Mandate Order

Mandate Order is an ancient war simulation and city-building game set in ancient China. You build and manage a military stronghold under threat of invasion, combining construction, production, defense, diplomacy and large-scale real-time tactical battles.

Build your city-state

A gridless building system lets you freely plan residences, farms, workshops, barracks and other structures, linking them into an urban production chain. You farm, gather and produce resources through a full annual cycle. Seasons and weather change the city’s appearance as well as management and the pace of marching and warfare.

Govern and negotiate

Recruit retainers from Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism, Militarism, Agriculturalism and other schools of thought. Assign them to city governance, military command, diplomacy or national policy; their schools influence policy, and different combinations create different ways to play. A nine-grid national policy system works alongside court debates as you shape your philosophy of governance.

As a city lord or feudal ruler, you can form alliances, declare ceasefires, open trade or join forces against powerful enemies. A sandbox mode offers multiple ways to play.

Command your forces

Before and during battle, use mouse-drawn lines to deploy formations for encirclements, breakthroughs, siege assaults and defense. Battles feature chariot charges, fortress warfare and thousand-unit battlefields, with a pseudo-physics knockback system. You can build a fortress defense system with walls, towers, catapults, ballistae and other structures, planning your military architecture around its defenses.

Perform seasonal rituals

Follow the seasons in farming and war, and offer sacrifices to Heaven and Earth to seek your state’s fortune. The ritual system affects natural disasters, calamities and event outcomes. How you respond to these trials tests your judgment and morality, and disasters can also present opportunities for growth.

Develop your state

Technology, building upgrades and logistics advance tools and techniques while transforming institutions and civilization. Timber, ore, grain and other raw materials pass through gathering, processing, storage and distribution as part of a complete industrial chain. Adjust your strategy to the sandbox environment and available resources, and reform old systems to help your state survive and grow.