Stronghold Kingdoms will be a free-to-play game where gamers fight, trade, farm and negotiate their way to success, aided by the thoughtful use of strategy cards.

Besiege the castle that’s never been taken, overthrow tyrants, bankroll your factions war effort, pillage your neighbour’s resources, peacefully raise sheep or do it all! The choice is yours in a wide ranging simulation of medieval life, played out in real time against thousands of online opponents striving for power and glory.

A unique hybrid of web and PC based gaming brings online interactivity and community together with a richly depicted medieval world of thriving villages and dramatic battles. Build a kingdom over days and weeks. A mix of real time gameplay with long term planning, bring a truly novel twist to the Strategy genre.

A huge range of stats and rankings give every player something to aim for, whether it’s ‘Besieger of the month’ or ‘Apple farmer of the day’! Join a medieval social network! Factions and elections, liege lords and their vassals, all provide a real sense of structured community.

Whilst strong and well planned castles are at the heart of any lord’s domain, players can also specialise via a vast research tree. Starting out as a humble peasant, each promotion brings research points to spend on becoming the best in as many areas as you wish, trading, diplomacy, warfare, farming and more, as the player seeks to control the local parish, county and beyond. As their power grows, players can eventually join in a country wide war for the Crown.

“Stronghold has been played by millions of gamers all over the world,” said Eric Ouellette, [CEO] of Firefly Studios, “but to create even more lords and ladies we decided from the outset that Stronghold Kingdoms would be free-to-play.”

Players can play the game for free and each month will receive a number of strategy cards. Each card has an impact on different elements of the game: agriculture, warfare, trading, religion and so on.

“Strategy cards are integral to the game. The skilful use of a card can be the difference between winning and losing a confrontation”, commented Simon Bradbury, creative director of Firefly Studios and lead designer of Stronghold Kingdoms.

“Strategy cards bring a new tactical depth to classic Stronghold gameplay, all in an online world of tens of thousands of players.

“Balancing making money with making a game freely available is challenging,” added Eric Ouellette. “We are convinced that most players will enjoy the many benefits that purchasing extra packs of strategy cards each month offers them.”

The third live Alpha test launches this week. Gamers who want to take part in the open beta later this year can register their interest at the official website.

Key Features:

• Build, expand and conquer villages as your power grows.
  • • Plan clever layouts for your villages to maximise their efficiency.
    • Many village types each bring advantages… mountain fortresses, coastal traders, plains farmers etc
• Play alongside thousands of players in a persistent medieval world
  • • Explore the game world in a zoomable, fully interactive map.
    • Fight across real countries such as Britain and Germany.
• Build mighty castles to crush invaders.
  • • Watch exciting real time battles.
    • Analyze your opponent’s castles for weaknesses and exploit them.
• Explore a vast research tree.
  • • Tailor your research to your personal play style
    • Specialise in trading, fighting, farming, spying and many more disciplines.
• Build your own unique medieval lord.
  • • Rise through the ranks from humble peasant to mighty Baron and beyond.
    • Become a Sheriff, a Governor, or even King, as you and your faction strive for Victory.