A throne left empty in Hell
Solium Infernum is a turn-based grand strategy game set in Hell, where the Prince of Darkness has vanished and eight Archfiends compete to take the Infernal Throne. You play as one of those Archfiends, commanding legions, enlisting champions, casting rituals and building a position strong enough to be crowned the new Dark Majesty. The game draws on Milton's Paradise Lost and reworks the cult-classic strategy title of the same name, with a heavy emphasis on politics, intrigue and betrayal rather than pure battlefield strength. Orders you give carry lasting consequences, so each turn asks you to weigh a decision carefully instead of reacting quickly.
Playing together as a group
Multiplayer runs with 2 to 6 players, and there are two ways to organize it. In a sessional game, everyone plays together in a single sitting, scheming and arguing in real time across the map and inside Hell's parliament, where insults, demands and deals are part of the tools you use against rivals. In asynchronous multiplayer, turns come in quick daily bursts instead, so a group can keep a long scheme running over days, taking their moves whenever it suits them. Either way you are playing against each other: forming arrangements, breaking them, robbing and goading the other Archfiends while second-guessing what they will do next.
What to know before you start
Expect a demanding game. It is tagged as difficult, and the design rewards reading your opponents as much as reading the rules. There is a Revelations tutorial scenario to learn the systems, eight single-player Chronicles for playing against the AI, and a single-player Skirmish mode when you want a game without other people involved. The roster includes eight playable Archfiends, dozens of Infernal Legions including enormous Titans, plus champion Praetors and dark Artifacts. The setting is dark fantasy with horror elements and striking painted artwork throughout, so the tone stays grim and gothic from start to finish.