King of Dragon Pass is the saga of colonizing a magical land. You control the future of a ragged clan which (along with a few dozen other competing clans) has decided to settle the nearly empty land of Dragon Pass. Your decisions determine whether your clan can prosper over the course of a century, and whether they will be remembered forever as a great clan.

Your goal is to become King of Dragon Pass, uniting all these people through diplomacy, magic, and battle. (The objective for a shorter game is to forge a tribe and remain king for ten years.)

The game is set in the magical world of Glorantha, explored in detail through the game RuneQuest. This provides a rich background not seen in most computer games.

Normally I would just jump straight into a game, but that is not recommended for King of Dragon Pass. The game play is a little tricky because there is so much to handle all at once, but once you get the hang of it it is deeply involving and the moves come naturally. You have to manage food production, warriors and raids, magic, diplomacy, trade, exploration, religion, your clan leaders, and the clan mood, not to mention countless random events all at once.

Initial setup allows you to chose whether your clan is peace-loving, warlike, or a mix of the two. It also allows you to chose the primary god of your people. These settings (along with a few other choices) determine the main path the game will take. Changing these settings in subsequent games gives you a very different game experience.

The first few games were a learning experience, even after playing the introductory tutorial game. Even a short game on the easiest setting is complicated and difficult. I usually found myself running short on food in a few years. Choosing your leaders and their advisors is vital to your success. They supply you with information and opinions and deal with the complaints of your clan and other clans. Some leaders have better skills than others, but that is not the only attribute you have to use for your decision. You have to consider what god they worship and what their specialities are, attributes that also effect their leadership abilities.

The choices you make have an effect on everything about the game. Some choices only have immediate consequences and others have long term effects. One bad choice can destroy everything your clan has fought so hard to build. Then on the other hand, a good choice can bring wealth, peace, or prosperity. I think the battle determinations could have been done a little better, because your strengths sometimes seem to have no noticeable effect on the outcome of battles. I have often lost battles in which my forces were much better prepared and led than the opposing force.

I enjoyed the game immediately. It is like a story in which you are involved. You lead your clan but also seem to be at a distance. After playing a while you grow attached to certain leaders. I found myself being very cautious with who I sent on missions. Sometimes I found myself not sending my best person just because of the possibility of death. But, in the end they do die, be it from injury , sickness, chaos magic, or just old age.

Hero quests are a vital part of the game . You must complete quests to gain a tribe and beat the game. Hero quests are tricky. You can answer all the questions right and go along the right path but still fail. My advice: save, save, save, and save — especially before you begin a quest. Oh and also, have a good amount of magic in reserve.

System 7.5 or later, Power Macintosh or compatible, minimum 24 MB of RAM, thousands of colors, double-speed CD-ROM drive (faster recommended).

You can run the game from the CD; an installation takes about 42 MB of hard disk space.

A CD-ROM and a Game Manual

King of Dragon Pass is a very good role-playing game, and one in which your decisions weigh heavily on the outcome of the game. Play is rich and complex, and will keep you coming back again and again in an attempt to complete your assigned mission of becoming King of Dragon Pass. We give King of Dragon Pass 4 MacMice.