Nobody: Three Kingdoms

Hide your edge. Scheme for your rank. Rewrite your age.

Nobody: Three Kingdoms is a Three Kingdoms card-sim roguelike.

At the end of the Han dynasty, you open your eyes as the lowest foot soldier in the imperial army.

You carry the knowledge of the entire modern world. But in an age of chaos, a foot soldier’s life is the cheapest thing there is. Tomorrow’s rations aren’t guaranteed, and the court’s conscription never ends.

To survive, you need troops in your hands and land under your feet. But the more men you command and the more ground you hold, the less the court sleeps, and the rival warlords next door have already got their eyes on your holdings.

The real challenge of this game was never “what can I do?” but “how do I survive in this world?”

So, first things first: stay alive.

When the pay stops, you starve.

The court keeps drafting men, and of every ten sent to war, one never comes back. If you can’t hand over the men, you’re beaten to death with rods.

Blades don’t pick sides. You get hurt, your subordinates die. Time traveler or not, in this age you’re just driftwood on the current.

Math, physics, and chemistry are the only capital you have in this era.

Twenty blueprints of natural philosophy, from salt-making, stirrups, and co-fusion steel to gunpowder, fierce fire-oil, and the Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse. Turn them into industries and the money and grain follow.

Then build wonders no one in this age has ever seen, and bring them to the battlefield, where one machine can hold off a hundred men.

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Lu Zhi, and more: recruit famous generals and drill elite troops.

Follow the clues and you can track down legends like Lü Bu, Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang, and Diaochan.

Twelve provinces, forty-eight cities, from You Province all the way to Liang Province. Every city has its own obstacle: some yield only to martial force, some to cunning, and some to persuasion. Every province has its own local produce, terrain, and bonuses.

Rise from foot soldier to commandant, grand administrator, provincial governor, and finally to the throne itself.

The more troops you have, the less the court sleeps.

Street rumors, or evidence someone has caught you leaving, will bring imperial inspectors to investigate. Some inspectors are fools, some are sharp, and one secret memorial can send you to prison.

The warlords next door are watching your land too. Fail to keep them placated and unrest breaks out. Once you’re weak, they’ll join forces and attack.

Crown yourself emperor and unify the realm.

Stay a loyal servant of Han to the end. Or pursue the study of all things until you build a device that carries you home to the modern world.

These paths aren’t mutually exclusive. And there are more endings out there, waiting for you to stumble onto them.

Also:

• Light roguelike: Chance events run through every playthrough, so different opportunities, characters, and outcomes make each run unique.

• Ink-wash art: Hundreds of cards in one unified style.