Worldkampf '72

Worldkampf '72 is a real-time strategy game set during the collapse of an empire. You begin as a Fürst with a single stretch of land and build a realm able to survive the Worldkampf. The clock keeps moving as your population grows, harvests arrive and rival lords act, whether or not you are watching.

Rule your realm

Set tax rates and balance revenue against the risk of driving your people to break away and declare themselves free. Keep your subjects fed and content: happiness and morale affect productivity and loyalty. Trade resources with the Mysterious Guild or make deals directly with rival Fürsten; prices shift with supply and demand, and other players may make a deal before you do. Every Taler you collect, spend or save is a decision with consequences for your people.

Expansion brings its own costs. Once your realm passes a certain size, the strain of administration reduces morale and material output, and that penalty remains even after expansion stops. Armies also require upkeep: neglected regiments desert, and prolonged neglect leads to rebellion as towns rise against your rule.

Wage war

Command infantry, artillery and Kampfläufer, towering walking machines that helped shatter the old world order. You lead your forces through a personal avatar; if the avatar falls in battle, the powerful boons it carries are lost.

Manage vassals

Defeat does not always mean death. Capture a rival's palace and they kneel, retaining their throne as your vassal while paying you a tithe. Vassals remember their humiliation and begin plotting rebellion after enough time has passed.

Expand across worlds

The Guild's freighters continue serving off-world colonies despite the war tearing the Empire apart. Fund an expedition, book passage and land on a handcrafted world with only the supplies you shipped. Subdue a rival on one world and they become your vassal across all worlds.

Campaigns and scenarios

Play a handcrafted campaign set during the Empire's collapse, an endless procedurally generated scenario or one created by another player. Maps and wars vary from one game to the next. You can also use the built-in editor and scripting engine to create custom scenarios, place units by hand and build campaigns.

Paths to victory

You can bid to hire factions from the Grauer Markt, including mercenary companies that splintered from Wurzeltal's imperial armies, Beatnicks who hunt war profiteers, and the vengeful remnants of Nordheim. Victory can come from seizing and holding the capital of Kaiserstuhl, collecting ten ancient relics and building a galaxy-spanning empire, directing events from behind the scenes or defeating every enemy.