Play Diary

Play Diary: How Zeynep the Landowner Got Poorer

Studio play diary: Zeynep is a fictional character, not a real player. The game was played by our studio autoplayer; the events, figures and screens come from that run, and the telling is ours.

This is no success story. I began as a village landowner with 12,672 gold, and on day one I took a 1,000 gold loan, 1,150 due in 60 days.

The slide

On day 29 bandits raided my field and 2 workers fled. On day 46 I lost 628 gold. On day 66 wages went unpaid and workers quit. On day 72 my aide Kaan left without his pay.

The loan fell behind and the ledger logged it 28 times. By day 84 I held 439 gold in cash. I levied 125 gold from Ashford, called up 5 men, and even worked a day for wages.

Tip: A rich start can be a trap. Your wealth is land, not cash. If cash cannot meet daily costs, do not borrow.

Tip: Pay wages first. Unpaid wages cost you workers, soldiers and aides.

Day 252 ended at 11,210 in net worth, less than I started with. On day 231 the Ashford harvest brought 247 gold. I am recovering, slowly.