Before Stronghold, there was, well, Stronghold

Although I remember playing both games, the first game (of my generation, that is) that went by the name Stronghold, released way back in 1993 by Strategic Simulations Inc., remains fresher in my mind. The “second” Stronghold came out in 2001.

I attribute this newfound strength in my frontal lobe to the availability of older games—and supposedly those with expired copyrights—for download.

But that’s another story all together. Right now, let’s focus on this gaming gem.

It’s but natural that Stronghold appeals to my gamer’s heart—it is, after all, 1) a product of (although not developed by) Strategic Simulations Inc. and 2) a strategy game based on the wonderful world of Dungeons & Dragons.

Often referred to as the Sim City meets Dungeons & Dragons of gamedom, Stronghold gives players the opportunity to build towns for their chosen race, attract more people to these towns, and defend both king and country from external threats.

Of course, the game follows D&D lore. The races (yes, there are many) include human (no RPG is complete without greedy humans), elves, dwarves, and halflings. Enemy races include dragons, wyverns and, ugh, the undead.

Just like Dungeons & Dragons and all other RPGs that cropped up after it, Stronghold’s denizens can level up if they gain enough experience through training or battling enemy forces.

Before the game starts, you’ll be asked to generate a map (not that different from today’s RPGs and strategy games, huh?), set the difficulty level, and create your lead character. When you roll the dice for your leader’s stats, make sure to follow his—or her, as the case may be—prime attribute (there are six: strength, intelligence, wisdom, dexterity, constitution and charisma).

Human fighters should have high strength; human mages, intelligence; human priests, wisdom; elves, strength, intelligence and dexterity; dwarves, constitution and strength; and halflings, dexterity. Whew!

Done with character creation? Good. Setup your first stronghold and other essential buildings, like farms (to produce food), houses (to, what else, house your people), and granaries (to store that first harvest).

All these, however, will not fit on the first screen, so go to an adjacent area on the map and attract some of your initial followers there.

Gosh, so much to talk about. Why don’t you just download the game (here’s a site with a download link, although I can’t guarantee the safety of your PC from virus-ridden downloads) and give it a try. Oh, and you’re going to need a DOS emulator, like dosbox. If you run into problems, I’m sure a lot of fans of the game, including yours truly, can help.