Games Like Khaldun: Text Based Strategy

What are a ruler’s duties? Managing wars? Meddling in the intrigues among advisors? Deciding production in villages and cities? In this game, you can do all of that and much, much more. Inspired by the work of the great historian Ibn Khaldun, who is regarded as the founder of sociology, this game will teach you how the course of history unfolds.

Let us take a look at some of the game’s core mechanics:

Whether you are raiding a village, laying siege to a city, or engaging an enemy state in open battle, the sword rules all. But without tactical planning, all of it is meaningless! Watch the battle unfold in real time (yes, in ASCII graphics), where terrain, morale, army composition, and tactical decisions can decide whether your army returns victorious or vanishes into history.

Just like in real life, you can talk with your commanders and advisors about state affairs, but remember: every conversation affects your relationship with them. Be careful not to earn their hatred, or they may start plotting behind your back!

The game’s most unique mechanic. You have never seen anything like it in another strategy game, yet in real life it surrounds you at every moment, even if you do not realize it. Asabiyyah is a key concept in Ibn Khaldun’s theory of history and will affect many aspects of your kingdom.

As prosperity rises, luxury increases, but asabiyyah declines; and an empire with weak asabiyyah is destined to collapse.

-Ibn Khaldun

Villages are responsible for food and raw material production, while cities produce specialty goods and art. Reckless conquest can lead you into chaos, because every region has its own area of specialization. You must prepare a conquest plan that suits your strategy.

Khaldun is a very detailed strategy-management game. Even if you do not notice it, the systems behind the game change according to your decisions. There are many more features in the game that I cannot describe here. I tried to create the most realistic experience possible for players, and I hope you enjoy it.