Alright, so today I’m gonna spill the beans on my quest for games that scratch that same itch as Forge of Empires. You know, that city-building, empire-expanding, tech-tree-obsessed feeling? I went down a rabbit hole, and here’s what I dug up and what I actually DID.
The Initial Search – Casting a Wide Net
First off, I just Googled it, plain and simple. “Games similar to Forge of Empires” – BAM! Loads of lists popped up. I saw stuff like Rise of Cultures, Elvenar, Tribal Wars, and a bunch of other strategy games. I even saw some mentions of mobile games I’d never heard of. I bookmarked a few that looked promising, thinking “Yeah, I’ll check those out later.” Classic me.
Diving into Rise of Cultures – A Promising Start?
So, the first one I actually downloaded and tried was Rise of Cultures. Looked pretty good in the screenshots, right? The art style was decent, and the gameplay seemed similar enough. I started building my city, researching technologies, and all that jazz. The tutorial was pretty straightforward, but it felt… different. Like a watered-down version of FoE. I played for a couple of hours, got to Iron Age or something, and then just kinda lost interest. It felt too hand-holdy, if you know what I mean.
Elvenar – A Fantasy Twist
Next up, Elvenar. I was drawn in by the fantasy setting. Elves, humans, magic – sounded like a fun change of pace. The graphics were definitely better than Rise of Cultures, I’ll give it that. But the gameplay loop felt almost too similar to Forge of Empires, but with a fantasy skin. Build stuff, upgrade stuff, research stuff… It was like they took the FoE formula and just swapped out the historical ages for fantasy races. I played it for maybe a day, got bored, and uninstalled.
Tribal Wars – Back to Basics, and a Rude Awakening
Okay, after the fancy graphics and fantasy settings, I decided to go old-school with Tribal Wars. This game has been around forever, right? I remembered playing it way back in the day. It’s all about managing resources, building up your village, and raiding other players. No fancy graphics, no hand-holding – just pure strategy. I joined a server, started building my village, and immediately got attacked. Like, within five minutes. I tried to defend, but I was too weak. My village got ransacked, my resources stolen, and I was left with nothing. I rage-quit and uninstalled. Maybe I’m too soft for Tribal Wars these days!
Realizing What I Actually Liked About Forge of Empires
After all this, I took a step back and thought about what I really liked about Forge of Empires. It wasn’t just the city-building or the strategy. It was the feeling of progression, the gradual expansion of my empire, the collecting of Great Buildings, the social interaction with my guild, and the events. The other games just didn’t capture that same feeling.
The Conclusion – Back to Forge of Empires (For Now)
So, after my little adventure, I ended up going back to Forge of Empires. I realized that even though it has its flaws (every game does), it’s still the best game out there for scratching that particular itch. Maybe I’ll try some other games in the future, but for now, I’m sticking with what I know and love. Plus, I’ve got a good guild to keep in touch with!
