Crusades Book I - Preview

In very simple terms, the First Crusade was a military campaign with the objective of “liberating” the holy city of Jerusalem from its current governing powers, that being followers of the Islamic faith. To most medieval Christians, there was very little understanding of Islam. They believed that those that followed Islam were Anti-Christian and were therefore members of a faith led by false prophets. As such, it was intolerable that the holiest city in all of Christendom could be governed by such people.

So why now? Jerusalem had been in the hands of Muslims for over 450 years. It was in 638 that Jerusalem was first taken by the Rashidun Caliphate under Umar ibn al-Khattab. The catalyst was a letter to Pope Urban II from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. In this letter, the emperor appealed, as fellow a Christian, that help be sent to his lands to ward off the menace of the Muslim advance. If the Muslims could capture the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, then all of Europe would be under threat of Islamic conversion.

Pope Urban II answered this call for help, and traveled to southern France to deliver a sermon that would ask all those that loved Christ to stop killing other Christians, and promised complete absolution to all those that would take a vow, travel to the Holy Land, and retake Jerusalem. If they would do this, they would be forgiven all their sins. And if killed in battle, their place in Heaven would be guaranteed. This vow stipulated that they could not return to Europe until their vow had been fulfilled. This critical speech took place in Clermont Auvergne on the 27th of November 1095. And so our exploration begins...

The scale for this new series is 40 meter hexes and 10-minute turns. The game is playable from either side — Crusaders or Muslim forces (based on the specific scenario).

You will be able to command units with an array of weaponry, from infantry armed with swords, axes, maces, and bows, through cavalry with lances, swords and bows, to siege weapons such as the Mangonel, Trebuchet, Onager, Ballista, Battering Rams and Siege Towers. Create the breach and storm the fortress or man the walls and hurl the attackers back! There will be loads of intense combat to be had with the forces provided. Included Muslim forces are Seljuk, Fatimid Caliphate, and other Islamic Allies. The Crusaders include various forces from Christian Europe, Constantinople, and Jerusalem.

Combat is not limited to sieges and assaulting fortified towns either. There are battles on the plains which will take place as a relief force dispatched to try and lift a siege. There are ambush situations where Crusader columns are engulfed by mounted Muslim forces swirling around them and raining arrows from all sides. Or large pitched battles in open terrain where the armies come to grips and try to eliminate their opponents. With better than 60 scenarios to choose from, Crusades: Book I will have a lot of gameplay to offer.

Here's some suggested reading to get yourself acquainted with this time period:

Also, the channel Epic History has some video content on the subject:

We have tailored both 2D and 3D graphics and a range of period-specific forces and rules. Though again, all is currently work in progress, here are some example screenshots from this title. As with most of our series this game will have three 2D views and two 3D views. Additionally there will be three different 2D Symbol sets you can pull from.

(All images can be clicked for full sized viewing.)

We hope you have enjoyed this preview today. Again, this isn't too terribly far from release, so you'll be able to get your hands on it in the first half of 2025 if all goes well.

Happy New year!