Knights of Honor is a grand strategic game of the clash of kingdoms in Medieval Europe. Most games of this scale abstract a lot of the details involved in running a kingdom, but Knights of Honor instead chooses to approach things on a scale akin to a real-time strategy game. The result is a game that is huge in scale and detail, which makes it a godsend for micromanagers and deep thinkers, but also difficult to learn and overwhelming to many players.

In Knights of Honor you play the regent of any one of the numerous kingdoms dotting Europe in the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Your goal is to become the dominant force in Europe, which is not easy since the game map spans the entire European continent as well as the British Isles, North Africa, and Asia Minor. The map is divided into a number of provinces, with each province containing a major city and any number of outlying villages and resource sites. Siege and conquer the major city and the province is yours.

This is your kingdom.

Every major aspect of your kingdom is under your control – military, economy, diplomacy, espionage, education, religion, … and yes, it is a lot to manage. Although the game is played in real-time, you can control the speed of the clock and even stop time in order to give yourself time to take it all in and try and get a handle on running your kingdom. Working against you is the game’s interface which buries a lot of things in non-intuitive locations within layers of screens and menus. The game features an extensive tutorial that covers a lot of the basics of play, but it doesn’t go far enough to save you from a lot of trial and error and a lot of time spent using the in-game and paper manuals. If you’re looking for a game that you can just jump in and play, then you’re going to have to look elsewhere. Knights of Honor is going to require an investment of time on your part.

Central to your kingdom’s success is your royal family and knights. Male members and knights are critical to the running of your kingdom as they can be tasked with jobs such as leading an army, developing trade, and spying on your neighbors. You can assign up to nine knights and royals to tasks at a time and how you delegate these assignments determines the direction of your kingdom. If you want to follow the path of military glory, you’ll need to assign most of your knights to lead armies as armies can not be formed or moved without a leader. Doing so will of course leave you with fewer slots to assign to merchants and clerics. Use the slots for merchants and you can try to win through economic might. Or you can fill your ranks with spies and assassinate your rivals. Or you can go for a balanced approach. The choice is yours and you should be careful to make it with your general strategy in mind. As for the female royals, they serve a useful purpose as a means to cement alliances through marriage.

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