Fog of War
Fog of War is an optional setting, chosen when a new game is created, that hides the map from the player until it's been physically explored.
How It Works
With Fog of War enabled, your empire begins with only the territory within 8 hexes of your capital explored and visible — enough to get your bearings and find a suitable site for your first Farm, but nothing beyond it. Everything else on the map stays hidden until you uncover it yourself.
Two things reveal new territory as the game goes on:
- Scouting with armies — every hex within an army's sight range becomes explored the moment that army can see it. See Troop Types for each troop type's sight value; cavalry and ranged units generally see further than slow-moving infantry or siege engines.
- City expansion — whenever a settlement claims a new hex, every hex neighbouring that newly claimed territory becomes explored automatically, gradually revealing the land around your borders as your empire grows.
Once a hex has been explored, it stays revealed on the map permanently — Fog of War only ever hides territory you haven't found yet, not territory you've since lost direct sight of.
Strategic Implications
Fog of War changes the early game meaningfully. Without it, you can plan your empire's shape around the full map from turn one — picking the best Farm sites, anticipating neighbours, and routing expansion efficiently. With it switched on, scouting becomes a genuine priority in its own right: armies and light cavalry sent out purely to explore are doing real strategic work, not just wasting movement, and a well-placed early scout can mean the difference between settling the best available land and settling whatever happened to be visible.
One asymmetry worth knowing: Fog of War only ever applies to the player. Other empires on the map play with full visibility regardless of this setting.
