Kaiser is a very little known strategy game that was originally created for play on the Commodore 64. It was both published and developed by Linel, and was released for play in the very early nineties. Several years later, in 1995, Softgold Computerspiele GmbH created Kaiser Deluxe, which was a remake of the original Commodore 64 game, but playable on the more modern personal computer that was running the Windows operating system. It was also playable in MS-DOS.
The game is a management type of game that can also be nicely slotted into the genres of simulation or strategy. Primarily, the game revolves around trading.
In Kaiser, the user will play the part of a very poor man who is trying to carve out a living during the tough times of the eighteenth century. It will be up to you to do what has to be done to elevate this simpleton from a pauper to a prince, so to speak. The goal is to become Kaiser, or emperor, of the land. To do this, the gamer will have to start out by trading with others to acquire more money. As with most
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simulation games of this nature, the goal is to buy at low prices, go elsewhere, and sell them at a profit in order to gain money. With this money, the gamer can do a variety of things to earn a name and fame for himself and propel him towards his goal. He will be able to purchase land, which is number one. The more land the gamer controls, the more taxes he will be able to collect and the more money he will have access to. As his fame and respect grows…as well as his holdings….he will be able to strategically raise taxes and use the money to build an army. He can use his army to wage war on his neighbors, acquire more land, levy more taxes and gain even more money.
Of course, the game features a delicate balance. If the gamer gets too large too quickly, and does not have sufficient military to protect his holdings, disaster will strike. If he raises taxes too high in order to build this military, the people will become uneasy and will stop producing or may revolt. This is not conducive to becoming the supreme ruler of the land.
Overall, this is an old but good game. The graphics are pleasant, the story is classic, and the game play is good…not too complicated, not too cheesy. It is a lightweight game that features and endless play option and could keep you busy forever!!