Barbarians (DOS)

Civilisation in the ancient world was always under threat from outsiders who. though primitive, coveted the riches that their more advanced neighbours amassed. Disorganised tribesmen were usually no match for the heavily-defended cities and their shrewd generals, but, on rare occasions, a gifted individual would unite the warriors and rouse them to a common purpose. Then, the kings, the patriarchs, the farmers and the merchants would have cause to tremble before the approach of the Barbarians!

Barbarians is a game of strategy for one player, running on MS-DOS PCs. You take the lead of a civilised league of twelve cities at the very time the barbarians are entering the land. Your task is to raise armies and send them against the advancing hordes, and you will not rest until every last one is wiped out. While this is going on, you have to manage your empire's economy.

Every game is different. A map is generated at random, and your empire might be inland, on the coast, an isthmus or a peninsula, or it might instead be on an island. You may rule over flat, featureless plains, or mountainous or heavily wooded areas. The terrain of your country will dictate the availability of resources and the economics of your campaign. You'll need to trade for resources that your empire lacks.

The minimum specification to run this game is a PC with MS-DOS, an 8088 processor, and CGA or Hercules graphics. It also runs well under DOSBox. Versions are also available for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, and Psion pocket computers.