Welcome to Bronze! Are you ready to lead the Sumerian civilization into the Bronze Age? Your color is blue, and your opponent is green. It’s time to learn how to play. Click the Right Arrow button to continue.


The map is divided into tiles, and Bronze is a game of conquest. In the end, whoever controls the most land tiles is the winner. Keep clicking the Right Arrow button to continue.


Claiming land is easy. If you want to take control of a neutral tile, just build something in it. You can only build one building per turn.


You are allowed to build next to any tiles under your control. To assist you, all of the places where you can build are indicated by floating daggers. 


Left-Click on one of the tiles with a floating dagger. One possible building will be shown. You can Left-Click on a tile several times to cycle through all of the buildings that can be placed there.


In Bronze, you Left-Click to cycle through buildings and Right-Click to actually build them. Find the Stone Deposit with red arrows pointing to it. Left-Click on the tile just below it to select the Village. Now, Right-Click on the Village to confirm your decision. 


Look at the very bottom of the screen and notice that you now have 2$. The $ stands for silver, the currency of ancient Mesopotamia. Villages can only be built next to deposits and earn you 2$ when they are built. Most buildings cost you money, so it’s good to earn some silver beforehand. 


Build another Village near the Stone Deposit. Remember to Left-Click to select the Village. Then, Right-Click to confirm. You should have 4$ total after building the second Village.


Another way to earn money is to build Farms. A Farm is just an empty tile with your color around it. Unlike Villages, Farms can be built anywhere. However, they only earn you 1$. Go ahead and build a Farm next to one of your Villages. 


Normally, you can only build one building per tile. However, Farms are the exception. You can always build a Farm and later build something else in the same tile. 


You now have 5$ and have learned two ways to make money. Now, it’s time to spend that silver! Let’s build a Town. Pick an empty tile to the right of both your Villages. Keep Left-Clicking on it until the Town is shown. Right-Click to build it.


The Town costs 4$, so it’s expensive. However, placing a Town claims all of the neutral land around it. You can claim up to 9 tiles in a single move! By the way, Towns can’t be used to take enemy lands. They only claim neutral tiles. 


Looks like you need more money. Go ahead and build some more Villages and Farms. Once you have at least 6$, you will be ready to learn about taking tiles away from the enemy. 


Now, let’s talk about taking away or @converting# enemy tiles. The Ziggurat is a religious building that converts enemy Farms to your side. Build a Ziggurat near an enemy Farm to take control of it. 


But what if you want to take over something other than a Farm? For example, that enemy Village? To do that, you need an Army. In fact, Armies convert all buildings except for Farms. Place an Army near the enemy Village right now.


Well done! You are playing as the Sumerians. Let’s summarize the key facts about them. Your Armies cost 3$ and convert all enemy buildings except for Farms. On the other hand, a Ziggurat costs 2$ and only converts enemy Farms. Finally, Towns cost 4$ and claim neutral lands. 


See that river? We want to get to the other side. The only thing you can build on a river is a Bridge. By the way, two Bridges can never touch each other. Click on a river tile next to one of your tiles and place a Bridge. 


Once your Bridge has been built, place a Town on the other side. You might need to earn enough money first. Otherwise, the Town will not show up when you try to select it.


Bridges cost 1$, so they’re cheap. Be careful when you place Bridges, since they are vulnerable to Army conversion just like any other building that’s not a Farm. In fact, go ahead and convert the enemy Bridge right now. You’ll need 3$ to build an Army.


Although controlling a Bridge turns its tile your color, river tiles don’t actually count toward your land total. Only land tiles matter for counting how much land each side controls. The totals are shown at the top-left. Keep an eye on them, since whoever controls the most land wins!


It’s time to pit you against a real opponent. Get ready for your first challenge match!


I hope the Gutians did not give you too much trouble. Now, it’s time to learn about different types of terrain.


From now on, feel free to build Farms and Villages any time you need silver or want to reach a distant area. Let’s start by  having you earn at least 8$. 


Desert terrain is special because you cannot build Farms there. Click on a desert tile and build a Citadel. This building only costs 1$, so it’s a good choice for claiming desert tiles. We’ll talk about what a Citadel does next.


Look at the enemy Village at the bottom. Build an Army next to it and see what happens. 


Oh no! The Village has not been converted. Notice the enemy Citadel next to the Village. A Citadel protects all nearby buildings from Army conversion and itself can never be converted.


Unfortunately for our enemy, Citadels don’t protect Farms. Build a Ziggurat next to the two enemy Farms at the bottom-left corner of the map. You might need to build some Citadels or Farms to get there. Remember that Ziggurats convert enemy Farms, while Armies convert all the other enemy buildings.


You’ve probably noticed some Swamps on the map. Swamp tiles do count toward your land total but are not useful in any other way. Left-Click on a neutral Swamp tile and then Right-Click to take it.


You cannot place buildings on a Swamp. Also, taking control of a Swamp does not earn you any money. Swamps can be converted by Ziggurats, just like Farms. Make sure you have enough money and take over the enemy Swamp. 


There are 4 Hills in the center of the map. Now, find the Hill tile with the enemy Ziggurat. Build an Army next to that Ziggurat and see what happens. 


Guess what? Hills protect the building on top of them just like a Citadel would do. Once a building is placed on a Hill, it is safe from enemy Armies.


Good work! You have learned about Citadels and various types of terrain. Now, you are ready for your next challenge match.


Welcome back! Were you able to defeat the Ebla? Right now, let’s talk about the different deposits on this map.


There are three types of deposits: Stone, Copper, and Tin. Villages placed next to Stone Deposits earn 2$. Villages that are placed next to Copper earn 3$. Finally, Villages that are placed next to Tin earn 4$. 


First, build at least one Farm. After you are done with that, build a Village next to the Copper Deposit at the top-left. This Village will earn you 3$.


When you build a Village near two or more different deposits, you earn money from the most lucrative of the nearby deposits. Build a Village just below the river at the bottom-right, so that it is touching three different deposits. How much money did it make?


Each civilization in Bronze has access to different buildings and pays different amounts for them. You are playing as the Akkadians. Place an Army to take over the enemy Village on the left. How much did the Army cost?


Armies cost only 2$ for the Akkadians because they are more warlike than the Sumerians. On the other hand, Akkadians can’t build a Ziggurat at all!


The Akkadians have a new building – the Palace. This one building is like the Citadel, Army, Ziggurat, and Town put together. Build a Palace next to the enemy Army and Farms to see what happens.


The Palace converts enemy buildings like an Army. Also, it converts enemy Farms like a Ziggurat. In addition, it claims neutral tiles like a Town. Finally, it protects your buildings like a Citadel. The Palace is very useful but also very expensive at 5$! 


You are now ready to try a historical campaign. It is strongly recommended that you play in the Early Bronze Age as the Sumerians before trying any of the other civilizations. Good luck in conquering Mesopotamia! 


This is the Campaign Map. Your goal is to conquer every territory before the end of the Age. The names of territories under your control are written in yellow. Take a look at the bottom of the map. Right now, Ur is the only territory you control.


You can attack all territories that touch your lands. These territories are framed, and their names are written in white. Currently, there are two: Lower Tigris and the Arabian Desert.


Since this is a beginner’s campaign, the difficulty of certain territories has been revealed on the map. Try to avoid the hard ones for now. 


It’s time to play! The Ziggurat is the Sumerians’ best building, so don’t forget to use it. You can attack a territory by Left-Clicking on its name. Go ahead and attack Lower Tigris now!


Congratulations, you conquered Lower Tigris! Now, take a look at all the territories you can attack. Notice the civilization symbols around their names. Each symbol indicates where a civilization starts within that territory. 


For example, if you attack Diyala, you will start with one tile in the top-left corner and a second tile in the bottom-left corner. Your opponent will start in the top-right corner. Want to know how these starting tiles are determined?


Each territory under your control provides you with one starting tile in every territory touching it. For example, Lower Tigris gives you one start in Kish, one start in Diyala, and one start in Susiana.


But wait! Looks like you have a second start in Diyala, Susiana, and the Arabian Desert. These extra starts exist because the Sumerians actually lived in those places during the Bronze Age. Thus, you have extra starts in some territories because of history.


The more starting tiles you have in a territory, the easier it will be for you to win there. In fact, certain territories cannot be conquered until you obtain additional starting tiles there.


You can obtain more starting tiles in a territory by conquering the territories around it. For example, if you conquer Kish, you will gain a start in the top-right corner of the Arabian Desert.  


It’s time to play. Go ahead and attack Diyala now!


Well done in Diyala! You have until the end of the Early Bronze Age to conquer all of Mesopotamia. At the top, notice that the Age ends in 2000 B.C.E. You can also see the current year. You have plenty of time, so don’t worry!


You can try to conquer a single territory as many times as you wish. However, with every attempt, a certain number of years go by. Each time, the world moves closer to the end of the Age.


It’s a good idea to conquer the easier territories first. They will provide you with additional starts for the more difficult territories near them. 


For example, you’ll want to conquer the Zagros Mountains before attacking Susiana. Controlling these Mountains will give you a third start in the top-right corner of Susiana. Winning in Susiana will be much easier if you have three starts there.


If you find yourself unable to win in a territory, try to surround it to gain more starts. You don’t want to waste years, losing over and over. If it is possible to gain extra starts, you’ll want to leave and come back when you are stronger.


Time to play! You are free to make your own decisions from now on. Good luck!



