The Battle of Polytopia

The Battle of Polytopia is a turn-based strategy game by Midjiwan. You lead a tribe across a square fantasy world, found cities, explore unknown lands and hold your own against other civilizations. Each match combines exploration, expansion, research and battles.

The PC version was released on Aug 4, 2020, and the Nintendo Switch version on Oct 13, 2022. The game has been available on iOS and Android since 2016. The historical title The Battle of Polytopia: Moonrise refers to the PC version of the base game.

The Battle of Polytopia is available for PC, iOS, Android and Nintendo Switch. On PC, the Steam versions support Windows, macOS and Linux. The Switch version is a separate purchase. Playability on Switch 2 through compatibility is not the same as a dedicated Switch 2 version.

Each turn comes down to exploration, economic growth and military pressure. Units move across the board step by step. You choose research paths, found new cities and use resources to develop your territories. Randomly generated maps change the starting position.

Additional tribes such as Aquarion, Elyrion, Polaris and Cymanti are offered as separate expansions. There are also cosmetic skin packs. They add to the base game but don't replace it. The PC collection Moonrise – Deluxe bundles the game with extra content.

For Windows, Steam lists a dual-core processor at 2.0 GHz minimum, 1 GB RAM, 128 MB graphics memory and 160 MB of free storage. 3.0 GHz, 2 GB RAM and 256 MB graphics memory are recommended. Windows 10 or later is now required to use Steam.

Your choice of tribe shapes the start of every match. Xin-Xi, Bardur, Hoodrick and Vengir are among the regular tribes. Their starting positions and strengths differ, while exceptional tribes bring their own abilities and mechanics into the game.

The research tree opens up new economic and military options. Which technologies you unlock first determines access to resources, buildings, units and routes across the map. Rapid expansion therefore competes with investment in defense.

Cities form the economic heart of your tribe. Farming, resources and new technologies drive their growth. More cities expand your room to maneuver, while trade routes and unprotected border regions become more important.

Battles play out turn by turn on the same map as city building. The formation of different units, terrain routes and the order of your actions determine which attacks are possible. If you only expand without securing your troops, you can quickly lose conquered territory.

Diplomacy allows peace treaties and messages between tribes. The expansion of the diplomacy systems also brought covert Cloaks and Daggers. Diplomatic relations can change the path through a contested match without removing the possibility of military conflict.

Polytopia offers the Perfection, Domination and Creative modes. Perfection focuses on a high score within a limited number of turns. Domination puts military control first. Creative lets you shape the game conditions more freely.

Automatically generated maps differ in size and land distribution. The PC version supports, among others, Dryland, Lake, Pangea, Continents, Archipelago and Water World. Small maps encourage early encounters, while large worlds offer more room for development.

On PC and macOS, up to 16 players can compete online against each other, according to Steam. Local and cross-platform multiplayer features are also available. The maximum number of players depends on the version and mode.

The Nintendo Switch version supports console controls and touch input. On PC, keyboard shortcuts and a German user interface are available. The compact rounds make the strategy game playable on mobile devices too.