Polis & Legion is a free real-time strategy game you play in the browser. Lead Rome, Greece or Carthage, grow a village into a city and break your rivals with legions, phalanxes and war elephants. Play the AI alone, or go online with up to three friends.
- Genre
- Strategy
- Players
- Solo or online, up to 4 players, bots fill empty seats
- Devices
- Desktop, with keyboard and mouse
- Price
- Free, plays in the browser, nothing to install
How to play
Left click or drag to select. Right click to move, gather, build or attack. On a Mac, use a two-finger click, Control-click or M at the pointer. Right drag sets which way troops face. Q W E R T, A S D F G and Z X C V B press the command buttons. Shift or Ctrl plus 1 to 9 saves a group, 1 to 9 selects it. H: your Forum. Period: idle worker. Comma: idle soldiers. Space: latest attack. Arrow keys, screen edges or two-finger scrolling move the camera. P pauses, Esc opens the menu.
New in v1.3
Fixed the game freezing when a match ended: you now get the victory or defeat screen with full stats, and wins count on the leaderboards. The whole map is revealed once the game is over.
What kind of game is this?
Polis & Legion is a base-building real-time strategy game set around the ancient Mediterranean. You start with a Forum and a handful of workers. You gather food, wood, stone and gold, put up houses and a barracks, research upgrades and train an army. Then you march on the other side's town before they march on yours. It all happens at once, so the real skill is keeping your economy running while you fight.
It runs in any modern desktop browser with nothing to install. A game against the AI usually lasts 20 to 40 minutes.
The three peoples
Romans. Buildings cost 15% less wood and infantry get +1 melee armour. Legionaries can lock shields into a testudo that shrugs off arrows but moves slowly. Their hero is Julius Caesar, who gives nearby troops +20% attack and +15% speed. Trade good: wine.
Greeks. Spear units have 20% more hit points, archers shoot one tile further and workers gather food 10% faster. Hoplites form a phalanx that holds a line against cavalry. Their hero is Alexander, who gives nearby troops +20% attack and +1 armour. Trade good: olive oil.
Carthaginians. Workers mine gold 20% faster, cavalry rides 10% quicker and soldiers cost 10% less. Their unique unit is the war elephant. Their hero is Hannibal, whose presence heals nearby troops 1 HP per second. Trade good: purple dye.
How to play
- Keep your Forum training workers and send them to berries and trees.
- Build a House whenever you get close to your population limit.
- Put up a Barracks and start training soldiers.
- Gather 500 food and advance to the Town Age. It unlocks the stable, forge, towers, walls and swordsmen.
- In the City Age (800 food and 250 gold) you get your people's unique unit, a hero and catapults.
- Destroy every enemy unit and building to win. Walls, roads and fields don't count, and a beaten AI may resign first.
New to real-time strategy? Start with the Tutorial in the main menu. It is a short guided game that covers your first town and your first fight.
Tips that win games
- An idle worker is lost income. Press the period key to jump to the next one.
- Every unit has a counter. Spears beat horses, horses run down archers, archers shred infantry and swordsmen cut through spears.
- Keep catapults behind your army. They outrange towers but die fast up close.
- Roads make everyone 35% faster and siege engines 80% faster. A road to the front pays for itself.
- Trade goods sell for any resource at the Market, but every sale drops the price a little.
- Wounded soldiers heal while they rest near your Forum.
Online with friends
Up to four players can share one map. Quick play drops you into a public game, and Play with friends opens a private room you share with a link or a six-letter code. The AI fills every empty seat, and if someone's connection drops, the AI keeps their people going until they are back.
Maps and modes
Against the AI, play 1 vs 1, 1 vs 2 against two allied rivals, or 2 vs 2 with an AI ally. Pick Easy, Normal or Hard rivals and one of five maps: Hills & Lakes, River (three fords to hold), Mare Nostrum (an inland sea), Silva (deep forest with narrow lanes) and Steppe (open plains and cavalry country). Map size, starting resources and an optional time limit are up to you.
Leaderboards
Wins against the AI count on three boards: conquest score (your score weighted by difficulty and mode), fastest win against Hard rivals, and total victories. Sign in and your records and settings follow you.
FAQ
Is Polis & Legion free? Yes. It is free to play in your browser, with no download and no account needed.
Can I play against other people? Yes. Choose Online in the main menu to join a public game or invite up to three friends to a private room. Seats alternate between two teams, and the AI takes any seat nobody fills.
Does it work on a phone or tablet? It is made for a mouse and keyboard on a desktop or laptop. Touch controls are not supported yet.
Can I play on a MacBook trackpad? Yes. Click with two fingers or hold Control and click to give orders, and scroll with two fingers to move the camera. Pointing at a target and pressing M works too. The delete key destroys the selection.
Does the game save my progress? Yes. It autosaves every minute and has three save slots. Saved games stay in your browser.
How long does a game take? A 1 vs 1 on a normal map usually takes 20 to 40 minutes. A small map or a time limit makes it shorter.
