Play is very straightforward and there are help menus throughout. Game play is very fluid and exciting. It includes a set game with various campaigns to defeat the baddies. It also includes stand alone attacks and a great map editor. I can't say enough about the map editor as it lets you do 3-D terrain design (up to a point) and provides plenty of options. Perhaps the only disadvantage is that like all of these games the AI is limited and at times you find yourself yelling at the soldiers, "How can anyone be that dumb - take cover!"

Perhaps the coolest thing about this is being able to fight battles at real historical castles in Europe. They provide a brief historical description of the castle and its history and then you can kick derriere.

An added bonus is that there is a strong following of the game and an online community with whom you can exchange maps, engage in battle, participate in contests, etc. If you feel you are up for a medieval challenge and enjoy WarCraft, StarCraft type games this one will provide you with lots of entertainment.

"One of the best games I've played"
Let me start off saying that this game is absolutely superb. Although I did have to struggle a bit in the beginning learning some of the buttons and controls, it was worth it. This game is complex and simple at the same time -- which tells you that it is a special game.

You start off with small wooden keeps, which you must defend with archers and lightly armored foot soldiers. Slowly, you gain the ability to more advanced soldiers, like Crossbow men and macemen, and many more. The economic side is pretty straight forward, in order to make money you must raise taxes. But you can trade goods for gold or vice versa through a building which you will get in the middle part of the game. So if you have excess wood that you won't need, you can trade it for gold or something else.

Trust me, you will lose sleep over this Stronghold. Many hours will be consumed by this game, which is saying a lot these days. Buy this game, you won't regret it.

"Superb"
I first bought Stronghold at the end of 2001 after playing, and instantly loving, the demo. My father and brother also played the demo and felt immediately compelled to buy the game. More recently, the sequel Crusader came out (demo also available), and ups the ante yet further.

This game reminds me in ways of Lords of the Realm II. Stronghold is far more reliant on economy than most RTS games, but this is by no means a shortcoming and the economy is not unwieldly in the least. The game truly is a gem and among a very small group of games that have successfully implemented real-time castle construction.

Requirements: It actually ran "ok" on a P2 350 with a decent bit of ram. I have since upgraded to a Celeron 1000 (pathetically slow in today's terms, I know) with 512 ram, and this game runs perfectly.