Released by game publisher SSG in the early 1990s, Warlords was one of the classic strategy games for the PC platform. Eight factions pitted against each other on a single playable map. This would be vastly expanded upon in later editions such as Warlords II (and even later, Warlords III), where the player could choose from multiple maps and even multiple army sets. Warlords II even allowed you to create your own army sets, to the point of creating bit art of the units, themselves.
However, the original Warlords can still be admired for its straightforward simplicity.
Each faction has its own set starting city, and you must advance and capture other cities in order to conquer the other factions and win the game. AI players can be set to Knight, Baron, or Warlord difficulty; or they can be set as a Human faction. The original Warlords did not let you turn off a faction completely from play.
Each side begins with a hero; this hero gives certain strength bonuses to other units in its "stack" (up to eight units are allowed in each stack). Heroes, in addition to being able to give strength and movement bonuses, can also explore "ruins" scattered across the terrain.
Ruins are unique sites in that, when explored, they can potentially give your hero bonuses such as advanced
units that want to "join your party," or items that can give the hero bonuses (leadership, movement, et cetera). They can even give you gold. However, they also have the potential of killing your hero when explored, as he "encounters" various creatures inside. Thus, ruins are best explored with caution. Often, players will "cheat" by saving the game just before exploring a ruin. If they are killed, they can always reload the game and explore again and again until they win the mock-battle.
Different cities produce different types of units, depending on their geography. Each side is supposed to benefit from the types of units produced in its particular area; Syrians (the "white" faction), for example, benefit from being able to build Pegasus units early on. Pegasus, as strong flying units, can quickly dominate the board if used wisely. This is but one example; each side has its strength. (The dark blue Selentines, for example, have a capital city capable of producing Ship units very quickly -- only eight turns versus the usual 10 or 11 -- and thus can spread over a wide area as well.)
Overall, while the game does lack from a variety of starting locations, maps, or army sets, it allows you to develop specific strategies for each faction and really get a good grip on how to dominate the board. It's fast, it's easy to learn, and it's very fun.
