What is the Hundred Years War (HYW) Online Game?

The Hundred Years War is a historical wargame in which the players each take the part of one of over 200 aristocrats who were involved in the Hundred Years War between France and England (1337-1453). The game "map" shows over 800 "fiefs " that are owned by the players. Each turn equals 90 days of game time and many actions you take are not put into effect until the computer does its daily update. The game is shut down for about an hour while this update takes place.

More than one game of HYW is going on at any time. See the main menu for the current number of games that are open. More games are added as the number of people wanting to play increases. We started out with one game in the Summer of 1992, and were up to five by the end of 1993 and by 1996 had several dozen going at once.

Most actions you take, however, are immediate and in many respects HYW resembles a role playing game (RPG). There is one major difference between HYW and most RPGs. HYW is based solely on historical fact (well, at least as much as possible in a game.) The characters at the beginning of the game are real, and most of their circumstances are real. While the medieval records that have survived are not complete, we have been able to put together a pretty complete picture of 14th century Europe, it's economy and it's major nobles.

While the game has been thoroughly tested, we are still adding new features all the time. We will first test new items in the Test game or one of the Bedlam games (an area where players, and developers, can test things or learn the ropes) and then installed in the other games. Announcements, and descriptions, of the new features will be made every month or so we will issue updated versions of the rules.

When you first enter either of the games you will see an explanation of what the game is all about and what options you have to join up (do you want to be English, French, Other).

Plenty of files on the game in the file library, plenty of good advice and companionship in the message area, chat area (entry court) and the interactive court and joust areas. Plenty of mayhem and adventure in the game.

How Long Does the Game Take To Play