Hail Britannia

Hail Britannia is a text-based game set in an alternate 20th century where the Central Powers won the Great War. You play as a Canadian soldier, navigating branching storylines, talking with a range of characters and fighting turn-based battles. Conversations and news events shape the narrative amid political, social and economic upheaval.

An alternate history

The timeline diverges in 1917, when the Kaiser avoids resuming unrestricted submarine warfare and does not send the Zimmerman telegram. Without American intervention, France struggles to resist the German offensive and eventually capitulates. The Central Powers offer peace to the Entente, ending the Great War on November 11, 1919.

After the war, communist rebellions bring down the governments of France and the United Kingdom. The French Commune and the Union of Britain are established, while the exiled French government flees to North Africa and the British government to Canada. Other changes reshape the former empires: Gibraltar, Cyprus and Malta are seized by other nations; New Zealand joins Australia; the British Raj splits into a loyalist Raj and an independent Indian State; South Africa votes to leave the Empire; and Canada annexes Britain's and France's Caribbean colonies.

In the decades that follow, Lenin proclaims the Soviet Union in 1921 after defeating the White Army. The Baltic Union, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and Poland fall under German occupation. China breaks into several regions, including the Republic of China, Soviet Mongolia, the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo and Tibet. Italy's postwar economic collapse fuels political extremism and Mussolini's fascist dictatorship.

The Americas are also affected by the changed world order. During Calvin Coolidge's presidency, the New York Stock Exchange crashes in 1925, beginning a Great Depression that primarily affects the Americas as the global economy centers on the Berlin Stock Exchange. With war debts unpaid, the US economy declines for 19 years. Economic uncertainty helps communist and fascist regimes rise in Central and South America, leaving Canada, Costa Rica and the US as the region's last democracies. The US remains fragile, with growing support for communism in the Steel Belt and fascist southerners seeking to recreate the Confederacy.

Conversations and combat

Branching dialogue lets you gather information and influence relationships with non-player characters. News events reflect changing political and social conditions as the story unfolds. Battles are turn-based and call for tactical decisions to defeat enemies.

You can choose from three combat classes:

• Foot Soldier
• Combat Medic
• Tank Driver