Tiny Token Empires Game Review – Conquer the Ancient World – The Fun Way

Have you ever wanted to recruit an army of philosophers, that can do some serious damage against ordinary legionaries, by dazzling and confusing them with complex theorems? Well, I hadn't – but mostly because I didn't know it was possible, until I stumbled upon this simple, but highly addictive game called Tiny Token Empires.

The game is a match three – strategy mash up, and one of the best mash ups I've seen in years. The matching part is quite original, as it's used to determine the results of the battles. You're not against the clock, and you also have to take into account the opponent's moves – so you have to think more like a chess player – and who thought there could be a new twist to match-3 games? You can skip the matching part, and allow the computer to decide the outcome of the battles for you, but, if you're not too keen on these games, you probably shouldn't try Tiny Token Empires in the first place, as the strategy part won't keep you occupied for too long. On the other hand, if you're good (and patient) at matching, you can do some serious damage without recruiting too many troops.

You can play various campaigns, on the Greek, Roman, Carthaginian, Persian or Egyptian side, collect artifacts from monsters, or simply go for the old and classic “conquer the whole known world” objective – what makes this game interesting is that it never takes itself seriously, as your powerful armies are, after all, just tiny tokens. The game has an easy-going appeal – but make no mistake, it's the kind of game that gets you hooked, and, before you know it, you end up spending hours and hours in order to conquer just one more territory or to find just one more artifact. The artwork is quite entertaining, and the texts are witty, so take your time to read the descriptions for each territory – you'll be missing out if you don't.

Tiny Token Empires Cheats and Hints

Normally I'm not a big fan of using cheats, but, sometimes during the Carthaginian campaigns, the game began to act stupid, and I really wanted to move on, so here are the cheats I've found so far, in case anybody else gets stuck: while you are on the map screen, type the following:

• zeushelpme – you'll get 5000 gold
• givemefive – 5 random territories will become part of your empire
• fromhell – five mythological units are placed randomly on the map, in your service

So go plunder Persepolis, mess with the gods, defeat the Cerberus, help your generals find true love, and don't forget to add a couple of catapults to your army of philosophers, you never know when they might come in handy.  

Farm Frenzy: Ancient Rome

Since I did a little post a while ago about games featuring ancient Rome, I thought I'd drop a line today about the new arrival on the scene – Farm Frenzy: Ancient Rome, from Alawar.

I'm no expert on this matter – well, I'm no expert on anything – but I think the developers from Alawar were counting on people just like me, with a manic interest in ancient history and lots of time to spare, because otherwise, this doesn't strike me as the most inspired release.

When the first Farm Frenzy came out, it was a fun, but unoriginal time management game with a girl in charge of raising animals and selling agricultural produce. Not unlike Farm Tribe, Magic Farm, Orchard, Ranch Rush, Youda Farmer, Virtual Farm, Farm Mania, Fantastic Farm, Farm Craft, Tropical Farm, My Farm oh, did anyone mention Farmville? No, it's not time management, right, moving on – Kelly Green Garden Queen, Fiona Finch and the Finest Flowers, Magic Seeds, Sunshine Acres, Garden Dreams, Plantasia – oh, yes, they're all for real.

But, and that's the best part, our Farm Frenzy was a hit, and thus developed into Farm Frenzy 2, and then, most naturally, came the 3^rd, followed by niche themes like

• Farm Frenzy: Pizza Party
• Farm Frenzy: American Pie
• Farm Frenzy: Ice Age
• Farm Frenzy: Russian Roulette
• Farm Frenzy: Madagascar
• Farm Frenzy: Gone Fishing
• Farm Frenzy: Ancient Rome

The gameplay, needless to say, hasn't changed one bit, though the graphics have been adjusted a little to the theme at hand. So, if you're a die-hard fan of raising sheep on your computer, or if you're a weirdo like me, with an interest for ancient Rome that's close to a fetish, go play. This should be enough to keep you occupied until winter's over.  

Computer Games set in Ancient Rome

I'm a geek, I have a special interest for Ancient Rome and I play computer games. Go figure. So here are my favorites, in several categories.

Sim/City-building:



The ever-popular Caesar series (1 through 4) by Vivendi Universal, where you become a provincial governor within the empire and fulfill several missions, build your cities, from roads up, defend it against barbarians and deal with plagues, fires and other nuisances.
All in all, a nice game, though in the 4th part of the series I found the graphics too demanding (they're nice, but not that nice to justify the technical requirements) and the gameplay too easy. In the first part, I got stuck for weeks trying to pass a level, with the fourth, I was done completely before the week was over. Or maybe my geekiness level increased drastically in the meantime.


Strategy:




If you're into strategy games, Rome: Total War by Sega is simply the best. It's a combination of real time and turn based strategy; the real time battles are in 3D, with a great engine and beautiful graphics, that allow the display of hundreds of characters at the same time. The outcome of each battle greatly depends on your ability to maneuver your troops, which is quite unique, as far as I could find, and adds to the realism (we all know the winner of ancient battles wasn't always the one with the biggest army).

Instead of being just one character, you are the head of one of three major Roman families, each with unique features, and, as such, you can control all male members of your family, adopt new ones, issue orders for the commanders of your army and so on. Enjoyable, challenging, and not annoying at all from the historic point of view – give this game a try if you have the chance.


Dash/Time management:

Yes, I've played my fair share of dash games. I know, lame.

Roads of Rome from Realore Studios is one such fine example; you are the brave warrior Victorius who has to build the Roman road network system before marrying a certain Julia. Granted, not the smartest game in town, and doesn't make even the vaguest attempt at historical accuracy, but fun, if you have an hour to kill.


Match 3:

Oh, talk about time killers, dash games don't even begin to compare to their match 3 counterparts. This could cost you a few sleepless nights, as you're just trying to gather a few hundred more resources to pass to the next level. Cradle of Rome (1 and 2) was one of the big hits in its category, and for the good reason: extremely simple gameplay (hey, it's match 3. It' easier than Solitaire), nice graphics, amusing minigames, just everything you might expect.


Hidden object:

I wish I knew of a better Roman-themed game in this category, but I don't... so until I find something better, here it is: Romance of Rome, also from Realore Studios. Good game, as far as hidden objects games go these days, but, from my point of view, disappointing graphics. I was expecting something more... Roman.

There. Go play.