History games by era: where to start in each period
If you want one game that covers Ancient Greece through to the eve of the First World War, Crown & Plough, a free history life-sim browser game, puts eight eras on the same real map of Europe. Pick an era and you are born that year among its real realms and rulers, and the big events of the period arrive in their historical years.
The table gives each era’s start year, its headline events and a good first scenario. For a first game, try one random birth, then one scenario.
Play free — no download Start the scenario: The Night of the Herms
The eight eras at a glance
| Era | Starts | Events you will meet | Good first scenario |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classical Greece | 431 BC | Peloponnesian War, plague of Athens, Sicilian Expedition, Alexander | The Night of the Herms |
| Roman Empire | AD 117 | Antonine Plague, Marcomannic Wars, Crisis of the Third Century, fall of the West | Emperor of the Wall |
| Age of Vikings and Coronations | 800 | Charlemagne’s coronation, Treaty of Verdun, siege of Paris, Norman Conquest | Ragnar's Ship |
| Middle Ages | 1200 | Fourth Crusade, Magna Carta, Mongol advance, Hundred Years’ War, Black Death | The road to Runnymede |
| Renaissance and the Age of Discovery | 1500 | Reformation, Mohács, siege of Vienna, Lepanto, the Armada, Thirty Years’ War | The Printer of Wittenberg |
| Age of the Sun King and the Baroque | 1680 | Siege of Vienna, Glorious Revolution, Great Northern War, Spanish Succession | The Wind at Torbay |
| Age of Revolution | 1789 | French Revolution, Partitions of Poland, Russian campaign, Waterloo, 1848 | The Horseman in the Plumed Hat |
| Victorian Era | 1850 | Great Exhibition, Crimean War, Italian and German unification, 1914 | Redshirts |
Ancient history games: Greece and Rome
Classical Greece is the age of city-states, where Assembly votes and shifting alliances between Athens and Sparta decide everything. The signature scenario is The Night of the Herms: Alcibiades in 415 BC, about to lead the Sicilian Expedition. Whether the expedition against Syracuse ends as it did in 413 BC — one of the game’s turning points — shapes what follows.
The Roman Empire opens in AD 117 at the empire’s greatest extent and runs through plague, the Crisis of the Third Century and the fall of the West. Design the wall in Britannia as Hadrian in Emperor of the Wall, or spend a Danube winter as Marcus Aurelius in Winter on the Danube.
Viking and medieval games
The Age of Vikings and Coronations runs from Charlemagne’s coronation in 800 to the Norman Conquest of 1066: Viking raids and the Danelaw, the Magyars and Otto the Great’s Holy Roman Empire. Three scenarios — Ragnar's Ship, The marshes of Athelney and A Crown Across the Sea — put you in the raider’s, the defender’s and the conqueror’s seat.
The Middle Ages begins in 1200 on the eve of the Fourth Crusade. It has the most era-specific events (crusade calls, the Black Death, the Hundred Years’ War) and the most scenarios — five. More in medieval life simulator.
Renaissance and Baroque
The Renaissance and the Age of Discovery starts in 1500, the age of print and exploration. Watch the Reformation unfold as Cranach, the court painter of Wittenberg, in The Printer of Wittenberg, or start at the Defenestration of Prague in The Prague window.
The Age of the Sun King and the Baroque starts in 1680 under Louis XIV and runs through the siege of Vienna (1683), the Glorious Revolution (1688) and the Mississippi Bubble (1720). Not every scenario is a war: The Wind at Torbay makes you John Churchill, one of James II’s generals, as William of Orange lands in 1688, and Rue Quincampoix puts you in the share mania of Paris.
Revolution and the Victorian age
The Age of Revolution runs from the Bastille in 1789 to Waterloo in 1815 and the revolutions of 1848. In The Horseman in the Plumed Hat you are Napoleon’s cavalry commander Joachim Murat and live turning points such as What if Napoleon had won at Waterloo? first-hand.
The Victorian Era begins in 1850 with railways, industry and wars of unification: Garibaldi’s Redshirts, Nightingale’s A ship to Scutari and the painter Franz Marc in August 1914 in The Guns of August.
Carrying your family across eras
An era is not the end. Become a Great Power (12% of the world) or let the in-game year reach the next era’s start and “Into the next era” makes your descendant a royal of that era, bringing the house’s name, arms, traits, heirlooms and half its prestige. You choose As history, Partial carryover or Full carryover, so a map you changed can follow you forward.
Start playing
Play free — no download Start the scenario: The Night of the Herms
- Scenarios The Night of the Herms · Emperor of the Wall · Ragnar's Ship · The road to Runnymede · The Printer of Wittenberg · The Wind at Torbay · The Horseman in the Plumed Hat · Redshirts
- Eras Classical Greece · Roman Empire · Age of Vikings and Coronations · Middle Ages · Renaissance and the Age of Discovery · Age of the Sun King and the Baroque · Age of Revolution · Victorian Era
- More guides History games for the classroom: a teacher’s guide · Alternate history games: change the turning points yourself · Medieval life simulator: from peasant to king
- Reference The eight eras · All scenarios
FAQ
Which era should I start with?
For a first game, the Middle Ages (1200) or the Roman Empire (117): they have the most events and scenarios and the most familiar realms. For a particular person, browse the scenario list.
Is there Asian or American history?
No. All eight eras are on the map of Europe.
Does history always follow the real timeline?
Each era starts from the real map, realms, rulers and major events, then diverges with your choices and the AI’s. The “Weight of history” setting (As history, Plausible, Free) controls how easily it bends.
Do I need to buy each era?
No. All eight eras are free at the same address; choose on the title screen.
← Medieval life simulator: from peasant to kingHistory games for the classroom: a teacher’s guide →