Empire is a turn-based, multiplayer, online wargame. It is very detailed, complex, and "realistic". It's typically played with updates every other day and games can last for about 2-3+ months. The game encompasses economic, military, technology, production, espionage, diplomacy, etc. areas of war. War takes place at sea, on land, and in the air (and space with satellites!). It is incredibly detailed right down to individual units, the number of guns on each of them, the number of shells onboard, the amount of fuel and food the unit is carring, the number of soldiers and civiians, etc. The game in general allows a great deal of freeedom as to strategy and tactics, as just about anything but cheating is allowed.
All of the components of the game are freely available GPL software: the server, various clients, and supporting utility programs. The server and MS Windows cient are actively supported by a small and reclusive SourceForge group (Empire Server on SourceForge). They are a somewhat secretive group of experienced players who are also good programmers. The current server is named "Wolfpack Empire" and the Developers maintain a Web Page at (http://www.wolfpackempire.com). Some good elementary documentation and a tutorial is avaliable here: Documenation and Tutorial. This site has an excellect listing of sector types, product types, land, sea, and air units: Sectors, Products, and Units.
For a hard core wargamer looking to enjoy a battle of wits, it just doesn't get much better than Empire. All of this "richness", however, does have a cost. The cost is that the learning curve to compete with the more experienced players is high. There is also a great deal of micro-management to the game (which varies depending on the particular game settings). If food is used, for example, it takes a bit of practice to learn how to grow and transport food so your civilians and military don't starve to death. The education / research / technology growth curve is also an area that without knowledge and practice a rookie can never catch up in the technology "arms race". The upshot of this is that rookies (traditionally called "sheep" in this game) need to have a thick skin and be ready to be an early victim in games including experienced players. I was a bit "wounded" at how I was viciously torn apart in my first game in the first few turns. It's best to view the whole thing as a positive learning experience (while secretly planning your strategy in the next game!). There are, however, purely rookie ("sheep") games arranged for education and fun.
This game goes back to the early UNIX server days before display terminals. Origionally, the game could only be played using ASCII maps and command line commands. While some "veteran" players likely still play like this, there fortunately is a Micosoft Windows client that make the game MUCH easier to learn and play called "WinACE" (see image above). There is also a Python client for other platforms but I don't find it near as good.
It is possible to practice using the "Changeling Blitz" server, or run your own. I run a server on my Apple Macintosh (OS X = UNIX), and a client on my Microsoft Windows XP PC for practicing. The Windows XP server is quite reliable and secure also. It's a good idea to practice a bit before your first game as there are a number of things to learn how to do. There is a Google NEWS group to watch for upcoming rookie and veteran games: rec.games.empire. Check back at this web site as I may host a game at some point in the future when I am more experienced. Looking forward to crossing swords with you!
When playing Empire you can get information on any command, item, unit, or concept in the game by typeing "info command". Here is a complete list of the "info" files for your convenience and study:
accept
add
announce
anti
apropos
arm
army
assault
attack
Attacking (concept)
Autofeed
Autonav
Basics
bdes
bestpath
bmap
board
bomb
break
Bridges
BTU
budget
Bugs
build
buy
bye
capital
cargo
census
change
CHANGES