Chapter I

Age of EmpiresŪ II: The Age of Kings™ is a game of combat and empire-building

that spans the time from the fall of Rome through the Middle Ages.

You control one of 13 civilizations, which you build into a powerful empire

of original art enhance your game as you follow a soldier through battles

featuring William Wallace, Joan of Arc, Saladin, Genghis Khan, and

After you’re comfortable with the basics of Age of

Empires II, you can play any of the following types of

games. Many players start with the campaigns and then

play single-player or multiplayer Random Map games. In

a single-player game, you compete against players

controlled by the computer. In a multiplayer game, you

compete against other human players across a local area

Join Joan of Arc, Genghis Khan, Saladin, or Frederick Barbarossa in a

series of historically based scenarios. You must win each game before

and then click the name of the campaign you want to play

If you are learning to play Age of Empires II, you may want to start with the

In a Random Map game, you play a different game every time because the map

is never the same. You can use the standard game settings or choose your own,

including the number of players and their civilizations, map type and size,

population limit, quantity of starting resources, starting age, and victory

Villagers are invaluable to your civilization. Their primary function

is to gather wood, food, gold, and stone from the land and deposit it

in your stockpile. They also construct buildings and repair damaged

buildings, boats, and siege weapons. In a pinch, they can even

engage in combat. Fishing Ships also contribute to population count

because their sole purpose is to fish for food.

The more villagers you have, the faster you can build up your

civilization. Researching the Wheelbarrow (at the Town Center)

makes villagers work faster.

When you put a villager to work, its name in the status area at the

Town Center or Mill. Researching technologies at the Mill

increases Farm production. Click a villager, and then right-click

an expired Farm to order the villager to automatically

deposits it at the Town Center or Mill. Fishing Ships also fish

because boar can be dangerous) for food and deposits it at the

Town Center or Mill. Military units can also kill animals, but

Reconnaissance

others have explored. For more information about Cartography, see Chapter VIII.

Terrain

combat. The types of terrain include:

z Water — Impassable by land units.

z Shallows — Water passable by land units and ships.

z Forest — Impassable. Use villagers, Siege Onagers, and Trebuchets to cut

paths through the forests.

z Cliffs — Impassable by villagers and military units, who must find a

below incur an attack penalty.

Chapter V

D iplomacy & Trading

are locked.

To choose your diplomatic stance toward others

1 Click the Diplomacy button in the upper-right corner of the screen.

2 Select how you regard each player:

z Ally — Your units defend the units and buildings of allied players

buildings.

z Neutral — Your units ignore the units and buildings of neutral

by neutral units, your units defend themselves.

z Enemy — Your units attack the units and buildings of enemy

sight.

The buildings you construct determine the types of soldiers you can create and

which technologies you can research to improve your civilization. For example,

you need a Barracks to create and upgrade infantry units and a Blacksmith to

improve their attack strength and armor. Economic buildings, such as the

Town Center and Mill, support your civilization and improve your economy.

For example, you use the Mill to deposit food and to research technologies that

improve your Farms’ food production.

You can improve the line of sight of all of your buildings by researching Town

Watch and Town Patrol (at the Town Center) and strength by researching

Masonry and Architecture (at the University). Towers and some other

buildings also have other technologies that improve them.

For more information about constructing buildings, see Chapter III. For

Economic buildings support your civilization

The Town Center is the hub of your civilization.

It lets you do the following (for more information,

Most basic infantry unit; cheap and quick to create. Only

Local peasants and workers called up for military duty in times of emergency made up the

militia. These temporary soldiers were usually equipped with second-rate weapons and

armor. They returned to their normal occupations when the emergency had passed. Levies of

militia were often used as second-line troops when great lords assembled their vassals for a

campaign. The militia was available for less demanding fighting and other tasks in support

of the main army. England’s Harold Godwinson stood his ground in 1066 at Hastings with

only his vassals. If he had fallen back and called up the Anglo-Saxon militia, known as the

furd, some historians believe he would not have lost his kingdom to William the Conqueror.

For much of the Dark Ages there were only small professional armies in the West. Militia led

Infantry are foot soldiers used for hand-to-hand combat. They are relatively

cheap and quick to create. They are typically effective against buildings and

cavalry archers but weak against towers and siege weapons. You can create and

upgrade infantry units at the Barracks and improve their attack strength and

Researching technology improves the abilities of your villagers,

soldiers, and buildings. For example, researching the Wheelbarrow

(at the Town Center) makes your villagers move faster and carry

more so they work more efficiently. Researching Scale Mail Armor

(at the Blacksmith) increases the armor of your infantry units so they

are harder to kill. Researching Town Watch (at the Town Center)

lets your buildings see the enemy from farther away so you have more

warning of their approach.

Researching the following technologies improves your buildings,

Town Watch (at the Town Center) lets

your buildings see enemies from farther

away so you have more warning of their

Each town and community was responsible for its own defense for much of the

Middle Ages, relying on the local lord and his retinue of soldiers for protection. The

danger from bandits, raiders, or unfriendly neighbors was real. Communities

developed a town watch that scouted the nearby countryside regularly. The town