A fantasy 4X with RPG heroes
Age of Wonders III mixes empire building, role playing and warfare on a hex grid. You pick one of six leader classes — Sorcerer, Theocrat, Rogue, Warlord, Archdruid or the tech-focused Dreadnought — and research skills tied to that class to shape both your empire and your army. From there you choose a race for your people: Humans, High Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Goblins or Draconians, plus fantastical monster dwellings you can befriend. The world has over 50 location types to raid for treasure, resources to capture, settlements to found, and magic powerful enough to terraform the land itself.
How a group plays together
Multiplayer wars run with up to 8 players online. Random maps and stand-alone scenarios can also be played co-op, with player alliances taking on computer opponents. If you would rather share one screen, Hot Seat mode lets the same alliances play on the same computer. Remote Play Together is available, so a friend can join your session from their own machine. The single player story campaign is playable from two sides of an epic conflict, and the random map generator gives you fresh scenarios whenever a group wants a new match.
Battles and what to expect before starting
Most of the action happens in detailed 3D turn-based tactical combat. You recruit legendary heroes, equip them with magical weapons and send them leading your armies. Battles reward careful play: flanking, city defenses, and the hundreds of abilities spread across your units all matter, so turns can take time as you weigh each move. Expect a game that sits between grand strategy and RPG leveling — you are managing a growing domain while also building up individual heroes and class-specific research.
A few practical notes. The level editing tools are provided as a courtesy to fans, carry different system specifications than the game, are not tech supported, and have an English-only interface. The game is moddable, and the tags cover both singleplayer and multiplayer play, so a group can split between a shared campaign and separate games without anything feeling out of place.