Introduction

Abaria is an online multiplayer strategy game. You are playing the role of a national leader, attempting to make your nation among the best on the foreign world of Abaria – using the peaceful means of diplomacy, economics and trade, the power of a mighty military machine or both. Your nation will start off small, but can grow in power to dominate the world – or not. It all depends on your skill in governing it.

There are more documents explaining the importance of the economy, the market, technology and the military, and how to get started.

Rank

Unlike some games, unless you are in the very elitist of nations (there is a list of the top 10 in each category), you won't know exactly where you are in the ladder of nations around the world. Instead, you position is given to you in rough terms by the intelligence agencies of your nation – in comparison to the other nations. You start off as a Feeble nation, militarily, economically and overall, and by winning battles or strengthening your economy, you can rise up the ranks.

The rank words are as follows: Unrivalled (the best nation worldwide in that category), Formidable, Impressive, Strong, Aspiring, Moderate, Weak and Feeble. When you look at another nation or hover above a tile it owns, you will see its rank in the three categories, and you can use that to help decide whether to attack them or cooperate with them.

Because the ranks are in comparison with the other nations, you don't have to 'level up' in the way that you do in some games; your rank reflects how well you are playing in comparison to everyone else, not how many times you've clicked.

Influence

Each nation has a maximum sphere of influence. This is defined by the Influence statistic on your Nation Manager, and if you attempt to settle or attack land outside your sphere of influence, you will receive a message telling you that is impossible. Mobile military brigades can move further away, up to twice your sphere of influence.

The sphere of influence is based on your capital, which is denoted in-game by a flag and which is set initially to your only tile. You may move your capital at any point to any tile you own, at the cost of 2% of your money and resources, through the Tile Manager; you may also migrate free of charge, but you will lose all your current land and improvements. Your capital has no special status, you cannot see other nations' capitals and losing your capital has no special ill effects.

Revolution

Over time, your inhabitants become dissatisfied with the nation, and eventually they will revolt, leaving you with only a fraction of your previous possessions and knowledge. Your historians maintain a record of the number of times this has occured. This process occurs faster for nations which are doing better – being a top nation inevitably results in the population losing their mission in life and wishing for a new government.

When your nation revolts, you lose all your land, improvements, goods and military units, and 90% of your money and research knowledge. The revolution process exists to ensure that new players always stand a chance of competing with those who have been in the game for a long time, although they will of course never reach the number of revolutions undergone by the first nations.