Renowned Explorers: International Society is an exceptional game that really must be played to be understood. In the following paragraphs I’ll attempt to provide some small hint of the game’s layered and nuanced brilliance, but in the end know that I’m just touching upon the surface of any of the game’s aspects. When I first played the game, I read all the tutorials and tooltips and still had no idea what was going on. As I played the game more and more, though, I felt like I was exploring and learning the system just as my in-game explorers were exploring the lands and learning how to be the best adventurers they could be.

I’ve played my fair share of strategy and real-time strategy titles over the years. As a serious PC gamer, it’s pretty hard not to get hooked on at least a couple. Though I’ve not personally played any of the Civilization games, I’ve watched others play them, viewed videos about them, and talked to Civ players about them. With that being said, I think a good way to describe Warlock - Master of the Arcane is a healthy mix between Civilization and Heroes of Might and Magic.