expansion but allow quick reinforcement, whereas having a spread out alliance offers a great deal of expansion opportunity but very slow reinforcement.
The game has a definite strategic aspect for those who love that genre. Plotting who you want your allies to be, which nation to start in, who to attack and who to be diplomatic with – all of these are decisions players must make or they run the risk of being conquered.
In terms of in-game strategy, players must research basic infantry units, which takes one minute and thirty seconds, if they want any troops to produce. Additionally, building army camps in a city (also a one minute and thirty second process) is part of the requirement to produce an infantry unit, so it’s best to do that at the start too.
The game itself usually moves fairly slowly, since troop movements can take several hours. Fortunately, there are games labeled “4X” in which the game’s internal clock moves four times as fast. Those 24 hour troop movements will only take 6 hours, and game progression is usually rapid.
Communication with your allies is key. For instance, if Poland is allied with Austria and France, and decides to launch a surprise attack on Germany (whose allies are, say, Sweden and Russia), and Poland launches that attack alone, odds are they will fail miserably. Even if Poland is one of the strongest players in the game (militarily), against three enemies from separate three directions, Poland would eventually fall. Players must keep in touch with the plans of their allies, or it could be their downfall.
Spies are also useful, especially for watching neighbors’ movements, or even your allies’ movements. Spies can gather intelligence, cause damage to a city, or lower morale (which causes a revolt if it reaches a low enough point). Enemy (or allied) communication leaks can be very useful, and when spies occasionally show you enemy troop placements… it can be very handy to know your enemy is stacking troops in the city bordering your nation.
Ultimately, Conflict of Nations is a fun game if you don’t have a lot of time to play strategy games. You can check it frantically every hour, or you can check in once or twice per day in the longer games – the length of time it takes for movement and maneuvers makes this the ideal game for those without a lot of spare time. For those that don’t, those special game modes and 4X speed games provide something for everyone.