The World map
Earth on a Robinson projection, drawn from the public-domain Natural Earth dataset: 261 landmasses, real lakes and a whole Antarctica. Only a quarter of the map is land, so oceans, islands and boats shape every match. Conquer the world online: free in the browser, with no download.
| Grid | 1968 × 1012 cells |
|---|---|
| Land | 25% of the map |
| Boats | Yes |
| Played in | Multiplayer and single player |
The geography
Every continent is here with the islands around it, and 186 real lakes break up the land — the Caspian Sea, the Great Lakes, Lake Victoria and Lake Baikal among them. Antarctica arrives whole, a long strip along the bottom of the map. The coastlines come from Natural Earth, a public-domain map dataset, so the shapes are the real ones rather than a sketch.
How a match plays
Land attacks stop at the coast, so each continent fights its own war until someone crosses the water. Crossing an ocean takes a boat with a reachable landing. A start on a large continent gives room to grow; an island start is safe from land attacks early but needs boats to expand. Large lakes split land fronts in the middle of a continent, and narrow land bridges between continents become chokepoints.
Tips for the World map
- Check your coast early. A reachable landing on the next continent is one of the most valuable things a start can have.
- Hold the land bridges. Where two continents meet by a narrow strip of land, a small force can hold a long front.
- An island is not immune. A boat can land on any coast it can reach, so keep troops near the shore you hold.
- Plan the crossing, not just the landing. Troops on a boat are away from your reserve, and a boat cannot be reinforced at sea.
Other maps
- Europe — mostly connected land, with the great rivers as water.
- Mars with Water — one vast landmass beside a northern ocean.
- Milky Way — a spiral galaxy with no boats at all.
- Thronelands — two fantasy continents across a narrow sea.
Compare all five on the map overview, or read the strategy guide.